Signs of Seasonal Affective Disorder in Children

CLEVELAND - We often hear about seasonal affective disorder (SAD) in adults during the fall and winter, but children can experience symptoms too.

“The signs we look for to see if a child is really struggling are changes in a sleeping pattern, changes in eating patterns, maybe the way that kids are completing their homework or their grades, if they seem a little bit more irritable or just not themselves. We look for changes to tell us something is not right,” said Kate Eshleman, PsyD, psychologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.

Dr. Eshleman said while we can’t control the weather and how much sunshine we get every day, there are other ways to cope.

For example, instead of doing homework after school, let your child play outside. 

That way they at least get a little bit of sun exposure.

She also recommends keeping your house well-lit and not letting your kids sit in the dark in their bedroom, which can become a bad habit.

There are times, however, where it may be best to seek advice from a mental health professional.

“There's typically a couple of thresholds. The first is if a child is saying they're bothered by what's going on. We want to make sure that we give them access to care. The other thing is those changes that we talked about, if they're impacting functioning. So, if the child is not getting enough sleep and that's creating an issue, or their grades are declining, or you see an impact in functioning, that's a great threshold to reach out,” she advised. 

Dr. Eshleman said it can also benefit your child to stay active and keep a consistent sleep schedule.