- Portable, rechargeable blue therapy light with Bluewave.
- Sleek new compact design
- New diffusion optics for softer, even light
- Wider treatment field gives you more flexibility
- Fully programmable, adjustable intensity
Product Description
Start feeling better now. “After a week with the goLITE, my wife happily announced that her ’summer husband’ had returned.” “I feel great: more energy, more positive and optimistic, more like the person I am in the sum… More >>
Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device
Reading through the instruction booklet of the GoLite, you cannot help but wonder if it really works or if it just an expensive placebo. Modern technology and indoor lighting throwing off your internal clock makes sense and the GoLite does seem to work on some levels as I do find myself waking up in the morning before my alarm clock and do not feel as drowsy late in the evening as I did on a semi-regular basis before I started using it.
The people who seem would benefit most from the GoLite are people that travel cross country a lot and can use it to reset their own internal clock to whatever time zone they are in with a session. But the biggest drawback is the price, and I am not just talking about the sticker price. A hidden price is that the instruction manual says you have to recharge the battery every 3-5 session. Although I had it maxed at the brightest level for a half an hour I only got two and a half session. Anyway you may end up having to charge it twice a week for a couple hours which will add to your electrical bill.
Rating: 3 / 5
Almost all the Amazon consumer reviews of this product have been positive and that leaves me wondering if I am missing something. I’ve used this light therapy device daily for two weeks and haven’t noticed any difference whatsoever.
That said, I need to qualify this review by telling you that I have never experienced “SAD” or depressed feelings from cloudy days. Also, I live in Southern California so we don’t have that many non-sunny days to begin with (I wish we did). So maybe I am not the type of person this device was made for.
The product itself appears to be very well made – nice and sturdy, the quality is apparent. I am not sure why it is so very expensive, though. Does it cost that much to produce this kind of blue light? It has a nice alarm and countdown function, as well as a clock, and the light adjustment feature works very well. The panel is slim and unobtrusive. It has a removable stick stand in the back that attaches to the panel when not in use. My only complaint about the engineering is the placement of the on/off switch which in my opinion is in a place where one would naturally clutch the panel to pick it up. I’ve turned it on accidentally several times because of the location of the button.
I followed the directions for this device, placing it off to my left side about 20″-25″ away from my face on my computer desk, set it to 50% intensity and timed it to stay on for 30 minutes. Initially the light seems very bright, like having a bunch of blue LED’s shining in your face, but I quickly got used to it and really didn’t notice it after a few moments. I noticed it mainly when the light went out because the room seemed so dark all of a sudden.
Did I feel energized or did I notice any change in my sleep patterns or any difference at all? Not really. Nothing that I can attribute to this light panel since I noticed no consistent changes. I felt pretty much the same as I always do.
Personally, I think that the biological composition of some people naturally lends themselves more to being positively affected by this device, but I am not one of those persons. I’m going to continue using it and if I do notice a change, I will update this review.
Rating: 3 / 5
The Philips goLITE BLU is very well made. It comes with a slick leather carrying case. The device’s stand magnetically sticks in a groove in the back of the device which is a nice feature and will prevent it from getting lost. Functionally the device is very easy to use. You can set it as an alarm if you like to wake up to the blue light. The device also has varying levels of intensity from not-so-bright to WOW-very-bright!
Ok enough about that- I bet you’re all asking, “well does it work?” Let me first say that I am not one to get depressed over gray winters. I live in Seattle and it is gray for more than half of the year so I do frequently long for some sunlight but I can handle it. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this light. I’ve been using it for two weeks now and I have noticed a slight effect. I find it a little easier to get up in the morning and am possibly a little happier than usual on my way to work in the cloud/rain. This could entirely be a placebo effect, but to re-iterate it has only had a very mild effect. That said I am sure there are people out there that need this device a lot more than I do. Judging by the other reviews I do believe it can really help them; but for those of you who don’t really have any “seasonal affective disorder” don’t buy!
Rating: 3 / 5
it’s a smart unit – very compact – does what it promises – has lots of features – but i only use the basic features.
Rating: 5 / 5
I decided to try this out of pure curiosity, and I’m usually a pretty mellow person but this seemed to bring out the happy in me more than usual. Dark mornings are no fun, but using this perks me up, even thinking about I feel a little pressure and weight come off, sunshine, even if electric blue can cure many things. Its nice to use before going to work, takes the grump off.
Expensive but nice to have, and the size of these gadgets has improved greatly form the times of my moms unhealthy UV ray lamp, which I actually found scary.
Rating: 5 / 5