Hidden away under one of the Camden railway arches, the Lumie Light Room looks just like a normal bedroom but the space is transformed into a calm, dark oasis in which you can fully experience the benefits of light therapy, just as you would at home.
The change of season can dramatically affect sleeping habits and in turn mood and general health and well being with up to 20%* of us suffering from the winter blues. For some, the symptoms are so severe that they really make it difficult to cope with every day life, a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.
Sleep Expert at Warren Evans, Dave Gibson, explains why we may feel a dip in mood and find getting out of bed harder and harder as the mornings become colder and darker:
“Many of us feel a drop in our mood as the light starts to decrease in the darker autumn nights, and whilst our low mood in the autumn is a multi-factored issue, a core component is almost certainly via our reduction in serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a mood boosting neurotransmitter that is commonly linked to mood. Recent research has shown that the level of serotonin in the brain decreases in response to a decrease in light, possibly linked to a prehistoric seasonal pattern which naturally slows down in the winter and even hibernates.”
Light therapy can help you sleep better and wake up feeling more refreshed throughout the darker and colder months – it gives you the boost of energy you need!
Light is able to synchronise the body clock and stimulate the brain cells to produce sleep or wakefulness hormones at the right time. Lumie invented Bodyclock wake-up lights to improve the quality of your sleep and waking; a gradual sunrise gently wakes you in the morning while the sunset feature helps you to unwind naturally so you sleep better. Using light this way has been shown to improve mood, energy, productivity and the quality of sleep and awakening. You can then use a Lumie bright light to give you an additional lift during the day.
Dr Victoria Revell, Circadian Rhythm expert, Surrey University says: “Most people’s body clock runs at slighter longer than 24 hours which means that if there was no way of correcting it then it would gradually drift later and later in time each day. We know that if you provide morning light then that corrects the clock daily, synchronising it to the 24 hour day. This crucial light signal can be provided both by a light box on awakening and a dawn simulator when light gradually increases during the last part of sleep. The grogginess or sleep inertia that you experience on awakening, where you wake up and struggle to get out of bed, will also be reduced by using a dawn simulator. And of course it’s a much nicer way to wake up than having a shrill alarm clock ringing.”
Lumie Bodyclock Starter, Lumie Bodyclock Iris and energy light Lumie Brightspark are installed in the Lumie Light Room at Warren Evans, so come along and try today! Get the chance to win all three Lumie products installed plus a pair of premium Warren Evans pillows when you visit, or go online at https://www.warrenevans.com/inspire-me/ & http://www.lumie.com/blogs/news.
*Standard statistics published by SADA, the Seasonal Affective Disorder Association: 2% of the UK population suffers from SAD, 20% from the winter blues
About Lumie:
Since 1991 Lumie has been researching and designing bright lights to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and other conditions. Our first Bodyclock dawn simulator – an alarm that wakes you up with increasing levels of light – was the world’s first wake-up light and brought light therapy into the mainstream. We also designed and developed Lumie Clear, a unique hand held device that uses combined blue and red light therapy to treat acne.
Over the years Lumie has worked closely with the scientific community. All of our products – the broadest range in Europe – are based on published research and designed by us from our base in Cambridge. Lumie is in the EuRhythDia consortium investigating circadian rhythms and type 2 diabetes, and is working with Liverpool John Moores University sports science department. We continue to research new applications for light therapy.
Lumie products are medical devices, certified to the Medical Devices Directive (93/42EEC)and supplied to the NHS on an occasional basis. Distance and brightness levels (lux) are independently verified and Lumie is registered with the government's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
The benefits of light therapy reach far beyond SAD. Our lights help you to sleep well and get up in the morning, beat the afternoon slump, conquer jetlag and look after your skin. They also optimise sports performance and we are proud to provide lights to some of Great Britain’s elite athletes as well as acting as official suppliers to British Swimming.
Two of our wake-up lights, Active and Elite, provide white noise as an option. If you are trying to sleep in a noisy environment or during the day, white noise helps to muffle other sounds, like traffic or people talking.
In the UK our products are available through www.lumie.com as well as major retailers like John Lewis, Boots, amazon, Selfridges and wiggle.co.uk and we have an expanding network of distributors across Europe and in North America. For consumers buying through www.lumie.com we provide a home trial on all products and a dedicated customer careline.
Warren Evans:
- Handcraft bespoke wooden beds out of FSC UK Certified® wood in their unique green workshop in Walthamstow, using energy efficient tools, and the best environmental practice
- Have won twelve prestigious environmental and ethical awards, including four Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards, three Observer Ethical Awards and a prestigious BCE Environmental Leadership Award
- Customers can buy online at www.warrenevans.com and at Warren Evans’ thirteen showrooms in Camden, Clapham, Shoreditch, Hammersmith, Bromley, Kingston, Brighton, St Albans, Enfield, Camberwell, Chelmsford and Guildford.
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Contact: Kathy@pr4.com / 07788 272 009 or Ruth@lumie.com / 01954 786 115/07914 812261 for images, info and expert content.
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