Entries by Melissa Chefec

The 11 Best Side Sleeper Pillows of 2023

By Sarah Bradley, Feb 15, 2023 “Proper alignment between the body, neck, and spine can minimize the risk of neck pain,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “The best way to tell if your pillow and mattress are well coordinated is to have your bed partner observe the alignment of your […]

How Bad Is It Really to Sleep With Your Phone Next to Your Bed?

By Beth Ann Mayer, Feb 7, 2023 “Sleeping next to your phone is like sleeping next to a slot machine,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. The odds are not in your favor. “At best, [the phone is] captivating and interesting—unlike a book, when you […]

The Signs, Symptoms and Treatments of Borderline Personality Disorder

By Madison Storm, Feb 6, 2023 BPD is a mental disorder that impacts one’s moods and behavior. BPD can be difficult to diagnose because of its overlap with other disorders. There are several disorders that often occur with BPD, such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse, says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a double board-certified psychiatry and sleep medicine expert and founder […]

Crying in Your Sleep? Here’s What It Could Mean

By Layla Khoury-Hanold, Feb 2, 2023 One of the main causes of crying in your sleep is past trauma. The reason that unresolved trauma or grief manifests in our sleep is due to our brains performing daily processing functions. “Part of this is cleaning up toxins and storing memories, but another major part is processing what […]

Can being active an extra 7–9 minutes per day boost your brain?

By Annie Lennon, Jan 29, 2023 Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, agreed that adopting greater levels of physical activity is a main takeaway. “Movement is key! And also active mental engagement—reading over passive television—or videos online. The human body and brain […]

The Merger of Artificial Intelligence and Psychiatry

January 25, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: The Merger of Artificial Intelligence and Psychiatry Psychiatry is an art and a science, and artificial intelligence may provide tools to allow it to better understand what makes us tick. True to this duality, I have always loved working with people […]

Common Antidepressants Can Cause Emotional Blunting: What to Know

By Eileen Bailey, Jan 22, 2023 “I often tell patients that ‘antidepressants dull the passions, bad and good,’ says Dr. Alex Dimitriu a physician in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California and BrainfoodMD. “The highs and lows can be attenuated, though fortunately, when someone is low, feeling less so […]

Top light therapy lamps that act as artificial sunshine during dreary days

By Zoe Malin, Jan 19, 2023 As the sun rises later and sets earlier during the winter months, odds are you feel some combination of sleepy, less motivated and plain old glum during the day. And to some degree, that’s totally normal, said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who specializes in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and is the […]

What Types of Music Help You Fall Asleep The Easiest

By David Rossiaky, Jan 18, 2023 “The human brain is a pattern recognizer and really enjoys getting it right,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California and BrainfoodMD. According to Dimitriu, songs that are highly danceable or energetic could in fact […]

Why Some Experts Believe Stress Can Aid Performance

January 11, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Why Some Experts Believe Stress Can Aid Performance “A little anxiety from time to time can be beneficial to task performance…[as] illustrated by the Yerkes-Dodson law, which states…performance is improved by anxiety until an optimum level of arousal is reached.” That […]

The Last Word: Can a SAD Lamp Really Lift Your Mood in the Winter?

By Rena Goldman, Jan 10, 2023 But it’s not just a marketing ploy. SAD lamps are designed to recreate the natural light from the sun, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, an Everyday Health medical reviewer and a dual board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist based in Menlo Park, California. “That light is especially important in the morning.”   Click HERE for the full […]

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