Adequate rest is essential for the brain to process information, consolidate memories and regulate emotions

Sleep deprivation has profound effects on mental health, affecting both emotional well-being and cognitive ability. Data from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) show that 72% of Brazilians have some problem related to sleep, a problem that can affect their health.

According to psychiatrist and president of the Rio de Janeiro State Psychiatric Association (APERJ), Marcos Gebara, sleep is essential for the restoration of psychic functions. Therefore, maintaining an adequate sleep routine is essential to preserve mental stability and quality of life.

“Sleep deprivation affects mental health in all aspects. Firstly, because sleep is extremely important for the restoration of psychic functions. The brain is a perfect machine, but it needs rest so that its functions are preserved”, he explains.

Therefore, the lack of quality sleep can negatively impact health. “Just as our muscles need rest to be able to contract properly when necessary, the same happens with the body as a whole. If you don’t have rest, the machine will break”, he adds.

The president of APERJ explains that, during sleep, “toxic waste” is “cleaned” from within the body through the glymphatic system, which is activated during sleep; A dream can happen, which is a way of symbolic manifestation of psychic contents, and, during the dream, the mind is, in some way, working out certain conflicts.

“So it is important for mental health, to reduce stress, that you have these sleep and dream schedules too, so that you can reestablish basic functions. Not to mention that the entire metabolism during sleep, the metabolism of the entire organism, goes to the basal level, that is, it is the moment when all devices, systems, tissues, etc., recover for the next day’s journey” , he adds.

According to Marcos Gebara, to improve the quality of rest, sleep discipline is important. “The individual has to have a time to sleep and a time to wake up, because if they don’t respect this, the body doesn’t understand what time to sleep is and what time to wake up is. And, therefore, the individual has no way to regularize this”, he explains.

The doctor says that some habits and precautions can promote sleep. “So, sleep discipline would be the main factor for you to reverse this. Exercising, having an adequate diet, preparing yourself for sleep, a suitable sleeping environment, a certain comfort, all of this will have a positive influence on you being able to sleep well”, he explains.

The president of APERJ adds that it is important not to use your cell phone before bed. “An important detail is the habit that people have of sitting in front of screens while in bed to sleep. That blue light from the screen greatly impairs the possibility of falling asleep. So, another factor that negatively influences sleep: the screen”, he concludes.