Sleeping / Waking products

Light Therapy for Sleep

Everyone knows the feeling of a good night's sleep. It's refreshing, rejuvenating and reinvigorating. Unfortunately, the demands of everyday life don't provide enough opportunity for that restful state. Sleep disorders like insomnia, restless leg syndrome and others are making it increasingly common for people to seek help.

Sleep naturally - without drugs, without side effects

Verilux's sleeping and waking light therapy lamps provide the solution to those common sleep disorders, without drugs and without side effects. Our light therapy lamps are designed to mesh seamlessly with your body's natural circadian rhythms. Just as the sun rises and sets everyday, you can rely on Verilux to maintain your natural sleep patterns. Even as the seasons change. As fall and winter descend and the days get shorter and shorter.

Circadian Rhythms - The sleep switch

Research into sleep disorders is based primarily on the study of Circadian Rhythms. Circadian Rhythms are the body's natural reaction to the light-dark cycle. At night, when its dark, the body (pineal gland) produces the hormone melatonin, which induces sleep. In the morning, when the sun comes up, and the eyes are exposed to the bright light of the sun, the body stops producing melatonin and we wake up. This switching off and on of the hormone melatonin by the pineal gland has been referred to as the sleep switch.

Verilux Rise and Shine - Light is the natural way to wake

The Verilux Rise and Shine Natural Alarm Clock simulates the sunrise. Its patented timer gradually brightens its full spectrum light and helps to “switch off” the production of melatonin, allowing you to wake gently, naturally and refreshed. Our customers tell us that waking this way brightens their mood for the rest of the day.

A 1993 research study conducted by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, and published in the American Journal of Psychiatry titled "Dawn simulation treatment of winter depression: a controlled study" concluded:

"This study indicates that dawn simulation is an effective treatment for winter depression."

Verilux Full spectrum light for the whole day

The Verilux HappyLight and HappyLight Mini are natural companions to the Rise and Shine. They extend the effect of natural, full spectrum light, to your entire day. The HappyLight provides 10,000 lux of full spectrum light, the HappyLight Mini (5,000 lux). These lamps are especially useful during the dark fall and winter months when many people suffer the depression and angst of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

To underscore the HappyLight's effectiveness, a 2004 research study published in Phsyciatria Polska, titled “Changes of sleep quality and mood disorders under the influence of phototherapy in patients with seasonal affective disorders SAD”, concluded:

“Research confirms that phototherapy is an effective method of treatment of choice for patients with SAD. The result indicates that phototherapy markedly improved mood and sleep quality.”

Blue Light Therapy - The sleep system developed by NASA

The new Verilux TwiLight™ Blue Light Therapy Sleep System uses a "narrow" wavelength of the blue light spectrum (460nm) to naturally prepare your body and mind for a restful sleep. This technology is based on research by NASA into regulation of the natural circadian rhythms of astronauts during space flight. In addition, research by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute titled "Optimizing Light Spectrum for Long-Duration Space Flight" discusses the use of a specific wavelength of blue light to promote sleep. The blue light radiated at the 460nm wavelength is being studied for its effects on the natural production of melatonin by the body (in the pineal gland). A formal clinical trial is also now being conducted at the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) titled "Mechanism Underlying the Effects of Blue Light in Humans" to study the effects of blue light therapy on sleep patterns. Another blue light therapy research study on sleep can be found here.

An online review of the Twilight by Popagadget states that:

"I'm into my first week with the gadget and unless it's the placebo effect, I do find myself falling asleep more easily. The blue light is soothing, sort of approximating soft moonlight."

We Guarantee it.

All Verilux full spectrum lamp and light therapy products are backed by our Verilux Risk Free Guarantee . If you don't absolutely love your new lamp - we'll refund the total cost of your purchase (incuding any tax or shipping) AND we'll also pay for the return shipping to us. We only ask that you return it undamaged in it's original box within 30 days of purchase.

For further information and discussion forums on a host of sleep and sleep disorder topics please check out our friends at Sleepnet and the National Sleep Foundation.

Harvard Medical School article on Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Disorders.