Lumie Lights product review: first impressions

SAD lamp

I was thrilled to say the least, when Lumie contacted me to say they were interested in me testing and reviewing their products. I discovered light therapy as part of a blog I wrote for Orbana about influencing the Circadian rhythm. I was very curious to see how it worked out. They sent me 2 products to test, over the summer and winter, promising me it would make a big difference.

What products am I using?

I have a SAD light and a Lumie Alarm clock. To be honest, I haven’t really used the SAD light yet, and I am aware that it is coming into summer, however I am sure that does not mean there is no need to use them. I still need to figure that out.

The Lumie alarm clock

Lumie Alarm clock

I have, however, been using the alarm clock. It is very odd at first, relying on a light to wake you up. There is a feature on it where you can set a sound – I guess it is a security measure, however I decided to embrace it fully and not use that.

I set the alarm clock for the time I usually set it for. It told me that it brightens over a period of half an hour, I decided to just go with it and see what happened, so I turned all the other alarm clocks off. Brave? I was very surprised!!

Each morning this week I have woken up just a few minutes before the light reached its brightest (which happens at the time the alarm is set for). It seemed very unusual to wake up gently rather than with a jolt as the noise goes off! That took quite a bit of getting used to!

I have also been using it for ‘sunset’ too – it dims over the period of half an hour too, which is quite nice, although it does seem to take forever so I often don’t initiate my ‘sunset’ from full brightness. Each time I have been asleep before the light has gone out.

The effect on training?

It’s a bit early to say, but on Friday, I went swimming before work, which is normal and part of my routine. With the clocks going back, the morning (5.30am) is dark again, so sunrise on the alarm clock occurs before it does outside!

I arrived at the pool feeling not much different to be honest. I had a reasonably tough set to do, which I was not looking forward to. I completed the set within the time I had, swimming further than I usually do by 100m, in the 45 carefully timed minutes that I have in the pool before I have to dash to work.

Was that because of the alarm clock? Who can truly say, and I know it is very early days, but I am pleasantly surprised so far, and really like my new method of waking in the morning!