I found I need about 20k lux for much of the day to not feel sleepy or depressed in the daytime. I had to move to California and work outdoors to overcome this, I used to live far north, but even "extremely bright" indoor lights weren't enough to have a positive effect on me.
I've never heard of lighting a space more than 500-1000 lux unless extreme fine detail work is being done. At 20k lux would you even be able to see what's on your computer screen?
I did mean lux, and what you are saying is exactly my point. I can't easily light indoor areas that bright, so I need to be outside. There are a few people online that have experimented with indoor lighting that bright for seasonal depression, but it's expensive to do.
