Stormy Weather Blues - I May Have an Answer

For many years during the first snow storm of the year, I would RUN to the nearest sun-tanning booth and lay in the bed for 20 minutes to get warm. I would only go once or twice a year and it would take me years to use a 10 visit pass but I couldn't get warm during those first few days of winter.

I think maybe I didn't want to face it getting cold again. It could be when my thyroid started to fail as it was about then that I started to gain weight as well. I live in a small town so there aren't many tanning options but those high power lights, and being able to soak up the warmth, always made me feel so good and warmed me to the bone. I read a study about depressed people all being deficient in vitamin D. I post about that on my "Stress vitamin" page on the home page so you can read more about that there. 

One of my girls has also had issues with needing sun at times in her life. She would just feel that she needed sunlight. She could feel her mood changing when she didn't get enough light. She would ask me questions about tanning and I told her she should just get a pass and go when needed. 

When you have little children, it isn't always an option to run over and jump into a tanning bed to get warm and fuzzy feelings so we had talked on and off about the mood altering lights you can buy for home use. 

I had never looked into it but knowing I would be seeing her soon, I thought about looking into it but never got about to doing it. 

As you all know by reading my blog, I KNOW that I have a loving Heavenly Father who takes WONDERFUL care of me just as my Father on Earth does. If I need something, I let HIM know in prayer and then let him take care of the situation. I had been praying for this daughter who had big changes coming in her life and stopped at a second hand store the week I was headed up to see her. I was leaving when they brought out a new cart of stuff to put on the shelves and what was right there on top for less than $10, this new SkyEffect Technology "SunTouch Plus" sun lamp with built in ionizer / ozonator! 

Imagine my joy of knowing that our Heavenly Father knows what my Princess needs and provided me a way to get it to her in an inexpensive manner and I didn't even need to do any research! Once I found it, of course I looked into the company and the instruction manual actually discusses use for after delivering a baby which I thought was wonderful as I had a bought of hormones after one of my girls for a few days, and she was born just at the end of a long winter so I don't think that may have been why. It was not depression, just homesick, sad, etc. 

I also LOVE that it has the ionizer / ozonator on it. It isn't so strong that you feel it in the air or room but after it was on all day, I could smell it faintly in the kitchen so I knew it was killing off anything that may harm the baby in the house. 

I actually tried the light at my house in my kitchen while I worked and I really enjoyed it. I took it to my daughters and noticed that she had the "verilux - Happy light" in her bathroom but when I turned it on, it was very underwhelming. I asked about it and her husband had purchased it for her which I thought was super sweet but he said she didn't feel like she could take and hour to stare into it each day. 

It is super light so the cord pulls it around the counter, it is smaller than a face so to get any effects, you would need to be sitting directly in front of it which basically means you would have to hold it the entire time or be laying on the ground with it next to your face or something. It is also a bit yellow and dull. The on switch is in the back so you have to hold the light with one hand to keep it from moving and switch it on with the other so I didn't find it very easy to use. I thought I would compare the two and took a video showing the comparison of each so you could see the differences but really, it is no contest! 

I LOVE the SunTouch Plus! Just today, now that I am home to my own house, halfway through the day I had the thought, "I wish I had that light to turn on while I work in the kitchen......" I actually surprised myself with that thought. I had just turned it on every time I worked in her kitchen and found it interesting that after a day or two of using it, when I went into get the kids breakfast, the 20 month old, pointed to the counter and said, "light" as I would turn it on and point it in their direction in the mornings while I did other things. I think he was enjoying the effects as well! Having a house that doesn't face the sun, I think being in all winter, it probably does feel good to them to have that light. The SkyEffect company has a wonderful page explaining their technology. 

I for one, don't need to read anymore. Just having the light in my life for two weeks made me a believer. I asked my daughter if she wanted me to leave the light as if she didn't think she would use it, I KNEW I would and wouldn't want it to be taking space up in her house. She said she would like to keep it as it "brightened up the kitchen!" 

If you know someone that doesn't get sufficient light in their life, perhaps working in an office with no windows or maybe a teacher that keeps getting sick from students in a darker classroom, this product would be a wonderful gift as they could keep the ozonator on during the day and turn the light on when sitting at their desk! For just over $100 it would cost you, I feel it is well worth the money! I am super cheap and don't make recommendations lightly, so if I would purchase it and spend the money on it, you know I REALLY like the product! 

Feel free to ask any questions, but I HIGHLY like this product and have NO ties to the company as I hadn't heard of it until I found this product at the second hand store. I have never seen one before! I am considering getting myself one. 

Have a Blessed and Happy Day!