By Nicole McDermott, Mar 10, 2022

“Why we dream is uncertain, but we do know that the brain does a lot of cleanup and memory packaging—and rehearsing—during the night,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California.

Dr. Dimitriu believes dreams can be random and may just be the brain having fun experimenting with loose connections and ideas. “Dreams can also be based on reality—based on the happenings in our lives and the concerns on our minds,” he says.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, coined the term “day residue” to explain how we continue working on a specific problem or plan for an upcoming event in our sleep. “Whatever is on your mind by day could be reflected in your dreams at night,” says Dr. Dimitriu. “The brain continues to problem solve long after you’re asleep.”

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By Lauren Schumacker, Feb 25, 2022

We all know lying is something that should generally be avoided. However, telling small white lies every now and again to prevent awkward situations or help someone out can be harmless. That being said, no one wants to be unknowingly lied to and manipulated. “People lie because quite often some version of the truth hurts or has consequences,” Dr. Alex Dimitriu, M.D., dual board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD, tells Romper. “Lying is often an immediately easy way out, perhaps with bigger consequences later.”

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By Colleen Travers, Feb 25, 2022

Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double board-certified doctor in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BRAINFOODmd, warns that in some instances, particularly if you have subpar airflow through your nasal passages, mouth taping may result in worsening your sleep quality, so he often doesn’t recommend it to his clients.

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by George Citroner on Feb 18, 2022

“My belief is that inflammation can certainly occur in the body as well as the brain,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and Brainfood MD. He explained that specific forms of mental illness, such as depression, have been associated with increased body and brain inflammation.

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By Marilynn Larkin, FEB 15, 2022

Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine Sleep in California, commented in an email to Reuters Health, “I believe sleep should be considered a vital sign, along with heart rate, respirations, and blood pressure. I often see sleep as the tip of the iceberg – and if something is wrong with sleep, it is rarely in isolation.”

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February 14, 2022 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled:

ADHD: All About Power, Paradox, and Yes Pain, Too

Can knowledge of how our ancestors slept truly lead us to a life of more natural—and healthy —sleeping patterns?

Authors on the Internet have been exploring that possibility, writing a spate of recent articles indicating how the ancients, as far back as early Greece, slept in segmented or “divided” phases, which were seemingly in line with human circadian rhythm. Indeed, one online article references the Odyssey, written in the 8th or 7th century BC, in which Homer reportedly mentions the “first sleep.”

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By Dominique Michelle Astorino, Feb 08, 2022

So, deep breathing can trigger your parasympathetic nervous system and, in turn, help set up a conducive environment for sleep. But that’s not all it can do to help you score some shut-eye. “If your goal is to fall asleep, focusing on the breath is also better than focusing on the important meetings you may have the next day,” says psychiatrist and sleep physician Alex Dimitriu, M.D., founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

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