Best large therapy lamp

Northern Light Technologies Boxelite

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When the days get shorter and darker, we get less exposure to natural sunlight. Doctors believe that the lack of sunlight can trigger a chemical change in the brain, which can make you feel sad, unmotivated, sluggish and, essentially, depressed. One of the most commonly recommended treatments for SAD is light therapy, which is backed up with a ton of documented research.

Light therapy lamps try to mimic the extra hours of sunlight from spring and summer that we don’t get in fall and winter. For this, you need a lamp that emits about 10,000 lux of light, which is higher than the artificial light from your home’s fixtures and other lamps. A bright sunny day exposes you to about 100,000 lux or more, while you might get only about 2,000 lux of light exposure on an overcast day. A light therapy session can mimic the experience of a sunny day — minus the ultraviolet rays — if only for a few minutes.

We’ve tested and evaluated some of the most popular light therapy lamps on the market. There are a lot of options out there when it comes to selecting a light therapy device — they vary in intensity, and some even offer adjustable brightness. Because we aren’t physicians or psychiatrists, we can’t tell you if these lamps will be effective for treating your depression, winter blues or SAD symptoms. 

Light therapy isn’t for everyone, so it’s important to check with your doctor before trying it. Only your physician can diagnose you with SAD, a mood disorder, or depression and prescribe the correct treatment for you. This list is updated periodically.

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Verilux is one of the biggest names in light therapy lamps — you’ll find them all over Amazon and the company has a large catalog of models. The HappyLight Luxe has a simple design with a large light panel that takes up nearly the entire lamp. Simple is not meant as an insult here — the Luxe light therapy lamp has everything you need at a fair price.

Most experts recommend using a lamp with a large light panel — ideally 12 by 15 or 12 by 18 inches — to get the full benefits of light therapy. A smaller light therapy lamp can provide the same benefits, but you might need to move it closer to your eyes and leave it on for longer than you would with a large panel. At 6 by 9 inches, the Luxe’s light panel gets close to the recommended size without taking up too much space.

It offers four brightness settings and three color temperature settings, which allow you to make the light warm, neutral or mimic daylight. There’s also a built-in timer you can set at 5-minute intervals, up to 1 hour. You can mount the light panel on the wall, or use the included stand, which tilts the lamp at an angle. You can also remove the stand and conveniently hook it to the back of the light panel for travel.

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We liked this lamp out of the box. It’s slim enough to fit in any tight space or crowded desk, and it feels solid. It has a modern look to it that doesn’t scream “I am a therapy light,” and it folds down when you’re not using it. It has a simple power button that cycles through three light levels: low, medium and high.

What makes the Lumos different from the rest is that you can fold and rotate the light many different ways to get the perfect angle. You want the light to be at eye level and this lamp makes that easy to accomplish.

The only knock we have against this light is that it has the smallest light panel out of all the lamps we tested, at just 1.37 by 6.25 inches. Again, consult with your doctor on how long you should use a therapy lamp each day — with the smaller panel on this light, you might need to use it longer.

Can’t decide between the Lumos and the HappyLight? If you want a therapy lamp that you can keep out all the time that you can position perfectly, get the Lumos. If you want a lamp that you don’t have to fuss with, get the VT31.