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Entries by Melissa Chefec

5 Things You Should Avoid After 7 PM If You Struggle With Anxiety

By Caitlin Pagan, Mar 7, 2025 Bright lights, interactive gadgets like smartphones, arguments, and problem-solving are all terrible for falling asleep, according to Alex Dimitriu, MD, a dual board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist based in California. “Even if you do manage to fall asleep, sleep will be lighter as the brain just can’t slow down that […]

Refining Tardive Dyskinesia Diagnosis: Causes, Symptoms, & Common Misdiagnoses

By Brianna Graham, Feb 26, 2025 What is Tardive Dyskinesia? TD is a hyperkinetic movement disorder resulting from long-term use of dopamine receptor–blocking agents commonly found in antipsychotic medications. “TD typically presents after long-term use of dopamine-blocking medications but can also appear early in the treatment course, sometimes within the first month,” says psychiatrist Alex […]

7 benefits of sleeping naked, from better rest to a potential weight loss

By Reda Wigle, Feb 21, 2025 Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist and sleep doctor based in California, previously told The Post that a cold room — between 60 and 67 degrees — is best for getting to and staying asleep. When your body temperature drops, it signals it’s time to slow down. In-kind, and in […]

6 Ways Your Health Takes A Hit After A Single Night Of Bad Sleep

By Jenn Sinrich, Feb 14, 2025 Insufficient sleep also causes cortisol—the stress hormone—to go into overdrive, which keeps your body stuck in high-alert mode, making you feel more anxious, irritable, and generally on edge, according to Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a physician double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Without proper rest, […]

Can’t Stay Awake? A Rare Sleep Disorder Could Be the Cause

By Mara Santilli, Feb 12, 2025 “Idiopathic hypersomnia is a very challenging diagnosis, and basically it is a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning almost everything has to be ruled out first, including narcolepsy, before the diagnosis can be made,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo […]

Can I Take St. John’s Wort With Lexapro?

By Macy Alcido, Jan 29, 2025 The risk of serotonin syndrome intensifies when drugs designed to boost serotonin production are taken together, such as Lexapro and St. John’s wort, says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a dual board-certified specialist in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. St. John’s wort works […]

Taking longer to get to REM sleep could indicate Alzheimer’s disease

By Jessica Freeborn, Jan 29, 2025 This study highlights how REM sleep is likely also important when it comes to dementia research and not just slow-wave sleep. Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, who was also not involved in the study, […]

How to Deal With Restless Legs Syndrome

By Leandra Beabout, Jan 27, 2025 “RLS is a surprisingly common cause of insomnia in my patients, many of whom did not even realize such a condition exists,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double-board certified sleep medicine physician and psychiatrist, and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. The exact causes of RLS are unknown, […]

Neurologists unpack new Alzheimer’s surgery potential: ‘This would be a true revolution in AD therapy’

By Alpana Mohta, MD, Jan 23, 2025 Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, tells MDLinx the procedure is a “mechanical solution” in combating AD. “Precision techniques like robotic-guided surgery could redefine the safety and outcomes of surgical treatments for Alzheimer’s.” Click HERE for […]

Can you take trazodone and lorazepam together?

By Leandra Beabout, Jan 20, 2025 Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double-board-certified psychiatrist, sleep medicine physician, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, says that while there are no known interactions between lorazepam and trazodone, he considers it ideal to take one or the other—not both. He also says trazodone is usually preferred because […]

Sleep could help erase bad memories, study finds: ‘Therapy for our emotions’

By Melissa Rudy, Jan 14, 2025 Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, was also not involved in the study, but said it is “fascinating” in what it reveals about how the brain processes memories during sleep. “Our brains are unpacking, processing and […]

A Guide to Shift Work Sleep Disorder

By Maggie Aime, Jan 10, 2025 “Shift work sleep disorder is fundamentally caused by missing sleep at night,” Alex Dimitriu, M.D., double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, tells Sleepopolis. The more your schedule differs from normal nighttime sleep, the harder it gets, especially if your shifts keep changing, he explains. (4) For example, working an […]

Is diazepam a controlled substance?

By SingleCare Team, Jan 6, 2025 On top of that, “diazepam is unique in that it is among the benzodiazepines with the longest half-life,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “This is how long it stays in your system—for diazepam, it takes 30–56 hours to eliminate half the drug […]

Common Misconceptions About Bipolar Medication

By Elizabeth Millard, Dec 30, 2024 Potential weight gain is a common concern for people taking bipolar medication, says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California. It’s not entirely unfounded: Some medications can cause changes in appetite and metabolism which can affect the numbers on the scale. However, […]

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