Healthy Swellness: Philips goLITE BLU
A few weeks ago, I told you how I tested out the Philips Wake-up Light and how it really make waking up a much more pleasant experience. (I forgot to include in that post how I remembered three dreams during a two-week span of using it; I typically never remember my dreams — at most, maybe three times in a whole year. At first, I found this quite amusing, until the third dream, which was quite upsetting…but since then no more dream recollection).
Now, for part deux of this Philips Vitalight testing: The Philips goLITE BLU. It’s a portable energy light designed to mimic natural daylight so as to help boost energy and mood. Using it hust 20 to 30 minutes a day is said to help make you feel more energetic and active. It’s blue because research has shown this to be the most energizing colour, and the light is designed to give off a pure blue light that occurs naturally on clear, sunny days (but safely — there’s no UV rays).
To use it, you don’t have to stare into the light, but just have it directed towards your eyes, and you can be doing work, watching tv, eating or any other typical daily activities.
Dr. Colleen Carney, who is the director of sleep and depression laboratory at Ryerson University, shared some tips on how to incorporate light therapy into one’s routine:
1. Try light therapy instead of your caffeine fix. Caffeine will make you more alert but it’ll be followed by fatigue when you experience withdrawal from it. Rather than drinking a coffee, try drinking some water instead and 20 minutes of light therapy.
2. Tend to nod off in the early evening? Doing so may lead to fragmented sleep, and you may have difficulty sleeping through the night until the morning. Instead of nodding off in the evening, try using the light therapy in the early evening to help keep you awake until your bedtime.
3. If you have problems getting up in the morning, use the light therapy first thing when you wake up. This will alert your internal clock to wake up earlier the next day and give you an alertness boost to kickstart your day.
4. Blue light will enhance how alert you are, so turn off blue lights and any electronics that emit blue light several hours before your bedtime.
5. If you experience seasonal affectiveness disorder or low energy, using the blue light can help. When you feel your energy lagging, use it for your 20 to 30 minute session then. NB. If you have a history of bipolar disorder or sensitivity to bright light, talk to your doctor first before trying blue light therapy.
6. Besides blue light therapy, also try to stay well hydrated; taking breaks to stave off boredom and eye strain; workout (getting the blood flowing can help relieve feelings of fatigue); and avoiding sugary foods that’ll set you off on a sugar high and then a crash.
Armed with these tips, I started using the Philips goLITE BLU a few weeks ago. I have tried this product many years ago, and found the light very bright and quite distracting. And so I gave up on using it regularly.
So…what was my experience? Did it give me more energy than ever?? Well —
This new model is much sleeker than the previous model I tried out and the light is softer and more diffused. Plus, this model allows you to turn down the brightness level (which I don’t believe the other model I tested out featured).
The first time I used the light, I set it on the maximum brightness and found it gave me a bit of a headache. So I turned it down a bit for the following week. I’ve been feeling sluggish lately so I was hopeful this could help me as much as the Wake-up Light has helped me. But after a week of it, I can’t say I noticed much difference in my energy levels…
Then I was going to China on a press trip so I packed the goLITE BLU for my trip, and I went determined to not let jet lag hit me like a ton of bricks like it did the first time I went to Asia. To help me do this, I planned to use the light in the morning in China (where it’s a 12-hour time difference from Toronto) to give me an energy boost and help me adapt to my new time zone.
My first few days in China, I was quite optimistic about having beaten jet lag. I didn’t get to use the goLITE BLU for a whole 20 to 30 minutes, though. I kept it on in the hotel bathroom as I got ready to set off for the day, but that was likely about 10 to 15 minutes (and that’s with me running in and out of the bathroom to get dressed and whatnot), so it wasn’t the recommended time. But I did feel quite sprightly the first handful of days in China. Could it be the goLITE BLU?
But then as the trip in China continued, I was even less compliant. When I’d wake up at 3 a.m., rather than go right back to sleep as I’d done the first few days, I’d pick up my phone (the light from which is energizing) and start dealing with emails, and this then progressed to texting friends in Toronto (because this was when they were reachable given it was the afternoon in Canada).
So, thus far, the goLITE BLU hasn’t done as much for improving my life as the Wake-up Light. But it is possible that it’s my poor habits and 12-hours of time difference (along with coming down with a cold while traveling) that prove too much for the light’s beneficial powers. I plan to continue its use (and hopefully work on increasing the light’s brightness — I still use it at a lower intensity) and see if it boosts my energy levels at all. I do find it difficult to not have my eyes drawn to the light even though it’s not necessary to look into it; I sort of feel like a moth drawn to a flame, my eyes just go towards it, haha.
Have you tried energy light therapy using goLITE BLU or a similar product? I’d love to hear what your experience has been!
I’ll update you on my progress if the goLITE BLU helps me get a natural high…give me all of the energy, I could sure use some extra!
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Leave a Comment April 5, 2016