By Gabrielle Kassel, May 5, 2023

People living with schizophrenia are not more likely to experience any “unusual” sexual behaviors, such as hypersexuality, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in Menlo Park, California. Though, as with anyone, if you experience new onset hypersexuality, it could be worth talking with a healthcare professional. It may indicate that your current treatment plan needs an adjustment or something else needs one.

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By Hedy Phillips Apr 28, 2023

However, melatonin can become so much a part of someone’s daily routine that they may feel like they can’t sleep without it. “Many people who take melatonin for insomnia may also have some degree of anxiety, especially around sleep — and this is where routines become locked in, and people can become anxious with any change to a particular routine, such as taking melatonin,” explains Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD. If someone becomes so reliant on melatonin that they’re almost afraid to find out what would happen if they stopped taking it, they may have what Dr. Dimitriu calls a “psychological addiction.”

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By Chantelle Pattemore, Apr 24, 2023

“There is a close relationship between sleep and cognitive performance,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. For instance, he told Healthline, “sleep deficit is associated with increased risks of cognitive decline, as well as more immediate next-day decline in cognitive ability.”

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By Kristen Rogers, Apr 9, 2023

Regardless, anything that comes up repeatedly is worth investigating, said sleep medicine specialist Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of Silicon Psych, a psychiatry and sleep medicine practice in Menlo Park, California. “People have this kind of touch-and-go approach with things that are uncomfortable or fear-inducing, and I think dreams are, in some way, the same way,” Dimitriu said. “As a psychiatrist, I’m inclined to say that there is some message that might be trying to be conveyed to you. And the answer, then, might be to figure out what that is. And I think when you do, you might be able to put the thing to rest.”

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By Fran Kritz, Apr 7, 2023

If your usual medication is unavailable, ask your prescriber about the availability of smaller doses, or if larger doses can be divided into smaller ones, such as splitting a 10-milligram tablet into to 5-milligram ones, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a psychiatrist in private practice in Menlo Park, California, who prescribes stimulants for some of his patients with ADHD, and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health. There may also be an extended-release version of certain medications such as Adderall XR, which may work for you, Dr. Dimitriu adds. They don’t need to be taken as frequently as other ADHD medications. If you find yourself responding differently to an alternate medication dose — or if you notice new or worsening side effects — talk to your doctor, says Dimitriu.

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April 4, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled:

Sleep Medications for Insomnia: Limitations and Alternatives

A study published recently (January 2023) in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease is the latest confirmation of prior scientific warnings about a potential association between certain prescribed sleeping aids, including benzodiazepines, “Z-hypnotic drugs,” and trazodone, and a significant risk of developing dementia—as high as 79 percent in Caucasian adults, ages 71-77. Additional research suggests these medications also are linked to other adverse effects, namely increased risk of falls and resulting fractures, memory loss, and confusion among older adults and safety concerns. An article appearing in a 2019 issue of Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience contends that commonly prescribed benzodiazepines for anxiety and sleep suppress the central nervous system and the brain’s awake response to danger, causing some study participants to sleep through loud fire alarms.

But if left untreated, disordered sleep, which involves difficulties falling asleep or remaining asleep during a seven- or eight-hour period, poses problems that can be as disconcerting as the effects of the drugs used to treat it. In Nature and Science of Sleep, for example, scientists indicate short-term consequences of insomnia include increased response to stress, emotional and mood disorders, and cognitive, memory, and performance deficits.

Click HERE for the full article.

By Patty Onderko, Apr 3, 2023

Once underlying health conditions are either ruled out or managed, your doctor may suggest cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-i) as your first sleep “aid.” “CBT-i is the gold standard treatment for insomnia,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in Menlo Park, CA. This therapy includes sleep education, stimulus control, sleep restriction, and relaxation training, explains Dr. Dimitriu. “The harder you try to fall asleep, the worse sleeplessness becomes,” he says, “so the goal of CBT-i is to make the bed a place of relaxation, associated with sleep.”

Click HERE for the full article.