Zadro Sunlight 365, Artificial Sunlight 365 Days a Year

This light is literally a life-saver. Each autumn I would seriously wonder if I could actually live through the winter. By April I would be hanging on by a thread. In 1993 I heard about light therapy, but a light box was expensive as h*ll. I saved up, and the two-hundred dollars was well worth it. Back then light boxes were huge unwieldy things that didn't really fit well anywhere. Nonetheless, intensive light therapy saved my life and my career.My $200 light was lost during a move last year, and my $200 visor proved inconvenient, awkward, and socially deleterious ("You look like a demon!"). I was excited to try this small light that still put out the necessary 10,000 lux/lumens. The electrical cord limits its portability a tad; nonetheless, I love it. I bought one for my office, and later I also bought one for home. They're doing great, and so am I. This little desk light equalled or surpassed the efficacy of my old expensive lights. I've never tried the "bells and whistles," because I frankly fail to understand why someone can't tell time well enough with their watch to turn off the light when a half-hour has passed. Plus, my $200 models didn't have any "features" except an on/off switch, and this one is WAY more portable.UPDATE: This morning I tried to turn the light on and it wouldn't come on. I panicked. Upon trouble-shooting, the light started working again when plugged in without the battery! Idiosyncracy, I guess. Go figure. It has already proven its usefulness and convenience. I still love my light.UPDATE #2: Going on winter #2, and the light still works great. I did not have to go through the winter depression last year, and with its portability I have a better time fitting its use into my schedule. On winter travel my light's so precious to me that I choose to pack it between thick layers of clothing. Still haven't fooled with the bells and whistles, so I can't speak to that. If you can't tell time you may want to shell out for a $200 bulky light with "features." I am fortunate enough that I can buy any light I might want; nonetheless, I still only swear by my Sunlight 360. Where someone's health is truly concerned and there's no room for screw-ups or experimentation, I recommend this portable, convenient, and effective model.

Just got my Sun365 yesterday and though it is too soon to tell if its going to help me beat the blues Im optimistic and I love it so far. The blue light is super bright, so read the directions and note it says GLANCE during a session, not LOOK. As well as note that the battery has a slip of paper that you have to remove in order for the controls, clock etc to work.I love the small size, which I was concerned about at first, because I always thought these light treatments had to be large (Id never tried it). I did my research before buying and learned that the L.E.D lights, which this one is, are supposed to have slightly better success rate. (google mayo clinic and S.a.d light)I also read that you should talk with your Dr about how long to use when you start out and what to look for if you are bi-polar rather than seasonally, or year-round depressed.The light comes with 4 time settings 10 mins up to 60 mins and you can also set the intensity of the light from 10-100%. so my belief is, that I can find just the right setting for me.Anyway, its much cheaper than the larger models, while having many of the features..so my thinking was, Ive got nothing to lose, and everything to gain..and if it works then maybe my next purchase will be a larger one...or better yet, since this fits nicely just about anywhere I am, I might just stay with this one.Good luck to all of you.

Well received mine today... Everything seems to work and all the lights work but one of the weaknesses of this unit are the pads used to program, turn on and off the unit, etc. This seems to be where everybody is having problems. It appears to be a one piece cover that covers the switches underneath. They are indeed sensitive and only a gentle touch engages the switches. I had problems too at first as I was pressing to hard on the switches. You have to press very lightly for them to engage. Another issue is that they are very small, so if you have big fingers, you may be depressing the switch that neighbors the one you are trying to depress and this can also create it to not function properly... I have fairly fine musicians hands and can work it OK but can see ones with bigger fingers having this problem.As far as the stand, yes it is delicate and can see that if not handled gently that there may be some issues... They need to revamp this and make a more durable design here. I think they could put two holes in the back of the unit, when mold injecting the plastic cover and put a metal wire unit that could hinge and easily swing open to support the unit but yet fold flat for transport. This would easily solve this problem and wouldn't cost any more in the manufacturing process... Just a poor design on the designing of the unit by the manufacturer.Despite the design flaws and a little tough to use because of it, the unit I received does work and as long as you get the light, that's all that matters. It's about the most inexpensive way to get a therapy light. I knew this going in, considering the reviews and wasn't expecting much more.If needing just a basic therapy light to tread the waters and or operating on a shoestring like most of us do these days in hard economical times then the Zadro Sunlight 365 may just fit in your routine or make a good light for the office, so you don't have to keep bringing your other unit home every weekend, while leaving some funds left for some other goodies.While I can't give this unit a top tier rating, considering the minor design flaws I do think it has its niche in the market place of therapy lights due to its affordability and will aid many that are in need of light therapy that couldn't afford the high priced lights previously available and for that I'd rate it about a 3 ½ stars. I would however rate it a 5 however if there were better switches and a metal wire stand as I described above, thus making this unit more durable and user friendly.I hope this review helps both the consumer and manufacturer alike.May your lights continue to glow!