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 really do adhere to a ‘use it or lose it’ policy. Physical activity has numerous health benefits, many of which are cardiovascular, which in turn have direct benefits to the brain, and cognition and memory.” 

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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 as much as technology, especially the interplay between the two. I approach my work with engineering precision and record keeping, but I also pay close attention to both the “fuzzy” psychology of nurture, as well as the more medical biology of our “nature.” Along these lines, I often tell patients that we aim to work on the “hardware and software” to understand ourselves better and optimize how we feel and perform.

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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 is a generally positive direction,” he told Healthline. “As patients often worry about affective blunting, I explain that antidepressants do not block all feelings. Antidepressants can reduce pain and lead to more functional behaviors. In my work, I’ve had many patients report that with antidepressants, they ‘can see the potholes, just not have to drive through them.’”

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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 founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. Our circadian rhythm and other biological clocks are regulated by sunlight, so when there is less of it, we feel drained. Until the sun returns in spring, we can replace missing daylight with light therapy lamps, which simulate the light of a sunny sky and can help boost your mood, among other benefits.

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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 help someone fall asleep under the right conditions.

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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 quote, by psychologist and author Clifford B. Dobson as referenced in Yerkes-Dodson: A Law for All Seasons, might best explain why Garry Kasparov became World Chess Champion and John McEnroe won seven Grand Slam tennis championships by age 25, despite their performance stress.

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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.”  

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13 Top Travel Pillows for 2023

By Stacey Zable and Timothy J. Forster, Jan 5, 2023

Head support: What’s most important is ensuring your head is supported in the right places by your travel pillow – and, in particular, not being pushed forward by excessive padding – according to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a sleep/wake and performance specialist who is dual board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. “The biggest issue many travelers will experience when sleeping on a plane is that the seats don’t recline enough,” Dimitriu says. “This often results in the head being just on the brink of tipping forward – which is not a comfortable sleeping position. Because of this insufficient recline, it is important to keep padding behind the head and neck minimal to reduce the tendency for the head to tip forward. A good pillow would provide support for side sleeping, rather than a lot of padding behind the head, which just pushes the head forward too much.”

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6 mental health conditions that exercise improves

By Heidi Borst, Jan 4, 2023

Exercise is an essential part of our well-being. It boosts metabolism, reduces anxiety, improves sleep, and produces endorphins, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified doctor in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of BrainfoodMD. “For all of my patients, I recommend SEMM: sleep, exercise, meditation, and the Mediterranean diet,” Dr. Dimitriu says. “I have seen substantial improvements to both sleep and mood stability from exercise routines.”

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Does Melatonin Help with Anxiety? What Doctors Say

By Brian Morris, Jan 04, 2023

“Some studies have been carried out showing that melatonin can reduce stress around surgery,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double board-certified physician (Psychology and Sleep Medicine) who founded Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine as well as BrainfoodMD. “In a 2015 review paper, the authors noted benefit to pre- and post-surgical anxiety in people pre-treated with melatonin – in one instance, with similar benefit to midazolam.”

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Sleep Remedies: Valerian Root

By Tracey L. Kelley, Dec 21, 2022

The medical history of the plant is quite extensive. “Valerian root has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for anxiety and insomnia,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “It’s believed to have originated in Europe and was first used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to treat insomnia and other nervous disorders.” Dimitriu adds that in the Middle Ages, Europeans used valerian root to treat anxiety, depression, and hysteria, while Native Americans also prepared it to treat insomnia, stress, and anxiety. In the 19th century, it was used in Europe and the United States as a sedative and to treat anxiety. Later, during World War II, it was a popular alternative in England for people to relieve tension associated with air raids. “Today, valerian root is still used to treat anxiety, insomnia, and stress,” he says.

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People Who Sleep Well Every Night Avoid This One Food, According to Sleep Experts

By Kaitlin Vogel, Dec 20, 2022

After a large meal, our bodies have to work to process the food, and our heart rate and metabolism remain elevated. This is the opposite of the restful effect desired when sleeping, says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD. “Experimenting with various sleep trackers, I have consistently found my heart rate to be elevated well into the night after a big meal,” Dr. Dimitriu adds.

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Exposure to Natural Light During the Day May Help You Sleep Better

By Kaitlin Vogel, Dec 14, 2022

“Normally, light is a signal for wakefulness — and light in the evening hours can suppress melatonin and impair sleep,” Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD, told Healthline.

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