Philips GoLite BLU Light Therapy Device

I suffer from chronic insomnia due to disabling anxiety and recently started using a Phillips goLITE BLU (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B... ; note there is another SKU for outside the US power plugs), a very cool 6x10 array of blue LEDs, which has made a tremendous difference. I clearly need to do some fine tuning but I'm now able to on almost all nights get the 8 hours I need.

If you have insomnia or an internal clock that's just plain wrong for your external needs, be sure to check out light therapy.

If you have problems with insomnia or even a tiny bit of seasonal depression: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...

So I tried flux for about three weeks and it didn't really seem to affect me. Reading/working by candle at night actually helped me more, though still not a lot.

I'm experimenting with one of these right now:

http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...

I use it while I read in the morning. The idea is to go for lots of blue exposure in the mornings rather than amber at night as a way to shift my circadian rhythm. I may report on its efficacy once I've had enough time with it (if I ever get around to building a new site). My sleep patterns aren't as bad as a lot of people who use a screen excessively, but I'm working toward shifting my wake up time to very early.

Make sure no matter what you get up at the same time every day, even if you went to bed really late the night before (or earlier that morning), and go to bed at night when you start feeling drowsy. If you need a kickstart in the beginning of the (re)transition period, drink a cup of coffee when you wake up or sit in front of a light therapy device (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...) for 15-30 mins. After a few days, your sleep schedule should normalize. If you still have trouble getting drowsy at night, try to get into a pre-sleep ritual (book, warm milk, dim the lights, whatever) 30-60 mins before you want to go to bed. Definitely stop all work 30-60 mins before bedtime. In general, no backlit screens in the 60mins before bedtime, and no caffeine after 3pm.

I keep hearing about how blue light in the morning helps you wake up and have more energy throughout the day.

Does anyone have experience with this product: http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...

I've had a hard time getting up in the morning all my life, and it was worse in the winters after moving to Portland. I ended up getting an earlier version of this gadget (http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...), and found that a few minutes of blue-frequency light every morning turned me into a natural early riser. (I still don't like mornings, but I naturally wake up and get out of bed at the same time every day)

Your circadian rhythm is especially susceptible to the blue end of the spectrum so instead of a 10,000 watt sun lamp you can just use one of these (or perhaps a home-brewed equivalent with the right LEDs) to let your body know that, if you were in a better lattitude, the sun would be shining right now.

Does anyone have experience with either Philips goLITE [1] or Wake-Up light [2]? I wonder which of these will be more effective (blue vs warm yellow).

Alternatively, has anyone managed to build such a device at home? AFAIK 470 nm wavelength LEDs are the way to go but getting 10k lux out of the grid..

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...

[2] http://www.amazon.com/Philips-HF3520-Wake-Up-Colored-Simulat...

I've found that light therapy can make a big difference, for me, getting 8 hours of sleep instead of 7. I use this very handy device: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001I45XL8/

Well that would be me, I have been looking at these for years but the cost always put me off.

Also, how is it different from this one? http://www.amazon.com/Philips-goLITE-BLU-Therapy-Device/dp/B...