About Melissa Chefec

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Entries by Melissa Chefec

A Traumatic Experience Left Me Battling Anxiety-Induced Insomnia for Years. Floating Finally Helped Me Dream Again

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 […]

The 9 Best Queen Size Mattresses in 2024

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 […]

Can you take gabapentin and Viagra together?

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 […]

9 Best King-Size Mattresses in 2024

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 […]

Could This New Schizophrenia Treatment Be a Game Changer?

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 […]

Low Sex Drive? Difficulty Orgasming? How Bipolar Disorder Affects Your Libido

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 […]

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

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, […]

Can tramadol be used for sleep?

Sep 19, 2024 If chronic pain is what’s causing your insomnia, tramadol could be pretty effective. “Tramadol is an interesting drug because it works in two ways. First, it is a weak synthetic opiate, which can relieve pain – but this also means it can be addictive,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board-certified in Psychiatry […]

You Actually Burn Calories While You Sleep. Doctors Explain How It Works.

By Rozalynn S. Frazier and Erica Sweeney, Sep 12, 2024 “The body is always burning calories,” explains Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double-board certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. Even during total inactivity or sleep, the body’s basal metabolic rate (BMR) reflects the number of calories your body needs at […]

The 2 Most Obvious Signs of an Unhealthy Parent-Adult-Child Relationship

By Beth Ann Mayer, Sep 9, 2024 “A healthy parent-child bond serves as a model for the child’s future relationships,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. Unhealthy parent-child relationships can affect how children see themselves, others and the world. However, […]

The Relationship Between Caffeine and Sleep

By Lauren Panoff, Aug 23, 2024 Alex Dimitriu, M.D., double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, tells Sleepopolis that caffeine is a blocker of adenosine — a substance that relaxes your blood vessels and affects your heart rhythm. “Adenosine builds up in the brain as we get through the day, and when levels are higher, […]