sunnyd12

AAAAAH. No TV in t-minus 2 days, is it, now? And I don't have a converter box or a newbie tv. Rah. I don't want to get one, really, since I watch tv on the computer anyway, but...

it'd be nice to have the tube still around, you know? Silly new rules... Soon we'll be reading blogs off plastic paper delivered daily to our houses.

Aaaaah. Pollen. *achoo* I think I've gotten my energy kick back and adjusted from being sleepy all the time to actually being able to function. Yay! Now that it's raining all the time, it's so hard to breathe without sucking in a buncha pollen, and I'm so allergic, it's ridiculous. But, as much as I don't like spring weather, summer weather will be better and hopefully not so humid so my hair won't do this poofy thing that it's doing now. Honestly, I had to use like, four sprays of extra-hold hairspray to get it to look normal today. rah.

So, in other news, now I use my visor for only a few minutes each day with the intention of stopping use in the next two weeks. Huzzah. It's June already. I'm adjusted to normal light lux. yaaay. My brother has also taken a liking to stealing my visor and using it a little each day. Says its helpful, but he doesn't have SAD. I've found out that, contrary to what I thought, my mom has Summer SAD and I have Winter SAD. haha. so weird. Is that a medical hereditary mystery or something?

Oh, oh, also, I found this brand of tv dinners that I love that claims to be fat-free. Ridiculous, but hey, it was tasty stuff. Anyway, that's enough rambling for now.

Wow, lookit me, abandoning lj like that. Things have been busy lately - I don't think I'm much of a post-about-everything blogger. So it's sunny. I'm happy save for the pollen. It's annoyingly hot but that's alright, too. Brother's business opened, I'm trying to adopt a cat - it's almost more difficult than adopting a human.

That's all today!

Are you kidding me? It snowed in April. Srsly...it SNOWED. Really hard, too. Sort of like hail.

In other news, my visor is helping me even during spring, and I wasn't sure it would, as if I would get too much sun. Guess not. Brother's business is almost up and running. He picked an interesting time to start, anyway. I'm also looking forward to seeing the official sign he picked out. I think it's neon and cost at least $1000.

So, what are you guys all planning for Easter?

A bird was outside my window today. Haven't heard that in a while. Spring IS ALMOST HERE! It's only mildly cold, now, and I don't need my huge puffy coats. Though I'm worried all this nice weather will disappear and leave us with another cold front. At least I don't have to live worrying about if there will be enough light to keep me un-depressed (is that word?), anymore. I'm more balanced now~ Light therapy is working for me. Plus, I can exercise AND eat breakfast while using the visor since I can move around with it on and it won't fall off.

EDIT: Today (4/1) was horridly gloomy. Not amused, Weather, not amused.

What is everyone up to? What are your spring plans?

It's still not warm, yet. Ridiculous. It's almost April. C'mon, East Coast, can we see a bit of sun without the chill?

Visor-therapy is going well, I think it might be helping with my sleep, also, but I'm not sure it was designed to do that. I went to BioBrite's Facebook page but something was up with my Internet and I couldn't post to their wall. I want to see if they'll make a travel dawn "SunRise" clock. Has anyone seen one for sale online, any brand?

In other news, my brother has finally gotten around to starting up business and getting the paperwork for it and all. Seriously though, in this economy? We read this article in the paper about the number of new businesses growing, so maybe he's onto something after all. He's just gotten the paperwork for incorporating, but I don't think that's necessary. Oh well.

Hahaha, BioBrite has a lj. XD They said their customers asked for this - I wish I had been in on that. XD Sweet. I was searching for winter blues and got their page.

Friend them, their visor is saving my sanity!

http://biobrite.livejournal.com/

Maybe I can get them to make that travel dawn alarm clock, now....

Okay, so I've tried my BioBrite visor for about 30 minutes. It took some getting used to and felt a little weird having light near my eyes but it was only my first run and it was helping my energy levels. It wasn't clunky or awkward and it was pretty comfortable on my head. I'd gotten used to it by the time the 30 mins were up. I got a headache after I took it off and my eyes felt tired, but then about 20 minutes after that I felt better and was a little more alert. I hate my brain fog, and it's usually worse during winter than summer, but I'm still going to use this regimen through the spring. The results aren't meant to be instant, but this feels better than I think sitting at a light box would and it's helping my energy, I think. Huzzah!

Hahaha...oops.

At least I can sleep a little better, now. Oh! My visor came, but I need to charge it for 24 hrs first, so I'll have to let you guys know how that goes once it's done.

