Best SAD lamp 2025: 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. Right now, our top picks is the Beurer TL50, as it does everything you want a SAD lamp to do without excessive bells and whistles.

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 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.

T3's Top 3

WRITTEN BY

WRITTEN BY

Bethan Girdler-Maslen

Beth is Home Editor for T3, covering style, living and wellness. While she doesn't experience SAD, Beth has tested many wake-up lights and has expertise on SAD lamps, including how to use them, features and top picks.

Best SAD lamp ranking 2025

The best SAD lamp overall

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.

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The best premium SAD lamp

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.

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The best budget SAD lamp

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.

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The best SAD lamp and desk light

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.

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The best looking SAD lamp

Lumie's latest SAD lamp is the Lumie Dash which launched in late 2024. As the newest model, it's not the most inexpensive SAD lamp, but it's incredibly high quality and one of the most stylish SAD lamps we've seen.

At 15cm, the Lumie Dash has a 10,000 lux intensity at 15cm which helps improve your mood and energy levels. The LED lights mimic natural daylight and evenly distributes the light to reduce eye strain while still offering all its benefits. It comes in two matte, pastel colours, and is compact and lightweight so it can easily sit on your desk without getting in the way. See our full Lumie Dash review for more.

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The best SAD lamp with soft light

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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How to choose the best SAD lamps

Choosing the right SAD lamp is important, as you want to make sure it offers the right brightness and intensity to help with SAD lamps. Overall, you should look for a SAD lamp that has 10,000 lux brightness and one that provides a full spectrum of white light and blocks / filters ultraviolet rays.

Once you know what credentials to look for, start thinking about the type of design you want. Most SAD lamps are portable as they have fairly small sizes, but if you want something for your bedside, you may want something smaller, or something bigger if you want to use it at your desk.

Price is also a factor to look at, and there are some trustworthy brands that are T3's go-to's, which are Beurer and Lumie.

How we test the best SAD lamps

To test the best SAD lamps, we call in the latest models on the market and get to work. First, we look at set-up and design, like how easy it was to assemble and how it looks in our home.

From there, we really focus on the light, its brightness and most importantly, if the SAD lamp helped ease SAD symptoms. Other factors include price and any additional features, like adjustability and versatility.

Once our review is published, we go back and update them after we've tested it for longer, so you have an up-to-date view on how well the SAD lamp works and how durable it is.

FAQs

How do I use a SAD lamp?

When using a SAD lamp, it's all about the positioning and distance. Due to the light brightness and intensity, it can be damaging to have it too close, but if it's too far, you might not get the effects.

In general, it's recommended that you sit two feet or 60cm away from the SAD lamp to get the full effects. From there, you can decide how long you use it for, and it's also suggested to monitor your mood after you've used it.

Read our full guide on how to use a SAD lamp.

How bright should a SAD lamp be?

The recommended brightness for a SAD lamp is typically 10,000 lux. However, while most lamps deliver the same intensity, they do it at different distances – so a lamp may be rated 10,000 lux at 10cm, or at 15cm, or at 20cm. If the lamp is dimmable or has a removable diffuser the quoted intensity and distance will be for the highest brightness setting with the diffuser removed.

How long should I use a SAD lamp for?

This depends on how far away you are from your SAD lamp, because intensity drops dramatically with distance. If a lamp delivers 10,000 lux at 16cm, if you sit 30cm away you'll get 5,000 lux. Sit 50cm away and it halves again. That means you'll need longer sessions to get the same benefit: at 10,000 lux it's about 30 minutes; at 5,000 it's an hour; and at 2,500 lux it's two hours.

How often should I use a SAD lamp?

While this is completely unique to each person and their SAD symptoms, it's important to use your SAD lamp consistently and often times daily as it's more likely to improve mood. Experts recommend that those who experience SAD should use a SAD lamp everyday from early autumn to mid winter.

Do SAD lamps really work?

While people who have SAD lamps swear by them, solid evidence of their effectiveness is hard to find. So if you haven't tried a SAD lamp before, it may be wise to start with the most affordable option first or look for one with a no-quibble returns policy. Note, it might take your body 3-5 days to start to respond. If you've been diagnosed with SAD, you don't have to pay VAT on your purchase.

Reviewer panel

Carrie Marshall

Carrie is a writer, musician and broadcaster who covers a wide range of topics on T3, specialising in tech. She's tested many SAD lamps, including models from Beurer and Lumie.

Joanna Ebsworth

Joanna is a freelance journalist who specialises in fitness, health, lifestyle and beauty. She's tested the Lumie Dash and Lumie Task, and was a big fan of both of them.