Don't know whether to buy a light box (luminotherapy lamp) or a dawn simulator? [What's the difference?]
Hesitate no longer. The new SRS 320 does both!

This has been made possible by an innovation from Gullwing Ltd finally permitting L.E.D.'s to be be lit progressively.

The SRS 320 is light (less than 2 lbs) and delivered with its adaptor 100V - 240V and 3 power cords so it is ready to go for Europe, the UK and the US. Bring it everywhere with you and forget about jet-lag.

The SRS 320 has the standard functionality(beep, no MP3) of the other SunRise System simulators with these extras and improvements:

1. A timer for your bright light session (10 to 90 min by intervals of 10 min)
2. The button to turn it off in the morning no longer switches off the sunrise for tomorrow. This is important for people like me who forget to set the alarm ! We requested this one. Thanks Gullwing !
3. The light (and optional buzzer) turn themselves off at 10 minutes after wake-up time. You can program the simulator once and for all and not touch it again. (Great for the children's room.)
4. The screen goes completely dark (or is just dimmed--your choice), as for the SRS250 model.

We tried it out. Our impressions :

• Gosh it's bright!
  To wake up, by the third morning I was placing the lamp turned a bit towards the wall so the light is reflected by the wall instead of directed towards my eyes. For a bright light session however, I direct the light ever so gently in the direction of my eyes.
• The L.E.D.s do in fact light up slowly, as advertised. Cool.
  In dawn mode, they all go on at once at a low level and get progressively brighter according to the time you have set (15 to 90 min). You will not, however, have the very very low light so splendidly achieved by the SRS100 with an incandescent lamp.
• The light's really white. Reminds me of moonlight. This may surprise you if you are used to a dawn simulator with an incandesent lamp.
• Totally silent, even for persons with very sensitive hearing who manage to hear a variator of light. The SRS320 doesn't make a sound.

Standard functions of SunRise System's light clocks

• Set your sunrise time for 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 or 90 minutes, your choice
• Same for your sunset time, programmable separately i.e. 45 min for a sunrise, 90 min for a sunset
• Mini animation of the sun rising or the sun setting which indicates the state of the simulator. (smart feedback)
• Reading lamp mode (constant light instead of varying light). You can dim it; the light stays constant.
• Calender with leap years
• Optional wake-up beep
• You specify the wake-up time for each day of the week separately. For example, you can set the wake-up time on Sunday to noon.
  This said, it is better for your body to wake up (and go to sleep) at the same time each day. Maybe your life doesn't allow this? SunRise thought of you with this option.
• Nightlight (For the little ones?)
• Security mode. The lamp does on and off at random times to make it look like you're home (to discourage thieves).

To learn more, consult the User's Guide in English, en Français, Espagnol, and Deutsch (format pdf)

Luminotherapy :

A bright light shining in the direction of your eyes (you do not have to look in to the light) for 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the intensity of the lamp and your distance from it, stops your production of melatonin, a neurohormone produced by the pineal gland. This neurohormone helps you feel sleepy at night. Some people feeling sleepy during the day still have too much of this neurohormone in their blood. The amount you have is in part piloted by the presence / absence of light and is supposed to go up at night and go way down in the morning. Luminotherapy and dawn simulation may help you gid rid of too much melatonin.
Your circadian rhythm is influenced in part by the presence / absence of light. More light ==> less melatonin==>less sleepy.

By the way, if you'ld like the lamp in the picture in wikipedia's luminotherapy article we have it too: Rondo by Innosol, Finland