Full Spectrum Neodymium [SAD] Bulbs

The Sunshine Light Bulb Source

The holidays are over, and depression has arrived. You feel like hibernating like a bear. A trip to any place where the sun shines would be nice if you could stay for the winter. But no, you have to stay and work in gray and rainy Portland, suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

There is help. All you have to do is trick your body into feeling that the sun is shining. Some people use light boxes, tanning booths, or travel. We offer full-spectrum lighting to create sunshine in your home and office.

When you change your lighting environment to a more natural light using high-CRI Lamps, you can mimic sunlight using your fixtures. Colors appear different under different lights; full-spectrum lights show true colors better.

Sunlan Lighting Inc. carries a full line of full-spectrum light bulbs to help with SAD. These show good color and are great for reading. If you need more light, we have the LED Light Therapy Lamp, a small portable LED unit that provides sunshine in a book-size unit.

Neodymium Lighting

Light boxes to help with SAD can used many ways. As a small portable very bright light fixture, the concreted light can help with SAD. The claim is 10,000 Lux of light alleviate depression associated with the lack of Sun light. The Lumiram box provides a broad spectrum of light, which stimulates all of the eye’s Photo-receptors.  Some people like to use it at their desk. Others use it early in the morning to help wake up. Using the bright light box in the afternoon or evening may keep some people from sleeping. This feature is a help for people who work the evening or graveyard shift as they may find this bright light useful before going to work. Use the box to reset the body clock to create daytime alertness. Besure to read all the instructions before using a light box.

The Neodymium bulbs offer a passive way to combat SAD. The light created in your home or office is so close to natural sunshine that plants thrive. These bulbs create the best reading light, Colors look close to the colors as seen on outdoor light. If you use a light box to start your day, you may find the use of Neodymium lighting in the evening a relaxing way to end your day.

I found Neodymium lighting in 1991. After using them for a short time,  I wanted to use only the Neodymium bulbs for my home. They are a great light to start my day, the best light for reading, matching colors, and help me relax into sleep. Plants love them too!

The Definition of Full-Spectrum Lighting

The term "full-spectrum lights” does not have a defined meaning. When I (Kay Newell, the Light Bulb Lady) use the phrase, I mean a bulb that mimics 90% of the color of sunshine. The color of sunlight changes from morning to evening each day, and it changes by the season. The color of light is given in Kelvin numbers, with 2700K being a yellowish color and 6500K a blue-white color.

Full-spectrum light essentially tries to duplicate the sun's spectral curve. The old fluorescent tubes create a color (Kelvin) by combining a formulated mix of phosphors. Today’s LED lamps, tubes, and bulbs that artificially reproduce the sun's spectral pallet and radiate light at a color temperature close to the sunlight.

Incandescent bulbs use neodymium, a rare earth element, to naturally reduce the yellow quality of the spectrum. Halogen, xenon, and krypton gases were used to create brighter light with high CRI. Bulbs with these gases are no longer available. Sunlan Lighting Inc. uses the term "full-spectrum" for lights of any Kelvin that are 90+ CRI.

Companies use different Kelvins (colors) to use as their definition of full-spectrum light. Examples include 5000K, 5500K, 5700K, 6500K, and other Kelvins. Sunlan Lighting Inc. uses the CRI as a standard: if a Kelvin is rated at 90 CRI or better, then we call that light "full-spectrum."

People feel better and can read more easily under high-quality bulbs or lamps. Full-spectrum bulbs are a real boost to lift the winter blues. Plants grow better under any light color (Kelvin) that has a high CRI.

What Is Neodymium?

Neodymium is a natural earth element embedded in the bulb glass to filter out the yellow of incandescent and halogen lamps. When applied using a fusion or baking method, the mineral casts a blue-purple tint on the glass of the bulb, which enhances its light. The color is similar to afternoon light. The enhanced white light of a Neodymium bulb mimics the color spectrum of natural sunlight, which reduces eye strain and eases the mood-depressing impact of conventional and fluorescent bulbs.

Neodymium enhancement is found on a variety of bulb styles and shapes, including 3-way bulbs, screw-in A-bulbs, and flood lights. With a high CRI, (color rendering index) rating, these lights make fantastic craft and reading lights and provide an ideal balance of brightness and color to combat the effects of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), PMS, and major depressive disorder. A high-CRI Neodymium lamp is a calm light that makes a great evening light in bedrooms or living rooms. These dimmable bulbs were created in Finland to help combat SAD.

Neodymium bulbs are available in many styles.

Did You Know That Light Is a Nutrient?

Photo-nutrients have a large variety of elements, just like vitamins. Light is a nutrient. Much of the explanation of the therapeutic benefits of sunlight lies in the fact that sunlight contains compounds essential to human thriving. Exposure to sunlight is the primary source of vitamin D, while UV rays metabolize calcium and facilitate the body's use of vitamins C and A. These photo-nutrients boost moods and encourage better physical health.

From INTO THE LIGHT by William Campbell, MD. We are still learning about light nutrients.

Plants thrive under full-spectrum lighting, and so do people.