By Heidi Borst, Nov 8, 2024 Blackout curtains can help block ambient light while you’re sleeping, but why does that matter? According to research, a dark room improves overall sleep depth and duration by stimulating melatonin, a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm. In other words, it helps you sleep deeper and longer by keeping your body’s sleep […]
By SingleCare Team, Nov 7, 2024 Introducing your body and brain to a new medication can be a bumpy ride for some. Since you’re not accustomed to the drug, you may experience side effects right off the bat. For example, clinical trials showed that 19% of epilepsy patients taking gabapentin experienced somnambulance, while 17% had dizziness, 13% had ataxia, and 11% felt […]
By Elizabeth Bernstein, Nov 6, 2024 Don’t steal from sleep.Many couples—especially those with young kids—fi t sex in wheneverthey can, which often means sacrifi cing sleep for intimacy. Steal time from something else,such as Netfl ix or social media, sleep specialists say. And try getting intimate earlier. “If there is an activity you really love […]
Brigitt Earley, Oct 31, 2024 “The invention of artificial light, and more recently screens, have resulted in people staying awake well past sunset, and often well past midnight,” adds Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified expert in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Having to go to school […]
By Kristen Fisher, Oct 28, 2024 “The main idea behind sleep divorce is to try to optimize sleep for each partner. In our increasingly busy lives, we end up not getting enough sleep by default. The sleep quality we do get starts to count more than ever before. So it’s not surprising that people optimize […]
By Kendra Cherry, Oct 24, 2024 When anniversaries, memories, or tough moments recur, lean in. Be accepting, curious, and supportive. Take care of yourself and your own reactions so you can show up and be a good friend, not a jealous or frustrated partner.— ALEX DIMITRIU, MD Click HERE for the full article.
By Tene Goodwin, Oct 20, 2024 Turns out, there’s a close relationship between anxiety and insomnia. A 2022 clinical review1 estimates that half of people with anxiety also struggle with sleep disturbances, and in turn, conditions like insomnia can make anxiety worse (talk about a vicious cycle). What’s more, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a dual-board-certified psychiatrist and sleep […]
By Kathleen Felton & Soma Mandal, MD, Oct 15, 2024 For many people, the difference between getting a solid night’s sleep and constantly waking up throughout the night comes down to how much space you have in bed to spread out comfortably. But if you’re working with limited square footage, a roomy king isn’t always possible. “A queen […]
By SingleCare Team, Oct 3, 2024 “However, Viagra can lower blood pressure, and gabapentin can increase dizziness—these two effects together may be undesirable,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Consider lower gabapentin and/or Viagra dosing if taken together, and make sure you can tolerate each separately first.” Click HERE for the […]
By Claudia Fisher, Oct 3, 2024 Cooling. “It is essential for your body to be able to cool off during the night,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, previously told SELF. “Research has found that [this] makes us sleep deeper and possibly longer.” That’s why finding […]
By Elizabeth Millard, Sep 27, 2024 Another medication already in use, clozapine, also works on muscarinic receptors but has significant side effects, adds Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California. “The question has been whether focusing on these receptors in a different way could help in schizophrenia […]
By Emily Laurence, Sep 27, 2024 Since melatonin occurs naturally in the body, you may be wondering when it can be helpful to take it in supplement form. Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, a sleep doctor and psychiatrist, says that some people find it beneficial to take melatonin when they’re traveling to help with jet lag. Some […]
By Melissa Rudy, Sep 25, 2024 Although COVID has “come and gone to some degree,” Dr. Alex Dimitriu, sleep medicine specialist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, noted that war and gun violence are on the rise. “This fits with my perception in my work as well, that ever since COVID, […]
By Michelle Pugle, MA, Sep 23, 2024 The telltale sign of hyposexuality for people with bipolar disorder is a significant drop in sexual desire compared with their typical experience. According to Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor, hyposexuality comprises these aspects: Reduced overall libido (sexual desire) Reduced ability to achieve arousal or erection […]
By Maggie Aime, Sep 20, 2024 “Cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia uses cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, and mindfulness, to treat insomnia, adds Alex Dimitriu, M.D., double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. Some people call CBT-I “sleep therapy” for short. Put simply, the “cognitive” part of CBT-I helps you change the thoughts that disrupt your sleep, […]
