The name SONAR was inspired by the Portuguese word sono (“sleep”). Although sonar is not a Portuguese verb meaning “to sleep,” the ending “-ar”, characteristic of Portuguese infinitive verbs, was intentionally added to sono to create the name and evoke the idea of sleep as an action.

The name was also inspired by the Spanish verb soñar (“to dream”). This connection has a special meaning: it was in Spain, during her postdoctoral training, that Giovana Longo-Silva, founder and coordinator of both CRONUS and SONAR-Brazil, began her research journey into sleep.

SONAR thus brings together sleep, dreaming, and the story behind the origins of the research.

Reaching participants across a country as large and diverse as Brazil required a truly collective effort. SONAR-Brasil was promoted through public and private universities, professional councils, scientific events, news media, institutional websites, social media platforms, and hotels in Maceió, where tourists from different regions were also invited to participate.

The “Apoia SONAR-Brasil” campaign brought even more people into this effort. Researchers, students, health professionals, and supporters recorded videos, shared the survey within their networks, and encouraged others to participate.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who helped SONAR-Brasil reach people across the country — and especially to the more than 7,500 Brazilians who shared their time and experiences with us. Every response, shared link, video, and collaboration helped build SONAR-Brazil.