Light Therapy Lamp, YCIGFUNS 10,000 LUX UV-Free LED Therapy Lamp, Energy Light with 20 Brightness Levels, Wake-up Light Alarm Clock & Snooze, Timer and Adjustable Stand for Home Office

I needed something that would combine two functions: a high-intensity, full-spectrum light to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and a wake-up light that would help me not simply wake up in the morning but want to GET up. I looked at lots of different therapy lamps before deciding to buy this one, and I'm glad I did. I find this light to be an excellent value.I've been having trouble for years getting up and getting going in the morning, and I began to realize that this had something to do with my exposure to sunlight. For about six weeks a year, the morning sun shines straight in my bedroom window as it rises and during those weeks I wake up naturally, with no struggle, feeling wide awake almost instantly, just at dawn (around 5:45 a.m.). Outside of that six week period, however, even when I wake naturally after eight hours of sleep, I am likely to spend an hour or two in bed before I get up -- dozing, checking FB posts, reading, doing anything but getting UP.Another problem I have is that I spend almost all day, every day, sitting at my computer in front of the same bedroom window that gets little direct sunlight and that only in the first hours of the morning. Although I live in sunny North Texas, for a variety of reasons (heat, health problems, work, etc.), much of the year I can't be outside in the sunlight for more than a few minutes at a time. As I discovered during a number of years living in a more northern climate, with long, snowy winters, I am "solar powered" -- if I don't get plenty of sunlight, almost every day, I suffer mental and emotional ill effects (Seasonal Affective Disorder).So, for the past couple of years I've thought about getting a therapy lamp, and my recent problems getting out of bed in the morning finally convinced me that I should get a lamp that will help get me out of bed. I wanted something that had the features I need without having to pay any more than absolutely necessary. Comparing what Amazon had to offer in a price range I could afford, I realized that this YCIGFUNS therapy lamp is virtually identical to those offered by other companies at twice the price, the only difference being the name on the front. So I decided to give it a try.To be honest, I was a bit put off by customer reviews that remarked on how "touchy" the power cord is and how difficult it was to master the buttons that control the various functions, but in fact I have not had any problems. The power cord on mine seems to fit snugly, so maybe the company has fixed the problem. The various low-profile buttons along the top edge control most functions, and these are described briefly in the little instruction leaflet that comes in the package. But since some people have had trouble understanding the written instructions (apparently written by non-native English speakers), I'll just point out what I've noticed about the way this gadget works:The first thing to do is to set the time of day on the clock. This is controlled by the first (leftmost) button on top. You push this button to put the clock into time-setting mode, and then use the big "dial" button on the front of the device to dial the clock forward or backward (hour and minutes are set separately).The second button on top (moving from left to right) is used to set the wake-up time and alarm sound (I like the bird chirping, as I've been using a similar birdsong alarm on my phone for years). Here again, you push the top button to put it into the right mode and then dial the button on the front to get to the setting you want -- you also use this dial to set how loud you want the alarm sound to be.The third button on top controls the digital clock display -- push it repeatedly to cycle through three options: bright digital clock, dim digital clock, or no digital display (just a small, dim "power on" icon to let you know the clock is plugged in). If you like to sleep in a dark room, as I do, the dim power icon shouldn't disturb your sleep.The large button/dial on the front of the lamp is multi-function -- it can work in combination with the little function-specific buttons on top, to select settings, but it also serves as the on/off and dimmer switch for the lamp. When you want to turn the lamp on (independent of the sleep timer), you just push this large button in to turn the thing on or off, and rotate it to dial the light intensity up or down.(I have not tried using the lamp on a timer -- I prefer to turn it on and off manually when I use it during the day -- so I'm not sure which buttons control that.)Regarding the intensity of the light: at its highest intensity, I find it bright enough that I don't want to stare at it, but not so bright that I am uncomfortable sitting quite close to it while reading or looking at my tablet or phone. The day after the lamp arrived we had a very dark, stormy day and I spent quite a bit of time sitting near the light reading, and later, when I moved to my computer, I left the lamp lying on the bed to reflect off the ceiling -- a nice way to light up the room with indirect light. The device did not get hot, even after several hours of being on at full intensity.The big question is: does it help as a therapeutic device? Based on my experience of only about one week, yes. The wake-up light turns on a half-hour before the alarm time I've set and gets brighter in three stages until it gets to full intensity. At that point (full intensity at the alarm time set), the alarm sound -- bird twittering, in my case -- begins. I find that this is when I wake up. Maybe if I had the lamp placed closer to my head the dimmer stages would wake me. But as soon as I realize I'm awake, I sit up on the side of the bed in front of the lamp for a few minutes and usually, by the time the light shuts itself off, I am ready to get breakfast and put the day in gear. No sluggishness, no desire to lie back down. This is exactly what I wanted, so I'm very pleased.

I like this alarm light a lot. It can be very bright if you want it to. And it does help me I'm waking up primarily from the light for me. It also has sounds alarm. What I don't like is that the power plug plugs into the back and sticks straight out the back by about 1 1/4 inches. So you can't hang on wall without some DIY work. Also with the plug sticking out the back like that I think it makes it easy to break the connector that the plug snaps into. I think mine arrived like that. Or I bumped it or something. Now I can't touch it or the light goes out and I have to wiggle the plug to get it working again. However, Amazon is exchanging it for free. So if the new ones plug is working fine I'm going to do some sort of DIY attachment to the back to protect the plug from getting bumped. I would give this product 5 stars if they had designed a little notch out area in the back of the light that had the insert hole for the power plug up in it. Like when you insert batteries in something. A little open space for the batteries but here for the plug. Then plug it in that way so the plug is flush below the back panel. Also some wire tie notches to prevent it from pulling out by accident easily. Fix the badly designed power plug and I would give this product five stars. I really liked it. I'm getting it replaced for free. As long as per plug on replacement it's fine I'm happy. But going to protect the power plug on the new one somehow with some DIY fix.

First night of use review:Wow! This is the best way to wake up since ACTUAL sunrises.The only issue I had was that I didn't know how to turn the time display brightness down, so there was an orange glow in my room all night, and I kept being paranoid that it was starting to go off and it was morning already. The orange glow was so bright that I had to turn the clock away from my bed. Finally I decided I didn't care if I woke up early, and went to sleep.The next thing I knew, I was awake, and my room was bright like a sunny day, and I didn't even WANT to keep sleeping.I fiddled with the buttons and there's a button (the far right button) that turns the clock display bright, dim, or off (which displays a battery icon). Since I prefer to sleep in the dark, I plan on trying it with the display off tonight. There was nothing about that function in the instruction manual.One warning... You have to make sure the cord is good and plugged in at the back of the device or it won't work. So once you set it where you want it, check the back to make sure it's solidly plugged in, then don't touch it again. If you have a cat that knocks things over this might not be the alarm for you.I plan to keep using this and see how it holds up to daily use, including travel, and then report back.Second Night Review:Wow! It's literally like waking up naturally without an alarm, except you get up good and early.I used the little button that looks like a circle cut in half and turned it to the setting where the display only had the little battery symbol, and it was super dark in my room. Within a few minutes of the light starting in the morning, I was awake.

I truly appreciate the wake-up function of stepped brightness, but among many little quirks, the most unbearable is the poor placement of the cord where it plugs into the light. The dang thing unplugs itself if I nudge it when the moon is in a bad mood or something. (Real talk, it's just some poor technical design.)This being said, I did buy one of these for my friend who has SAD, and when it works, it works well.