It's almost Spring, I'm so relieved. And my visor is on its way and I got enough sleep to last me the day. I did have insomnia until about 3 am, but I was having dreams so that usually means I'm in a deep sleep cycle. My BioBrite clock woke me up even in that state - it's a cozy feeling to not have to worry about sleeping through the alarm and fretting all night about it. It's been raining and on-again, off-again beautiful on the East Coast, and I wish it'd just pick one extreme or the other. One day it's 70 out and the next it's snowing. The sky is pretty grey right now but I think the sun should come out soon, after all, Spring starts this Friday.

...At least I hope that's what my calendar said...

Stupid groundhog! Couldn't you not have seen your shadow?!

Yay! I got 5 hours of sleep last night, go me. ~.~

Also, I'm placing an order for a Deluxe Light Visor from that BioBrite company. Stole the pic from their website. Hope they don't mind, lol. Plz don't sue, no copyright infringement intended - but just in case: credit to (http://www.BioBrite.com)



Also:

Dear Winter,

Please leave. Seriously, this is annoying. It's cold and dark all day. Though the visor should help, and I'll still use it during spring.

That is all.

WINTER, PLZ GO AWAY, KTHX!

Argh, seriously, it's like 40 degrees outside in March. Wouldn't be so bad if DST hadn't kicked in so now we're all awake before dawn again. Well, I did buy the sunrise simulator clock at a good time.

My funk usually starts during fall, so when I smell the leaves in the air, I also know I'm going to be really fatigued and not want to go outside much - which is hard on me since I used to like fall as a kid. Now I just want to remain the slug that I am and curl up in bed until 3 pm.

So, I've been researching light therapy, and Web MD says it's "exposure to light that is brighter than indoor light but not as bright as direct sunlight. Do not use ultraviolet light, full-spectrum light, heat lamps, or tanning lamps for light therapy."

Okay, so how many lux do I need? Most sites say that for light boxes it depends on how far away I am. With visors, since they're closer to my eyes I'll be able to get the rays better so I need 1000 lux at about 1.5 inches.

I'm supposed to do the therapy right after I wake up to receive the best benefits. With light boxes I need to sit still to receive the therapy, but (at least with my schedule) I'm not going to be sitting in front of a light box while I'm getting dressed and eat. I wonder if visors would be really glaring or manageable. They seem pricey no matter what site I google, but if that helps me, it helps me, so it's worth it.

When I google "light therapy products" I get a company named...well...Light Therapy Products. They carry a visor from BioBrite! Are you kidding? Lol, I was thinking of them first choice anyway since I got the clock since the delivery time was pretty fast (and I'm kind of desperate as we dash toward spring). The Light Therapy Products company also carries something called "SolarMax visor." There's also a "BrightLight hat visor."

What's the difference?

EDIT: Okay, so SolarMax and the "Deluxe Light Visor" are both BioBrite's but upon calling, the customer service rep said one has the batteries in the visor strap that goes around your head and the Deluxe has a battery pack that clips on so it's lighter. The clip-on also has a timer in there so I wouldn't have to worry about getting too much light.

Does anyone have experiences with either type of therapy?

It's getting to be spring! Yay! But I'm still not happy because of the darn daylight savings adjustment hell week I'm going to be going through. I can't sleep as it is! Luckily, that BioBrite I bought is turning out to be a really great investment. I can set the alarm not dreading waking the next morning to a shrill noise, I enjoy waking to the radio, the warm glow, or both and I like the sunset feature a lot - I haven't fallen asleep so easily in a long time!

So, I'm giving this product a 10/10 for ease of use. I based my purchase of this brand on Amazon reviews and since they were so great I went with it. Those guys are right, the company was very easy to order from and the product was top-notch. I'm in the market for a lightbox or a light visor to start some light therapy since even during spring I need more light.

Well, I finally got off my booty and got myself a journal. It'd be sad to say I got this journal just because I wanted to talk about my new alarm clock, but that's what I want to talk about today.

So, what did I get, you ask? A BioBrite SunRise Alarm Clock - one with the radio. So far, I really like it. Waking up was really a chore before. My room was cold, dark, and while hazed with sleep, I had to get the shrill beeping sound of my other alarm to cease. For the past three mornings I've woken up with a gentle increase of light. And, I also fall asleep that way with its sunset feature. I'll let you guys know in a little while if I notice any increase in my energy or lift in my mood. Since I've only been using it for three nights, I think the novelty hasn't worn off yet, but I'm actually looking forward to dawn's kiss now.