Sleep Strategies – Teresa Rebelo Pinto, CENC, Center of Sleep Medicine, Portugal – The Science and Psychology of Sleep

Teresa Rebelo Pinto, CENC, Center of Sleep Medicine, Portugal, delivers an overview of her work in the areas of psychology and sleep.

Teresa Rebelo Pinto has an extensive background in sleep science and psychology. She holds an integrated master's degree in educational psychology and did her post-graduate work in sleep sciences at the Lisbon University, Faculty of Medicine. She has been working with the CENC, Lisbon Sleep Medicine Center since 2007 and currently holds the positions of psychologist and somnologist.

Teresa Rebelo Pinto talks about her clinical work as a psychologist and psychotherapist, as well as a sleep consultant for companies, non-profit organizations, and schools. She is part of a sleep psychology team that works with many different groups and ages, from children to adults, to individuals, and families. As a part of her work, she seeks to advance sleep education. She is actively involved in a sleep education initiative known as the Sleep-Schools Project that provided sleep education to thousands, on a national level.

The sleep expert talks about sleep patterns, and how they change as we age. While it is different from person to person, some people can shift their sleep schedules; however, it is difficult for adolescents who tend to want a later sleep schedule though society requires early morning schedules for school. She stresses that it is important for adolescents to get eight to nine hours per night—every night. Continuing, Teresa Rebelo Pinto discusses methods to help children get to sleep, bedtime stories, etc. But she stresses these stories should be geared toward getting to sleep. She discusses certain issues such as behavioral insomnia (children refusing to go to sleep), fear of going to sleep, night terrors, sleepwalking, and sleep apnea.

Teresa Rebelo Pinto discusses her education efforts in the community to help the public understand the importance and function of sleep. She talks about the positive feedback they received and the increase of sleep awareness they achieved. She states that while parents were very concerned about their children's sleep patterns, they also had many questions regarding their own sleep and sleep schedules. And she discusses the function of dreaming as a means to explore different realities and problem solve.