March 25, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today about the connection between sleep and dementia “I’ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept; All the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.” This simple quote from […]
By Erin Heger, 3/18/20 Adderall increases dopamine levels in the brain, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that transmits signals between neurons and the brain, and affects responses around motivation, reward, and pleasure. When dopamine is present in high levels, as it is in people taking stimulants like Adderall, the […]
By Sarah Ellis, March 14, 2020 Think of your body like a bank, and each night you’re depositing a set amount of money into it. If you miss your “payment” one night, you’ll owe more money the next night to make up for it. Sleep deprivation accumulates in this way. “Sleep is indeed like a […]
March 2020 “Lack of sleep can result in a wide variety of symptoms, which are fortunately reversible once sleep is restored,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who is double-board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. Dimitriu says sleep has a powerful role to play in our brain health. Click HERE […]
March 2020 “There is no doubt that longer work hours, constant interruptions, and decreased sleep time are contributing to the rise of ADHD,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double-board certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist at Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, located in the Silicon Valley area of northern California. These constant demands for attention, combined […]
Written by George Citroner on March 9, 2020 “When actively working, people will often shake their foot, play with their hair, or in these instances, touch their faces. It certainly helps to know when you are most vulnerable to such activities and try to stay aware, during the meeting, or phone call, or while engrossed […]
By YouAreUNLTD, March 6, 2020 According to psychiatrist Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of the Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine Center in Menlo Park, CA, sadness is generally short-lived and dissipates over time as we adjust to a new situation. “We often casually refer to this situational sadness as depression,” he says, “but it is important to distinguish […]
By Deanna deBara, March 6, 2020 “The ideal time for a power nap is around the siesta time in some countries, which is usually between 1-3 PM,” says Dimitriu. If you can’t get in a nap in before 3 PM, it’s best to push through until bedtime. “Try to avoid napping later, especially too close to […]
By Julia Rachel Malacoff, March 04, 2020 Another potential (and ironic) side effect of some antihistamine-containing OTC sleep aids is less-than-great sleep. “There is some concern that diphenhydramine may also negatively impact sleep by reducing REM sleep (or dream sleep),” says Dr. Dimitriu. Lack of REM sleep can affect your memory, mood, cognitive performance, and even cell regeneration, so this […]
By Isadora Baum, February 25, 2020 Extended sleep deprivation can put you at higher risk for a heart attack, he adds. That’s not just due to the risk of elevated cortisol and elevated blood pressure; it’s also because sleep deprivation can make you gain weight, adding stress to all your body’s systems. When people lose […]
February 19, 2020 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today on the topic of ADHD in adults. ADHD isn’t just for kids. While attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is now well recognized and commonly diagnosed in children, less attention has been focused on the fact that about half of these children carry some of the symptoms of ADHD into […]
By Kate Bratskeir, 01/17/2020 Sleep starts are common in healthy people, but can be exacerbated by fatigue, sleep deprivation or stimulant use (caffeine and beyond), added Alex Dimitriu, a double board-certified expert in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. For the most part, hypnic jerks are benign and nothing to worry […]
By Harry Guinness, Jan. 16, 2020 Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of the Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine clinic, explained it like this: “Long days leave us tired and exhausted, but the reality is, our days would be less hard, and less exhausting, if we weren’t so tired through them. The trouble with being a night owl […]
By Kara Cuzzone, JAN. 15, 2020 It’s no coincidence that you pass out on the couch every time you cozy up with your weighted blanket. According to the National Sleep Foundation, that’s because they decrease anxiety, increase serotonin levels and reduce restlessness for some people. “I’ve had a number of patients report benefit from these,” confirms Alex Dimitriu, […]
January 14, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today about how sleep clears toxins from the brain. We’ve long known that sleep is as important to our health as good nutrition and regular exercise. Not getting enough sleep is detrimental to daytime functioning – to our mood, energy, concentration and reaction time and over […]
