Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Psychology Seasonal Affective Disorders Seasonal Affective Disorders It is rather common for a child’s behavior to change due to the weather or season. Scientists have been researching this change of behavior in children for some time. Research has found that this variation happens primarily in two of the seasons out of the year. Other discoveries include both the symptoms of this disorder and some treatment options to aid in controlling it. The scientists have termed this condition as “seasonal affective disorder”. This is a very common occurrence in Alaska, the only region of the United States of America with latitude of over sixty degrees north. Seasonal affective disorder or SAD, as it is referred to, is a pattern of major depressive episodes that occur and remit with changes in the seasons.1 The two types of seasonal patterns that have been identified are the fall-onset type called winter depression; and the spring-onset type called summer depression. Winter depression is the more common of the two disorders, which begins in the late fall to early winter months and diminishes during the summer months. Children who suffer from the disorder SAD have certain symptoms that separate them from the regular depression that is common among the general population. Almost all the children with SAD suffer from one or more of the following symptoms during the winter months: sadness; anxiety; and irritability. Some will show symptoms such as: fatigue, sleeping problems, increase in appetite, headaches, and carbohydrate or junk food cravings. There are also signs that can show problems occurring at school. These symptoms are decline in academic achievements, loss of desire to take part in activities, memory impairment, poor organization skills, and difficulty in writing. Children might also show some behavioral difficulties such as: withdrawal from family and friends, crying spells, temper tantrums, and tendency to watch too much television without being able to recall what it was about with ease. If these symptoms appear over a two-week period or longer during the winter months, a child may be suffering from SAD. Occasionally parents see this change in behavior and think that it might be their child going through puberty, and nothing more. Parents should pay close attention to this, because it may be more than just a hormonal imbalance in their children. During children’s puberty, their bodies are going through changes that may cause a shift in their sleep habits, appetite, behavior, and lifestyles. This is common, but if it is exceptionally more frequent during the winter, or only occurs in the winter, when symptoms are more apparent, an appointment with a family physician can assure that everything is in order with the child’s health. Scientists have found several reasons why children are affected with the winter depression. During the winter months, there is a decrease in the bright light, in which people have grown accustomed to in the summer and pre-winter months. When summer approaches, the days are longer, the sun rises earlier and the nights are shorter. As a result of this, kids are outside more during the day and are not lacking the bright light that the sun provides. Around September, the days start to grow shorter and the nights become longer, and the sun is not out as long. This means that the amount of direct bright light exposed to the children decreases. As a result of children being in school during this time of year, what bright light that is available to them, they are not exposed to because they are indoors for the most part of the day. Researchers have proved that bright light such as the sun’s ultraviolet rays makes a difference in the brain chemistry. Inside the brain, there is a gland called the pineal gland that releases a hormone called melatonin, which can affect a person’s mood. The amount of the melatonin hormone that is released in the brain depends on the amount of bright light a person obtains. The more sunlight received, the less amount of melatonin is released into the body. During the winter months, this hormone is more apparent in the body, therefore increases the likelihood of someone being diagnosed by such an affliction. One theory that many have contemplated is that the decrease amount of this hormone caused by the increase of bright light means more favorable moods and functioning of children. The location of a person can have a factor in how severe this disorder is and the length for which it occurs. Scientists have stated that the farther away humans live from the equator, the greater the likelihood is to be affected by, “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” If a person is diagnosed with SAD, the closer they may live to the equator, will affect the duration of the disease causing it to be shorter and the severity of it, less harmful. This is because of the length of time winter is present in each of the regions, with a greater potential of having SAD with the greater latitude from the equator. The best place to perform a field study to observe how the environment can affect human behavior is in the state of Alaska. Alaska has many different types of landscape, while also having many different types of weather. Alaska’s terrain is one of many different areas. It can be very rugged, with many mountains covered in forest, or barren with no sign of life, it can be rich with life and have icy rivers and streams, or it could have hot springs and active volcanoes. Just as the terrain can be so different, so can the weather. In Alaska, the difference between summer and winter is quite noticeable. There is such a drastic change that the possibility of it to affect any resident’s behavior and mood is very probable. Many adults have suffered from a state of SAD during their adolescence, suffering many similar symptoms, which may be reoccurring regularly. This disorder is not one that disappears over time, but becomes chronic. Scientists have found that the earlier an afflicted person can be treated for this disorder, the greater their chances are for it not to recur later on in life. SAD can affect anyone, but primarily targeting women in their twenties. Women with SAD outnumber men four to one. Usually the average age of diagnoses is twenty-three, with a decreasing risk that comes with age. Children are also just as likely or even more likely to be affected between the ages of nine and nineteen. There are a couple of ways to control how children are effected by winter depression. The first option is how to get a handle on it. There are techniques and hints that can be used to help get through this period. The first and most obvious way is to acquire more natural sunlight. Keeping your windows clear of anything that may block the sunlight from entry, to maximize the amount of sunlight entering into your home