If you need illumination for your workspace without sacrificing valuable desk space, a reading lamp is your best bet. The ideal reading lamp should be bright, lightweight, easy to mount, and sufficiently energy efficient. We have compiled a list of the best reading lamps in 2025 that tick all these boxes and don’t cost a fortune.
This fun desk reading lamp is ideal for students who work late into the night, or for people with smaller desks. This lamp is even great for use when reading in bed, thanks to the handy clamp.
The lamp features an LED light source that won’t flicker or cause glare, preventing eye-strain and eye fatigue. A 6-foot cord allows you to plug in your lamp just about anywhere in the room. The unique clamp means you can attach your lamp to a desk, headboard, or chair arm, while the flexible neck allows you to position the lamp any way you want.
Dott Arts’ reading light features white, warm, or white-warm light. The four buttons on the panel are responsive and easy to use. It has high CRI LED beads for a clear and bright lighting effect.
This book light has ten levels of brightness and has a practical clamp to attach to different surfaces. The light comes with a 360-degree flexible gooseneck and an AC adapter with a 4.8-foot USB cord.
The Night Owl’s gentle LED light will follow your head’s motions and give targeted coverage of your text without disturbing anyone around you so that you can read in peace. For book lovers, this is a must-have accessory. However, it is a great travel book light, reading light for bed, portable light for hobbies and crafts, study, camping, and more.
This specific light has been developed to prevent any flickering of the light that might otherwise give you discomfort. It weighs just 0.282 ounces, making it easy to carry along. A full charge takes about 45 minutes.
This lamp features three different color temperatures, from warm, to warm white, and then white. Each of these options features ten different brightness settings, providing you with 30 settings in all. This enables you to adjust the brightness and color to your needs. A sturdy clamp means you get to attach your lamp just about anywhere, from the edge of your desk, your bed headboard, or even on the arm of a chair.
The sleek design of this reading lamp offers matchless style and functionality. Circular in shape, the head of the lamp encourages a soft diffusion of light that is gentle on the eyes, resulting in a more comfortable reading experience.
This reading light blends a magnifying unit and reading lamp into one. It features a central hub that houses two super bright LED bulbs, a battery case, and controls. Also included in the pack are two magnifying lenses in different sizes that merge easily, one at a time with the main hub. One 3.5’’ magnifying lens yields 5X magnification and the other 2’’ magnifying lens yields 10X magnification. The whole unit is powered by three AA batteries. It makes the ideal gift to seniors who have a hard time reading the fine print, little ones to explore the micro-world or craftsmen who deal with tiny objects.
It is late at night, and you need to finish your project. So you go ahead to turn on your normal overhead light, and you begin reading. But as time goes by, you find it harder to focus on the project, your eyes feel itchy, and you start dozing off. You think you’re sleepy because you’re tired but more likely, you feel tired because there is a lack of light. A reading lamp can fix this problem.
A reading lamp is meant to help reduce eye tension and the symptoms that go with it. Not to mention that an excellent reading lamp can help significantly improve your mood and creativity.
Reading lights illuminate a little area over a close-range so that you are able to concentrate on your project.
Purchasing a new reading lamp may seem like an easy task. But that isn’t the case, and there are a few crucial factors you must consider before buying it.
Finding the most suitable reading lamp that doesn’t hurt your eyes because of its super-bright light and fits your existing decor can be tough. There is a massive variety of different lamp products available out there, how can you possibly pick the right one?
You must consider the right size, type, style, and different features that will help you satisfy all your needs at your working desk. A proper reading lamp is your reliable sidekick partner in work. So in this guide, we will tell you how to select the most suitable reading lamp for you. Read on!
There is no specific rule for this, but there is a general tip you can follow.
A reading lamp must be proportionate in size to your desk or workspace – if you have a large desk, a larger lamp is required. If you have a small desk, then a small lamp would be more appropriate.
Poor lighting can affect your vision in the long term, and in the short term cause headaches and severe eye strain.
You can avoid this by picking the right amount of illumination. The adequate range of illumination for most work desks should range from 35 to 50 foot-candles. (3500 – 5000 lumens)
Another vital element to consider before buying a reading lamp is establishing the best position for it. It is recommended that you search for a reading lamp that can stretch from about 16 to 36 inches away from your work desk. Most of them come with adjustable arms so you can adjust the height as required.
Ensure that your new reading lamp can reach a wall plug because most of them have short wiring. And, if you don’t have any wall plug near you, consider getting rechargeable reading lamps that you can carry anywhere.
These types of lamps are excellent if you mostly read at your work desk. They produce a natural light that helps you precisely concentrate on the text. By only using 30% less energy than standard lighting, they are pretty energy efficient. Also, it is proven that a halogen light bulb can last around four times longer than a regular light bulb.
If you work as a graphic designer, home designer, or any job where observing the color in detail is essential, then a full-spectrum reading lamp is the most suitable option for you.
The LED reading light produces significantly less heat than all the other models. The LED is a direct light that produces a straight beam of light instead of spreading light out in all directions. So this means that it will light up your work desk without any additional glare that can cause eye strain.
The LED light can last up to 60,000 hours, which is more than any other model. But most LED reading lamps can be quite costly.
Incandescent reading lamps use a standard light bulb that produces a warm, slightly yellowish glow.
That makes it an exceptional light source at night! These reading lamps are offered significantly cheaper than the other ones, but the bulb doesn’t have a long lifespan.
A reading lamp can help you maximize and properly organize a small workspace by providing storage compartments for paper clips, pens, pencils, etc.
Some reading lamps come with a little display that reports time measurements like timers, dates, temperatures, and similar features. It is pretty helpful if your desk is small and you don’t have any more room to fit a clock, or you just don’t have a clock in your room.
Most modern reading lamps have a charging station built into their base to charge your cell phone, tablet, or any other device as you are working. Pick one with a 2A output because it will charge your smartphone quicker than one with a 1A output.
It depends on many factors, but most of the reading lamps range from $15 to $100. But, if you really want a stylish lamp that is made from more expensive quality materials, you are looking at $150 or more for a reading lamp at a minimum.
You must consider the abovementioned factors when choosing a proper desk reading lamp. Many people don’t have a suitable lamp or proper lighting for their study/work desk because there are so many options that make it tougher to pick the right one. Having improper lighting can cause eyestrain and make you feel tired. However, with this guide, you can surely pick out the right reading lamp for yourself.
Yes! LEDs are incredibly bright, and they can adjust to the brightness level and color that will fit your needs. However, it's essential to pay attention to the LEDs' color temperature and brightness, as choosing the incorrect reading light can cause eye strain and affect your sleep cycle.
Warmer lights are more ideal for reading at night, as they can help relax your eyes while offering adequate light for reading. Cooler whiter lights are more appropriate in the daytime when you wish to stay focused and alert.
Color temperature is a measure of the visual warmth or coolness of the light. It's measured in Kelvin units; 2200 – 2700K is considered very warm white, while 4000 -5500K is deemed cool white.
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