Feasibility of general hospitals psychiatric units in Brazil.

Objective: To comprehend the stigma against people with mental disorders still persists in the culture of general hospitals and acts as a limiting factor in the implementation of psychiatric units in general hospitals in Brazil.

Methodological Procedures: A qualitative social survey was outlined based on action research strategy as of the agreement to adopt a psychiatric unit in a general hospital in Taubaté, Southeastern Brazil. Data was obtained through interviews, participant observation and talks on the psychiatric unit project given to the hospital's clinical staff.

[Sleep in psychiatric disorders].

Altered sleep patterns are prominent in the majority of psychiatric disorders. This article examines the psychiatric disorders that are most often associated to sleep dysfunction as it is related in clinical practice and describes the polysomnographic findings. Patient's main complaints are related to difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep (initial or middle insomnia, respectively) and poor quality of sleep.