Kayla Young
The shortening days, darkening skies, and cold wind of late fall and winter lead many to a depressed state. For those of us who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), this time of year is difficult. Getting up before the dawn, getting out of work after dark. It can seem like there’s no sun at all during the day!
One of the best ways to combat SAD symptoms is with light therapy. Over the last few decades, many have embraced lightboxes that give 10,000 Lux of exposure over 30 minutes. But it’s hard to sit still for 30 minutes every morning in order to get a dose.
Light therapy glasses are a newer technology that is easier to wear and use. These units shine blue/green light at the target’s eyes, with a 30-minute exposure providing the equivalent of 10,000 lux of light.
But many of these units are expensive.
Feel Bright Light has come up with an interesting device with their Feel Bright Light Therapy Visors. These units attach to a visor or baseball cap, and shine blue/green light into the user’s eyes to treat SAD symptoms. The system works well, and is noticeably cheaper than most light therapy glasses on the market.
This article is a review of the Feel Bright Light Therapy Visors, and goes over the pros and cons of these units.
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Feel Bright Light Therapy Visors
The Feel Bright Light is an excellent product that will help you sleep well and get rid of the coming winter blues. It will help you to reset your internal clock and re-invigorate your circadian rhythm.
You will you sleep better, and your mood will also become more positive.
After all, what can be better than to get a good night’s sleep and wake up refreshed and energized?
This is a state-of-the-art hands-free light therapy device. Since it is completely mobile, it will also allow you to safely and comfortably enjoy all of your light therapy treatment sessions, even if you are busy doing something else.
And best of all, it will calm and soothe you and leave you refreshed for the coming day.
Here’s a short video showcasing the Feel Bright Light Therapy Visor:
Why Should You Choose This SAD Light?
The Feel Bright Light provides the equivalent of 10,000 lux of light to your eyes. Instead of using full-spectrum light, as a SAD light like the Happy Light (reviewed here), it works only in the blue/green spectrum. This is similar in design to light therapy glasses like the Pegasi 2 glasses.
It consists of an LED light designed to be connected to the top of a visor and pointed directly into your eyes from above. This obviously means that this light is a total hands-free device, effectively allowing you to enjoy your light therapy on the go.
This ability to move around is a big benefit, and is what separates the Feel Bright Light from other light boxes which you have to sit still to use.
The Deluxe Feel Bright Light is available with or without a visor, and includes a charger and a carry case. You can just put the a cap on and adjust its brim so that the lights on its surface will shine directly into your eyes.
If you have adjusted the visor properly, the lights would appear in the upper portion of your field of vision and allow you to be able to look around you in a normal manner.
This ability to move around is a big benefit, and is what separates the Feel Bright Light from other light boxes which you have to sit still to use.
Please note that this unit is not designed as a light to read or otherwise work by. It is designed for light therapy, for treatment of SAD effects.
It should go without saying that you should refrain from driving a vehicle or operating any other heavy machinery whenever you use your Feel Bright Light.
Feel Bright Light Therapy Visor Review
The best thing about this product is that using it is fairly straightforward. You can either use the accessory visor that comes with the light or alternately choose your own visor or cap.
The light itself comes with its own integral mounting kit, and is equipped with rechargeable batteries, so you won’t need to insert fresh batteries every few hours.
Your best bet as far as charging is concerned is to just simply leave it to recharge after every use. This way, you will ensure that the device is fully charged and ready for the next session.
You can use this product for some of the most common SAD issues this winter. It can be used either separately or together with a light workout on a treadmill or an elliptical machine. In fact, it’s a good idea to start your day off well with a combination of exercise SAD light exposure.
In fact, it’s a good idea to start your day off well with a combination of exercise and SAD light exposure.
You can use it during your morning routine, though if you like to read, you may find the blue/green light to be distracting. This holds particularly true for people who wear glasses since the light will be reflected on the lenses of their spectacles.
It is not recommended that you move around a lot with only this SAD light for guidance. If you are going into a dark room, it is very important that you should switch on the room’s overhead lights first.
Key Features at a Glance
- The device weighs less than 2 ounces.
- It has a rechargeable lithium-polymer battery that lasts for approximately 120 minutes (4 standard treatments)
- It has several LED bulbs that are built to last a long time. These LEDs utilize a flat green light wavelength at around +/-500 nm, in wavelength
- The unit features an automatic 30-minute shutoff.
- It is programmed to ensure that you automatically derive the best benefits from your Feel Bright Light Deluxe.
- This SAD light’s Visor does not produce any Ultra Violet (UV) radiation, which is a common problem in any device that uses full-spectrum lights.
- It does not generate any heat.
Specifications And Dimensions
- It is convenient to use, and you can set its intensity levels just simply by pressing the on/off switch twice for 8,000 lux and once if you want the light to shine at the equivalent of 12,000 lux.
- This SAD light uses Green Safe Technology that utilizes wavelengths of light that are clearly visible along the blue-green spectrum.
- The light waves produced by this light are in the 470 nm to 560nm range and they peak at 525nm.
- The device uses LED bulbs built to last for 30,000 hours. This comes to approximately 329 years if it is used every fall and winter for approximately 30 minutes per day.
Does The Feel Bright Light Really Work?
Using blue/green wavelength light, in the range of 470-600 nm, was first studied through NASA and shown to be as effective as full-spectrum light at alleviating depression.
It’s very difficult to sit still for 30 minutes a day, in front of a 10,000 lux lightbox positioned 12-18″ away, to get that 10,000 lux exposure.
It’s not hard to get that amount of light through the Feel Bright Light, though. You can go through your morning routine and still get enough light exposure to alleviate your SAD symptoms.
This is a very small light, but that does not mean that it is not powerful enough to get the job done. While most commonly used desktop SAD units emit 10,000 lux of light, the Best Feel Bright Light Deluxe can crank out the equivalent of 12,000 lux. That’s even higher than the more expensive (but cooler looking) Pegasi 2 Light Therapy Glasses.
What Are the Drawbacks of the Feel Bright Light?
This product works as well as it is advertised. However, this does not mean that it does not have any issues.
The biggest problem is that it feels a bit flimsy, and can be unbalanced. It is top-heavy and prone to slipping down in front of the user’s eyes unless it has been properly and firmly fastened. This can mean constantly adjusting the visor. Additionally, the Velcro straps don’t always work, which can cause a separate set of problems.
And like many rechargeable devices, eventually the battery starts to lose its charging capacity, and the duration of the charge will lessen over time (long before the bulbs themselves fail!)
Final Thoughts
The Feel Bright Light is quite an ingenious design. There’s no need to sit in front of a conventional SAD lightbox for your daily treatment dose. Additionally, it’s far less expensive than other light therapy glasses, but still offers the huge benefit of portability.
There are two versions of the Feel Bright Light Visors available: one without the visor (if you already have a visor) or one with a visor included. It’s best to purchase them separately unless you really don’t want to go through the hassle of picking out a separate visor.
