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"So easy - I built it in bed!"
Dark as one's soul may be, one's body may still need photons to get it out of bed. Long dim winters can suck the will to live right out of you (witness the entire population of the gloomy polar-adjacent country of your choice). Being stuck in an old-school-fluorescent-lit office from "can to can't"* will often do the same.
These pince-nez are lined with LEDs around the inside. The LEDs shine light obliquely into your eyes, nourishing the llght-thirsty "rod" receptors all around the edges of your retina. They avoid the sensitive, cone-rich fovea to spare you the "spots before the eyes" you can get from "un-holey" therapeutic light-boxes. They don't make any noticeable heat when you wear them, but because they're up close to your eyes they provide enough lux to chase the winter blues away** (or make some emotional space for you to pick and choose what to mourn).
As a bonus, the ends of the pince-nez can be used to press acupressure points on and near the nose that help clear your sinuses and relieve some types of headaches.
But wait - there's more! The natural nose-pinching action of the pince-nez may reduce the aromaterroristic effects of bad smells in your vicinity. Some say the ceremonial masks of the Nez Pincé people, who once drove their vast herds of skunks across the Great Plains, had a very similar design.
Even if they don't do any of this for you, you'll get a good giggle from looking at yourself in the mirror, or observing others' reactions to you, while you wear them! Shortly after I took this picture, I got a suppressed double-take and a deadpan "The spice must flow."
Even wussing out and using store-bought electronics, as I did here, you can make one of these for under $30. People who can build their own power supplies for DIY LED strips can probably get away a lor cheaper. That's on my Learn-How list. But I really recommend variable color and brightness, so you can discover what kind of light makes you happiest each time.***
_____________
*i.e., from the moment you can see in the morning to the moment you can't see at night.
**I'm not a medical professional; I just read things they write. The Lotsa Lux has not been tested or approved by anyone but myself. I make no therapeutic claims for the Lotsa Lux; I merely point out that it shares some characteristics similar with devices sold as therapeutic.
***I was surprised at how little I liked green light on these. I generally like the color green. I like green-lit places such as forests and greenhouses and labs full of green lasers. Green is my absolute FAVORITE color for traffic lights. Maybe all my green-affinity is in my cones, and the rods that these lights aim at just process it as "ugh, more soul-sucking windowless-cube-farm illumination" or something.
Dark as one's soul may be, one's body may still need photons to get it out of bed. Long dim winters can suck the will to live right out of you (witness the entire population of the gloomy polar-adjacent country of your choice). Being stuck in an old-school-fluorescent-lit office from "can to can't"* will often do the same.
These pince-nez are lined with LEDs around the inside. The LEDs shine light obliquely into your eyes, nourishing the llght-thirsty "rod" receptors all around the edges of your retina. They avoid the sensitive, cone-rich fovea to spare you the "spots before the eyes" you can get from "un-holey" therapeutic light-boxes. They don't make any noticeable heat when you wear them, but because they're up close to your eyes they provide enough lux to chase the winter blues away** (or make some emotional space for you to pick and choose what to mourn).
As a bonus, the ends of the pince-nez can be used to press acupressure points on and near the nose that help clear your sinuses and relieve some types of headaches.
But wait - there's more! The natural nose-pinching action of the pince-nez may reduce the aromaterroristic effects of bad smells in your vicinity. Some say the ceremonial masks of the Nez Pincé people, who once drove their vast herds of skunks across the Great Plains, had a very similar design.
Even if they don't do any of this for you, you'll get a good giggle from looking at yourself in the mirror, or observing others' reactions to you, while you wear them! Shortly after I took this picture, I got a suppressed double-take and a deadpan "The spice must flow."
Even wussing out and using store-bought electronics, as I did here, you can make one of these for under $30. People who can build their own power supplies for DIY LED strips can probably get away a lor cheaper. That's on my Learn-How list. But I really recommend variable color and brightness, so you can discover what kind of light makes you happiest each time.***
_____________
*i.e., from the moment you can see in the morning to the moment you can't see at night.
**I'm not a medical professional; I just read things they write. The Lotsa Lux has not been tested or approved by anyone but myself. I make no therapeutic claims for the Lotsa Lux; I merely point out that it shares some characteristics similar with devices sold as therapeutic.
***I was surprised at how little I liked green light on these. I generally like the color green. I like green-lit places such as forests and greenhouses and labs full of green lasers. Green is my absolute FAVORITE color for traffic lights. Maybe all my green-affinity is in my cones, and the rods that these lights aim at just process it as "ugh, more soul-sucking windowless-cube-farm illumination" or something.
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The main things you need are:
- A cushioned "bendy" hanger. This one is based on wire covered with pool-noodle-type foam and has two smooth hollow hemispherical screw-on hanger-tips.
- A color-changeable LED strip with dimmable controller and power supply. This OLS kit is an example of a plug-and-play set. that includes them all.
- You might also need pliers and side-cutters, depending on how flexible the bendy-hanger is and how it's put together.
- Tape or soft (e.g. VelcroTM) tie-wraps to secure the power cable and free end of the LED strip
- A safety pin, brooch, lavalier clip, or small binder-clip to clip the power cord to clothes, hair, hat, etc. so it doesn't pull the pince-nez out of position.
- A tether or pouch for the remote-control, if there is one; OLS's is compact, cute, and easy to use, but really REALLY lose-able. Made of slippery black plastic, slides effortlessly off cushions or out of pockets to instinctively take refuge behind or under heavy furniture, or under things like throw-rugs that look safe to step on.
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5
Jan 25, 2012. 12:01 AM
MollyBednum (author)
says:
MollyBednum (author)
says:
Wow, I just tried orange light late at night. Like the embers of a fireplace. Makes me feel all cozy and safe.
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6
Jan 20, 2012. 11:13 AMCatTrampoline
says:
CatTrampoline
says:
God job - nicely detailed instructions. These look much more comfortable than the excruciatingly bright room light I used against winter blues when I lived in north Seattle.
Reply
112
Jan 19, 2012. 6:37 PMjessyratfink
says:
jessyratfink
says:
Fantastic. And I love how crazy they look when on. Perfect for banishing winter blues and attending costume parties all at the same time!
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