By Eve Davies, Apr 5, 2026 “It’s generally beneficial to wake up gradually without a sudden start that jolts you awake,” says board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Alex Dimitriu. “This matters because if you learn to go from sleep to wide awake in under a minute, your body learns to jolt itself awake with […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Apr 3, 2026 “Unlike antidepressants that target serotonin and dopamine, ketamine increases synaptic plasticity, essentially helping the brain rewire and form new connections quickly,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California, and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. “When someone feels horrible or […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Apr 1, 2026 Which you choose will depend on what issues need to be resolved, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. “Common examples include aripiprazole or lithium to stabilize mood, or thyroid hormone to improve […]
By Mandy French, Mar 30, 2026 “These findings are consistent with the pharmacologic effects of caffeine, in addition to the possible benefits of polyphenols in coffee,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. Dimitriu was not involved in the study. “A moderate […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Mar 25, 2026 What Is Response? Response to treatment means you’re feeling notably better, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. That can be quantified in several different ways, including your own perceptions about how you feel […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Mar 24, 2026 That doesn’t necessarily mean your treatment has stopped working, but it may need to be adjusted. To help your doctor figure out what’s going on, it’s a good idea to keep track of your symptoms, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine […]
By Stephanie Booth, Mar 2026 “Untreated OSA is strongly linked to increased cardiovascular risk, hypertension, and cognitive impairment,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a sleep medicine doctor and psychiatrist in Menlo Park, California. “Put more simply, poor sleep is terrible for your brain and your body, as well as your moods.” When your doctor diagnoses you with […]
By Mandy French, Mar 13, 2026 “We resonate with people, and when someone creates problems, ideally, we would leave such a situation,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, who was not involved in the study. “Dealing with a hassler definitely takes […]
By Kinsley Searles, Mar 12, 2026 Subjectively, the Reviews team loves sunrise alarm clocks for their soothing warm light, and our testers have reported feeling refreshed while using them, so we’re glad to see that our experience is backed by the experts. Dimitriu said that morning light at 300 lux — a standard level of […]
By Julia Ries Wexler, Mar 12, 2026 The number on your thermostat might be important for more than just your comfort. A recent study in the journal BMC Medicine linked hot nights to a string of negative health issues, including altered stress responses and changes in heart rates. “While a cool bedroom was always considered a […]
By Korin Miller, Mar 11, 2026 Deep sleep is stage 3 non-REM, which is the deepest phase of non-REM sleep, while light sleep is the initial non-REM phases of sleep, or stages 1 and 2. “Deep sleep—or slow wave sleep—is also essential, and happens more in the first half of the night,” says Alex Dimitriu, […]
By Becky George, Mar 11, 2026 “Bedtime stacking is when people make a ‘command center,’ in bed — where they get to bed earlier, but still have everything they might need to finish up for the rest of the day before sleep,” explains Alex Dimitriu, MD, and double board-certified in Sleep Medicine and Psychiatry. Click HERE […]
By Rachel Sacks, Mar 10, 2026 While the difference may not seem like much, women often bear the brunt of a lack of sleep due to a combination of biological and social factors, according to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a double board-certified psychiatry and sleep medicine doctor. “Hormonal fluctuations throughout the life cycle, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause […]
By Mandy French, Mar 3, 2026 “What a great study, and so good to see further evidence that the myth of 8 hours of sleep is too much. This supports a prior studyTrusted Source between the U.K. and China, which also showed 7 hours to be optimal for mental health and cognitive performance,” said Alex Dimitriu, MD, double […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Feb 25, 2026 It can be an effect of the disorder itself, of medications used to manage bipolar, or sometimes both, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist in private practice and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. “Patients frequently describe this as ‘cognitive dulling,’ where processing speed slows down and focus becomes difficult to maintain,” […]
