Best SAD lamps 2024: light therapy to help beat the winter blues

The best SAD lamps could change your life. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a form of depression brought on by shorter days during the winter months, and its effects can be more pronounced the further north you live.

Many sufferers find using a SAD light therapy lamp that simulate sunlight can make a big difference to their symptoms. But, there's more to SAD than difficulty waking up on dark mornings and a touch of the winter blues; if you think you may be affected by it, our guide to signs you might be suffering from SAD can help you decide whether you should speak to your GP about it. While there's more to treating SAD than the best SAD lamps, many find them effective, so we've gathered the best models on the market today, with options to suit different requirements, styles and budgets.

Bear in mind that SAD lamps aren't to be confused with the best wake-up lights which mimic sunrise to help you wake up more naturally. If you're struggling to get up on dark winter mornings they could be just what you need, however some wake-up lamps are also certified for use by SAD sufferers.

Read on to find our top picks for the best SAD lamps & our advice on buying a SAD lamp. If you're not sure how to use one, check out our guide on how to use a SAD lamp.

Best SAD lamps ranking 2024

If you're looking for an effective, no-frills SAD lamp that isn't unpleasantly bright, doesn't look like a giant Kindle e-reader and doesn't need you to sit too close, the Beurer TL50 is an excellent all-rounder. We think it's the best SAD lamp for most people, sitting in the middle of the Beurer range and offering a good combination of size and brightness without an enormous price tag.

The illuminated panel here is a 24.6cm diameter circle and it's rated for an intensity of 10,000 lux at 15cm. There's just a single setting, on or off, and there are no additional features: the TL50 is designed to do one thing and do it well. Head to our Beurer TL50 SAD lamp review to find out more.

If money's no object, the Halo is a wonderful addition to your home or office: it has both warm white and cool white LEDs, enabling you to use it for SAD during the day and as a softer, calming light in the evenings. In Day mode it's exceptionally bright, reaching 10,000 lux at 20cm, and in Evening Mode it adds a cosy ambience to your room.

Oh, and it's gorgeous, too. Where most SAD lamps are designed to look like medical devices or beauty mirrors, the Halo wants to make a statement, so its illuminated panel is surrounded by a copper reflector with black edges that makes it look like a contemporary lamp rather than something you'd encounter in a clinic. Check out our Lumie Halo review to find out more of what we thought.

This baby Beurer is a cheap and cheerful introduction to light therapy. The TL30 is the smallest of the SAD lamps here, and has the lowest price tag too. Where the TL50 uses a rounded panel, the TL30 looks like a tablet, and its small size means it's easy to take it on holiday or into a different room.

But what you gain in cost and convenience you lose in power: while the TL30 offers the same intensity of 10,000 lux as its bigger sibling, it does that at 10cm rather than the 15cm of the larger model. It's not the most powerful SAD lamp but it's very affordable, so we'd recommend it if you're new to light therapy and/or don't want to spend too much.

The Lumie Task is similar to the Lumie Desklamp SAD Light but it's significantly better and more premium. It boasts 10,000 lux brightness at 15cm to combat the signs of SAD, and has adjustable lights, brightness and colours for versatile use. The Lumie Task also doubles as a desk lamp that illuminates your workspace perfectly and renders colours, textures, and text accurately.

If you're prioritising your health and wellbeing, particularly while you work from home, the Lumie Task is a price worth paying for... although £249 is expensive! The height of the lamp isn't adjustable but once you position it nicely, you shouldn't have to worry about that. Read our full Lumie Task review for more details.

If you're short of space or just don't want a very bright SAD lamp in your peripheral vision, Lumie's SAD light desk lamp may be the best SAD lamp for you. With the diffuser switched off it's very bright, delivering 10,000 lux at a distance of 20cm, and with the diffuser on it doubles as a task light delivering 1,250 lux at 50cm.

The adjustable neck makes it a good option for home working where you don't have lots of room, and there are four light levels that you can move between by tapping it. It's more expensive than basic desktop SAD lamps but the extra flexibility makes it worth considering for work or studying.

If you don't want to spend too much money but don't want to compromise on brightness, the Lumie Vitamin L Slim is an A4-sized option offering 10,000 lux at a very respectable 16cm compared to more affordable lamps' 10cm. Like other budget buys there are no bells, no whistles and no especially interesting design cues here: it's the same size as an iPad and the controls are simple: you can either have it switched on or have it switched off.

The rippled diffuser softens the light to make the experience of using it calmer than some alternatives. The higher intensity means you don't need to use it for as long as smaller desktop panels. It's slightly medical-looking but it's a solid and reliable choice, and our tester was impressed with it in our Lumie Vitamin L review.

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