Entries by Melissa Chefec

What Can a Sleep Study Tell You About Your Mental Health?

By Sarah Sheppard, Published on September 20, 2021 “The brain recharges and does a fair amount of emotional and memory processing at night,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, who considers sleep to be a vital sign, along with blood pressure, heart rate, and respiration. We all need sleep; it’s essential. But […]

The Dos & Don’ts For Your Best Night Sleep According to a Sleep Expert

By: Dominique Michelle Astorino, September 2021 Your healthy sleep starts when you wake up! “Get vertical — and exercise during the day,” says Dr. Dimitriu. “Being active, ideally outdoors, and getting exercise always helps people blow off steam and get better sleep at night,” he says. You heard the man; go get yourself outdoors for […]

7 Hidden Micro Stresses Ruining Your Sleep

By Carolyn Steber, Sep. 8, 2021 Of course, you’re way more likely to lie awake at night if you’re extra sensitive to stress and/or have anxiety. “People with anxiety are often too inclined towards being awake, and indeed with all those pulses of adrenaline throughout the day, sleep can become impaired,” Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double board-certified doctor […]

8 Essential Items Sleep Experts Can’t Live Without

By Stephanie Barnes, 08/25/2021 According to Alex Dimitriu, the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, tracking your sleep could be the key to improving the quality of rest you’re getting. He recommended Snorelab, an app he also uses. “Snorelab is an excellent app which records audio all night,” he said. “For anyone who wakes up frequently […]

6 firm mattresses for back support to shop in 2021

By Hanna Horvath, Shop TODAY, Aug. 25, 2021 You’ll be able to get an initial feel of how firm a mattress is by lying down on it. How much the mattress “gives” or “flexes” to your weight determines how firm it is, said Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist. “Imagine a 10-pound bowling ball,” […]

The Origin Story of the Zoloft Sad Blob, A Clinically Depressed Icon

By Lauren Vinopal, August 24, 2021 That said, psychiatrists like Alex Dimitriu argue that it’s impossible to divorce the Sad Blob ad from its larger pharmaceutical agenda — no matter how relatable it might have been. “These same ads also push people toward a particular treatment, when there may well be a good number of alternative […]

What Do Dreams About Tornadoes Mean?

Written by Ann Pietrangelo on August 24, 2021 Dr. Alex Dimitriu is double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. Dimitriu told Healthline that most unpleasant dreams improve with understanding rather than fear and avoidance. “The same is true of psychotherapy,” Dimitriu said. “The act of shedding light on one’s fears […]

Are You a Revenge Bedtime Procrastinator?

August 17, 2021 | BY: Kate Bayless People just don’t have enough time for themselves between workdays, says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and sleep expert at Sleep Foundation. Research agrees. A 2018 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that the more an individual had to resist certain desired behaviors or actions during the day, the more […]

Sleep Doctors Explain the Very Strange Ways That Alcohol Can Affect Your Dreams

Emily Laurence・August 13, 2021 Psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor Alex Dimitriu, MD, explains that there are three types of sleep: deep sleep, REM sleep, and light sleep. “When someone drinks alcohol, they spend less time in REM sleep, and that’s the sleep phase where we dream the most,” he says. If you have a few cocktails […]

These ‘Buttery Soft’ Bamboo Pajamas Keep Hot Sleepers Cool All Night

By Rebecca Deczynski, August 06, 2021 What makes them so amazing? Bamboo fabric naturally decreases heat retention, so if you’re someone who runs hot at night, it can help prevent you from overheating. And even if you don’t deal with dreaded night sweats, there’s still a benefit to wearing PJs that keep you nice and cool. “There […]

Did You Know It’s Possible to Have a Panic Attack In Your Sleep?

By Dominique Michelle Astorino, August 05, 2021 At its most basic, a nocturnal panic attack is just that: a panic attack that happens at night. Sometimes known as sleep or nighttime panic attacks, a nocturnal panic attack occurs in lighter stages of sleep (vs. deep sleep) without any obvious triggers and often wakes the person […]

Megan Fox, Christina Haack are praising psychedelics. What medical experts want you to know.

Jenna Ryu USA TODAY, Jul. 26, 2021 “When people are stuck or suffering, well-guided change can be beneficial, and psychedelics are agents that encourage such transformative experiences,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who specializes in psychiatry and sleep medicine but does not use psychedelic treatments with his patients because the treatments are illegal. He adds psychedelics […]

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