can do this. This way you are letting in the most amount of light. Next, try to keep them as active as possible by playing sports, going on a walk, or riding a bike. The best time to do outdoor activities is midday, even a little bit can lift the spirits. If the children are inside, try to keep them by the window when playing, doing homework, or relaxing. Laughter is said to be a big helper. Put a program on the television that will make them laugh. Spending time together as a family will make some kids not feel so isolated, and give them a sense of belonging. It is also very important to eat healthy, making sure all family members are getting all the nutrients they need. Following simple steps like these can help control winter depression. Another treatment option is light therapy. Different from those previously mentioned. Light therapy is a treatment and requires supervision of a doctor. Light therapy is usually very effective if used on a continual basis. Light therapy is a treatment using artificial light to help counter act the effects of winter depression. The light is generated by a piece of equipment called a light box. The children sit about eighteen inches from the light box for the specified time while playing, reading, or watching television. Children are usually exposed to light therapy twice a day. The first session starts in the morning where they are exposed to low-intensity light for usually two hours. Having a session in the early morning helps start the day off better. The second session is usually in the early evening where the children are exposed to high-intensity light for one hour a day. Doing these treatments on a regular basis has shown a decrease in the rate of depression in most children. Most children take a couple of days to experience a difference. There are a few side effects associated with the use of light therapy. Patients under the treatment of light therapy may suffer from photophobia, headache, fatigue, irritability, and insomnia. If these side effects occur, shorten each session until the right amount of time can be determined. The length of time that this process continues for is in the beginning of winter to late March, early April. By the end of winter, there should be enough sunlight not to need light therapy until the next year. There has been guidelines set up so that the use of light therapy should be considered only in patients with well-documented seasonal, non-psychotic, winter depressive episodes occurring within recurrent major depressive disorder, bipolar II disorder or milder seasonal depressive episodes.2 In 1997, a study was done to find out the efficiency of light therapy on children with, “Seasonal Affective Disorder.” This was a controlled trial where twenty-eight children ranging from the age of seven to seventeen in two locations. Of those children who would like to be involved in the study, you must have no prior light therapy, or have taken medicine for this disorder. The first site was in Washington, DC, metropolitan area and the second site took place in Boston. In Washington, DC the research group sent out announcements in both the school newsletters and the PTA newsletters. Those who called in a response had to go to an outpatient center to be evaluated. Two mental health professionals did this evaluation. This also included interviews and questionnaires with both the parents and the child. Of those who started, only eight-teen children were enrolled. In the Boston area, subjects were recruited in the same manner as in Washington DC. Of those who started, only thirteen children were enrolled in this site. At both sites, most of the children started in late November, early December and went into mid-March until the study is done. In both meditations, the first image was the same, one week period in which the subject wore dark glasses for one hour between 4 and 8 P.M. when the child is outside and not in school. The attempt that is stated was to get twice as much darkness than what a person would normally receive. Then the next phase of the treatment was where at random some of the subjects were chosen to receive and active treatment and some were to receive another treatment referred to as the Placebo treatment. With an active treatment the use of light therapy and the lux of a light bulb. Which is the amount of light that the bulb produces is used to affect the child’s symptoms. An active treatment consisted of two hours of dawn simulation to a maximum of two hundred and fifty lux at 6:30 A.M., with another one hour of bright light therapy, between 4:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. Two thousand lux for children nine and younger, and ten thousand lux for nine and up. If the child is too young, the amount of light used is reduced to protect the child’s eyes. The Placebo Treatment consists of five minutes with dawn simulation to a maximum of two lux, and an hour of wearing clear glasses while doing basic things. After a week, both treatments and all subjects entered a ‘washout’ period, which were one to two weeks long. During this ‘washout’ period, both subjects would wear the dark glasses again. After this ‘washout’ period, subjects then had alternate treatments. If dependents had the active treatment previously, they would now receive the Placebo, and vice versa. The purpose of testing all subjects in both treatments is to see how the body reacts after a darker environment is exposed, to both the active and Placebo treatments. After this was completed, each weekly evaluation, kept by the Doctors was checked, the three questionnaires, where looked through again, and then the final questions were all figured together and then given a score to place how effective this treatment was. At the end of the study children were asked when they felt the best, when they felt OK, and when they felt the worst. The results showed that either treatment received would help, but that the active treatment helped the majority. It shows that 71% of the twenty-eight subjects had at least a 50% decrease in symptoms, while the 25%had some decrease of symptoms. When asked, the children felt the best during treatment, 80% said during the active treatment. There have been many studies given to show the effectiveness of light therapy and how well it can work. The change of seasons is one way in which environment has an effect on human behavior. Many people feel better and act better when it is a nice day out, when the sun is shinning, especially kids. In most cases, children have more energy in the summer than in the winter. “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” affects many people, but researchers still do not know everything about this disorder, but they are finding ways to make life for the people affected by this disorder a little better. Bibliography: Word Count: 2312
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