SoLux currently available in a MR-16 format    SoLux: The Brilliance of Daylight       
The Truth is in the Spectrum

At Tailored Lighting, "Where SoLux was Invented" our position has always been the best light source to treat SAD is one which replicates the daylight spectrum more accurately than any source on the market.  Our technology and efforts have been verified by leading medical equipment, and light therapy companies in Europe that have incorporated the SoLux light source in their products for treatment of SAD related disorders. 

Daylight or Natural light is an important yet over looked part of a healthy lifestyle program. Changes in your hormone balance occur without enough exposure to natural light. The disrupted hormone balance can lead to a lethargic and depressive mood. The symptoms associated with a lack of natural light are more problematic in the winter when so much time is spent indoors and outdoors time is spent all covered-up with clothes and sunglasses. The type of weather your area experiences, cloudy days vs. sunny days, also has an impact on your total natural light exposure. 

How Daylight Light Benefits Your Health

Daylight is essential for good health because of it’s beneficial affect on hormone balance. Your brain requires a certain amount of natural light each and every day. The natural light that hits your retina (light gathering area inside the eye) is transmitted to an area of your brain called the pineal body. The pineal is the brain center for the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin regulates daily body rhythms, most notably the day/night cycle (circadian rhythms). Normal melatonin levels are important for natural sleep cycles and proper immune system function.

Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD

Between September and April in the Northern Hemisphere (March thru October in Southern Hemisphere), certain people who are light sensitive start experiencing something called the “winter blues.” Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is the most extreme version and its affect on the body and mind of a lack of natural light. People affected by SADS exhibit extreme depressive behavior and complain of a lack of energy, increased need for sleep, a craving for sweets and exhibit weight gain as a result of their sedentary nature and unhealthy dietary habits.

Symptoms usually begin as daylight hours become shorter, peak in the winter and then usually resolve themselves in the spring as daylight hours become longer. The National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland had this to say about SAD, “Along with food, air, and water, sunlight is the most important survival factor in human life.” This is important to think about in this time of generalized sun phobia.

How to Get Healthy Levels of Natural Light

During the summer, getting enough natural light is as easy as taking a walk for 10 to 15 minutes without sunglasses. Without sunglasses over the eyes, natural, full spectrum light easily passes into the eye, striking the retina and positively affecting your brain. In the winter, weather permitting, taking a 10 to 15 minute walk midday provides at least some natural light exposure. To augment your outdoor natural light time you require two important components, light with the same spectrum as daylight, SoLux, and means to achieve equivalent exposure time, Tailored Lighting Fixtures. 

SoLux is the only light source in the world to accurately reproduce the daylight spectrum.  No other light source known to us replicates daylight more accurately and precisely than SoLux.  The outstanding success stories are testament to our commitment to producing the best daylight simulation product for SAD and other light deprivation aliments. A leading Swiss medical equipment company offers an exclusive line of lighting products for treating SAD and other light deprivation aliments.  For years this company searched for the optimal daylight simulation source and recently has made SoLux the key component in its ever expanding line of light therapy products. They are reporting better than ever results since they specified SoLux for all their equipment. In addition to medical lighting companies,  Europe's leading specialist in light therapy, Outside In, touts SoLux as, "lamps which have the closest match to daylight ever". Outside In has been successfully representing SoLux in Europe for over half a decade with excellent results. 

To obtain the equivalent exposure from a 10 minute walk outdoors you would need to work or read under a SoLux light for an hour and a half.  Achieving this is easier that you think.  Many of us work at our desks for 8-10 hours a day. With Tailored Lighting fixtures providing daylight at your side, your brain will think you have been outdoors all day long. See below for the full range of task lamps offered by Tailored Lighting.  All our task lamps use the same SoLux daylight bulb specifically developed for SAD treatment. SoLux is also used in many kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, and even closets.  Use and exposure to SoLux in all these rooms will result in a winter time experience that will be much more tolerable, and most say pleasant. We offer track lighting for general use around the house, and conversion/adaptor fixtures for existing recessed fixtures. Our most economical fixture is our clip-on fixture.  Clip it anywhere you need daylight such as your sewing machine, computer, or work bench. We also sell art lights to illuminate paintings on the wall, and  head board reading lights for the last dose of daylight before going to sleep. Winter time does not need to be a time of gloom and suffering anymore,  literally tens of thousands of customers have discovered the value and benefits of SoLux in their everyday lives. 

About the Competition

Much has been written about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and the use of "Full Spectrum" light sources.  The FDA issued a "Health Fraud Notice", stating claims for a full-spectrum lamp were a "gross deception of the consumer".  Full spectrum light sources often are no more than glorified incandescent and fluorescent light bulbs. We analyzed the spectrum of a number of  popular "full spectrum" SAD light sources and found they did not qualify as daylight sources. 

Learn more about "Full Spectrum Lights"
Learn more about SoLux. and  SoLux Specifications.
Full accounting of SoLux Products.

See below for a number of ways to incorporate SoLux Daylight into your environment. For SAD applications we recommend specifying the SoLux 4700K 36 degree lamp in the fixture of your choice.


SoLux
SoLux is a low voltage MR-16 that emits a true beam of daylight with ultra-low UV and IR. It's patented, it's available online now and the best part is you can have that true, crisp, clear, brilliant, natural daylight anytime, anywhere, you want. To our knowledge no other daylight source has been used or specified by as many leading institutions and Fortune 500 companies than SoLux.  
SoLux Task Lamps
With the flick of a switch, an instant patch of daylight is created. For optimal results for SAD use lamp head at a distance of 1 foot  (10,000 Lux) to 1 1/2 feet  (5,000 Lux).  
SoLux Conversion Fixtures
SoLux conversion fixtures provide an easy way to install the SoLux bulb into existing fixtures. All you need to do is screw the fixture into a regular light bulb socket to completely transform the illuminated area to daylight. 
SoLux Track Light Fixtures
Our rack fixtures provide the best performance and value of any fixture on the market. SoLux lamps are best driven by our true 12 volt fixtures. Use over your desk, bed, or reading chair to realize the benefits of a true daylight simulator.
SoLux Clip on Fixture
Convenient and cost effective way to incorporate SoLux daylight into your life. Clips on any rod or pole or edge of your shelf or counter top. Simply plug the clip on  lamp into a standard wall outlet and you have SoLux daylight at your disposal.
 
SoLux ArtLight
The SoLux Art Light was developed to ensure optimal viewing conditions for paintings both in the gallery and in the home.
 Send mail to webmaster@solux.net  with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 2003 Tailored Lighting Inc.
Last modified: 12 Jan 2007 15:20:09 -0500
Thanks to: Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc., www.SequoiaHealth.com, for their valuable input.