English, Introduction, Energylight and the winter blues – Philips EnergyLight User Manual

Page 6: Energylight and the sleep-wake rhythm, General description (fig. 1)

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6

introduction

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to Philips! To fully benefit from the support that

Philips offers, register your product at www.philips.com/welcome.

This appliance helps to counteract the tiredness, low spirits and lack of energy that many people

experience in autumn and winter, when the days are darker and shorter. These symptoms, which are

thought to be caused by a disruption of our biological clock, are often referred to as the winter

blues. A shortage of light can also have a negative effect on our sleep-wake rhythm.

The EnergyLight is suitable for both light baths and normal lighting.

Energylight and the winter blues

The winter blues are characterised by a combination of the following symptoms: tiredness, lack of

energy, a need for more sleep, unexpected mood changes, trouble to concentrate and trouble to

get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes the winter blues can also cause you to gain weight, as

your body craves food that is rich in sugar and carbohydrates, such as pasta and chocolate. The

winter blues occur during the darker period of the year, i.e. from September until March. More than

60% of the population is troubled by one or more symptoms of the winter blues. Many health

experts agree that the winter blues can be counteracted by exposure to bright light. ‘Bright light’

means daylight with a certain intensity. In winter, the light intensity is often much lower than in

summer: on a gloomy winter day the light intensity varies between 2,500 and 10,000 lux, whereas

this may be as much as 100,000 lux on a bright summer day. Moreover, in winter most people spend

a lot of time indoors, either at home or at work, where artificial light often has an intensity of as

little as 500 lux and sometimes even less.Together with scientists and medical specialists in the field

of winter blues treatment, Philips has developed this special lighting appliance.This appliance allows

you to safely get the amount of light you need to make the winter blues disappear. Clinical tests

have shown that bright light works. In approx. 90% of all cases, the winter blues disappear when the

EnergyLight is used regularly. Taking light baths is generally accepted as one of the safest and most

effective ways of fighting the winter blues.

Energylight and the sleep-wake rhythm

A shortage of light plays a major role in the disruption of our sleep-wake rhythm. Hormones are no

longer produced at exactly the right time of day, it becomes harder to sleep soundly throughout the

night and the need for short naps during the day increases. Research has shown that an extra dose

of light restores our sleep-wake rhythm and improves the quality of our sleep as well as the way we

function during the day.The EnergyLight provides this extra dose of light.

For more information about the health benefits, see www.philips.com, search word “EnergyLight”.

general description (Fig. 1)

A

Energy lamp

B

Lamp housing with angle adjustment

C

User information

D

On/off button (F3308 only)

E

Control panel (HF3309 only)

1 On/off button

2 Light intensity ring

3 Timer

4 Energy level indicator

5 Distance selection ring

6 Pause button

important

Read this user manual carefully before you use the appliance and save it for future reference.

EnglisH

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