| Autor: |
Marilac Soalheiro L; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil., de Jesus Brandão B; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil., Paiva RVN; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil., Dias Carvalho L; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil., Menezes Paranhos RD; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil., Ribeiro Barbosa PC; Department of Human Sciences and Philosophy, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Brazil., Guerrero-Vargas NN; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México, México City, México., Tamura EK; Department of Health Sciences, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Brazil. |
| Abstrakt: |
Desynchronization of circadian rhythms and sleep-wake patterns impacts biochemical, physiological, and behavioral functions, including mental processes. The complex relationship between circadian rhythms and mental health makes it challenging to determine causality between circadian desynchronization and mental disorders. Regarding the fact that psychologists act as the front line for initial mental health care, we aimed to assess the knowledge and use of sleep science and basic chronobiology by professional psychologists in Brazil. Data were collected via an online questionnaire completed by 1384 professional psychologists between October 2018 and May 2019. Our findings revealed that ±80% of psychologists reported that at least half of their patients presented some sleep-related complaints; however, only ±27% routinely inquired about sleep quality even in the absence of patient complaints. Additionally, only ±66% initiated treatments to understand these complaints, potentially influenced by the lack of prior academic exposure to biological rhythms as reported by ±76% of Brazilian psychologists interviewed. Importantly, ±15% did not believe in an association between mental health and biological rhythms, and even a significant ±67% were unfamiliar with the term chronobiology and ±63% were not able to describe any other biological rhythm except for the sleep-wake cycle. These results demonstrate that fundamental concepts in chronobiology and sleep science are unknown to a substantial proportion of Brazilian psychologists. In conclusion, we propose that this subject could be more effectively integrated into psychologists' academic training, potentially promoting benefits through the incorporation of a chronobiological approach in mental health practice. |
