Customer comments

Comparison Sunrise System / Lumie 200

The different Lumies

FAQ: Dawn simulation
Wake to light, not an alarm clock

How much light do you need to wake you up?

Our lamps with their 60 Watt bulbs wake us up quite well. They are even a bit bright. For many, a 40 Watt bulb will do the trick. (It is surprising.)

Technically light is measured in lumens (just the light) or lux (light falling on a surface, 1 lux = 1 lumen per square meter) and not in Watts which is a measure of a lightbulb's power consumption. Our wake to light clocks furnish between 210 and 350 lux at 40 cm. We speak of Watts only because it is more familiar for the moment. When you go the hardware store, the bulbs are usually marked by their power consumption in Watts.

But what if dawn simulation doesn't wake me up ?

All our simulators come with optional wake-up sounds. The most fun is the SRS250 with a real integrated MP3 player, delivered with real nature recordings. Or add your own sounds and music!

Important : Even if you require a sound in addition to the light in order to wake up, a simulated dawn makes you less groggy in the morning. This is explained below, and I personally feel the difference. Most of the time, the light wakes me up; but if I went to bed very late, I wake up with the sound. I still feel ok in the morning--well less horrible. If however something woke me up before my dawn (the cats want fresh crunchies and right away), I have a very grumpy morning.

Will I wake up on time ?

In fact, the light will more than likely wake you up earlier than your programmed wake-up time. We find this rather nice. The time to savor one's coffee.

If this does not please you, do experiment with the length of the dawn simulation and the wake-up time. People seem to be waking up at two-thirds the way through the dawn for a 60W bulb at about 30-50 cm from the eyes. As a starting point, say you are awoken about 2/3 the way through the dawn. For a half-hour dawn, simply set the wake-up time 10 minutes later than when you wish to wake up.
Alternatively, try a 40W bulb and keep us posted!

Nota bene: You nevertheless must sleep enough hours. If you have not slept enough, the light might wake you up but you will not feel very good. If you are very tired you will no doubt hide your head under the pillow so as not to see the light and go back to sleep. (We know about this first hand...)

Where should you place the light?

Place the light source no further than 50 cm (20 inches) from your eyes, a bit above and in front of your eyes (not behind your head). A white globe lamp is particularly effective. If you tend to turn away from the light, simply place a lamp on each side of the bed. (You can use the Sunrise System SRS100 with 2 lamps.)

Money-back guarantee

Clearly the important thing is that you be satisfied. We propose a 14 day trial with no obligation. Read our terms of sale.

How does it work?

Light is detected by your body even through closed eyelids. The light accelerates the obtention of your personal morning I'm awake now level of the hormone cortisol. (This is explained further below.) There is also an effect on your body temperature. Together the effect is that you are less drowsy upon awakening and during that first hour of the day.

What is the difference between luminotherapy and dawn simulation?

Luminotherapy means a therapy done with light. However generally when people speak of luminotherapy, they are referring to an exposition of very bright light (2500 to 10000 lux) for 30 minutes to 2 hours. You are already awake, sitting for example at your desk, with the lamp in front of you and a bit to the side.
For dawn simulation you are asleep in your bed with your eyes are closed. The lamp brightens very gently and slowly reaching only several hundred lux or less at your eye position.

Is dawn simulation a therapy for winter depression a.k.a. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) ?

Yes but the mechanism is different. Studies have shown that dawn simulation has a positive effect on reducing winter depression similar to or even better than bright light therapy. [Sources]
Thus we can now say that dawn simulation is a type of luminotherapy or light therapy.
This effect of feeling less groggy, could be explained by the fact that your body reaches its normal morning level of cortisol more quickly when you have used a dawn simulator. Note that this effect exists regardless of whether the light actually woke you up! (In fact in Thorn's study below, they didn't even count the cases where the subjects woke up to the light before the alarm.) The final level of cortisol reached is similar with or without the dawn simulator.
Note that this level rises every morning and is part of our daily circadian rhythm.

Summary of results:
Your cortisol level accelerates to your normal awake level more quickly with the dawn simulator.

You feel awake sooner with a dawn simulator whether or not it woke you up.

Source :
Entire study (format pdf) : Thorn, Hucklebridge, Esgate, Evans, Clow., 2004. The effect of dawn simulation on the cortisol response to awakening in healthy participants . Psychoneuroendocrinology 29, 925-930.
Abstract

We also propose high lux white light (4000-6500°K) lamps for your bright light therapy.

Will this change my life ?

You have undoubtedly heard about an interesting case in Dr Servan-Schreiber's book The Instinct to Heal: Curing Depression...Without Talk Therapy.

Our opinion : Waking to light is truly an agreable way to wake up without going so far as changing your life, and our clients seem to think so too. One does seem to agree with the doctor.

Should the light be white?

It is not necessary to have white light nor any special bulb for a dawn simulator. (The amount of light and its closeness to you however are key.) Moreover, in the case described in The Instinct to Heal, there was no special lightbulb. Read our article, Do I need a special lightbulb for my dawn simulator? (In French but many of the references are in English.)