Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is my first review on Amazon. I felt compelled to write it because this product changed my life. First, A little about me: I have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. I was most comfortable falling asleep at 4 AM and waking up at around 10 or 11 PM. If I received the same amount of sleep, or more, by going to bed at an earlier hour, I would still feel extremely tired in the morning (nodding off at the wheel). I've always worked around it by having night jobs, but i just began a new career which requires me to be up early in the morning (my old bedtime). Like many of you, I was very skeptical about light therapy. Despite all the rave reviews, I thought they were placebo effects and was sure it would never work for a skeptic like me. I eventually caved after reading a countless amount of research on the subject. Why I chose it: I chose this product because it is 10,000 lux at 18 inches. With this light intensity, an exposure of 20-30 minutes is ideal. You don't want to be sitting in front of a 6000 lux lamp for 2 hours every morning to get the therapeutic value. I also liked that the lamp is an overhead lamp. I think this mimics sunlight more accurately so it is registered naturally by the brain. I remember reading an abstract about the importance of light hitting the bottom of your eyes, but I don't know how true it is. The concept seems naturally intuitive to me. Third, the product in Canadian made. These lamps are built to help people overcome Seasonal Affective Disorder in environments with a lot of sunlight deprivation i.e. Canada. I trust the engineering more than a Chinese counterpart that may cost $20 less. How I use this product: When my alarm goes off in the morning, I turn it off and turn on the SAD light. It hovers over my bed so it is directly over my head when I wake up. It is impossible to "snooze" when this thing is blaring over your head. While the light is over my head, I'll check emails or watch the news. You dont want to stare directly into this thing. For the first 15 minutes, I will still be very tired, but something magical happens at around 20 minutes of exposure. I am immediately revitalized, sleepiness is gone, and I am ready to get going! After less than a week of use, I was sleeping at 10-11PM and waking up at 5-6AM, no problem. I never thought this would be possible because I spent my whole adult life living around my terrible sleep schedule. Addressing other reviews: It's probably not a good idea to buy this light if you have problems with headaches or light sensitivity. If you have severe depression, bipolar disorder, or any other debilitating mental illness, this therapy should be used in conjunction to treatment prescribed by a medical doctor. This product is generally to be used in the morning. Using it later in the day can throw your sleep schedule out of whack and keep you up at night. If I sleep in on the weekends, I don't turn it on. Addressing the smell concerns, you do have to take off the lens and remove some rubber bands and rubber pieces that are used to stabilize the product during shipment. I can't speak about their customer service because I never had to deal with them. If you have trouble with sleep habits, I encourage you to buy it. Even if you're simply looking for a great way to get out of bed, this is it. Spend the extra money on this one; it is relatively well built and can hover over your bed so you dont have to get out of bed to use it. My only criticism would be that it slides around on a smooth table a bit (nothing a few rubber stoppers didn't fix). IF YOU ARE SKEPTICAL, GIVE IT A SHOT! Good luck!