Fighting Stress, Anxiety, and Depression—Naturally

April 13, 2022 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled:

Fighting Stress, Anxiety, and Depression—Naturally

Sleep, exercise, diet, and meditation are the foundations of health and can help anyone, depressed or not, feel better. The aim of this post is to provide guidance to anyone suffering from fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, stress, burnout, or problems with attention and focus, with part one discussing behavioral interventions, and part two focusing more on supplements and over-the-counter treatments. 

Click HERE for the full article.

The best weighted blankets to shop in 2022, according to experts

By Mili Godio, Apr 1, 2022

One of the most important factors to consider is the weight of the blanket. While 10 percent of your body weight is recommended, it’s ultimately based on personal preference and you should ensure that “movement and breathing are not impaired,” said Alex Dimitriu, board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist at SiliconPsych.

Click HERE for the full article.

How sleeping style informs pillow choice, according to experts

By Justin Krajeski, Apr 1, 2021

A pillow “can make a big difference in our ability to sleep well,” says sleep medicine specialist Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist. While you can try to supplement your sleeping situation with blackout curtains or sleep masks or melatonin diffusers, your posture at night is just as important — as is the right pillow to encourage it, among other supports. Dimitriu told us that the right pillow will help ensure you “maintain a relatively straight or neutral head and neck position — neither too high nor too low.” Imagine your neck as a garden hose: Whereas a straight hose represents how you should be sleeping, a twisted hose is more likely to obstruct both your breathing and sleep quality, he explained. In other words, a pillow that’s too high or too low for your neck might cause problems. Since a pillow can change how soundly you sleep, finding the right one matters. We consulted medical experts — Dimitriu among them — to learn what’s worth considering when you’re buying a pillow. We also compiled some of the best pillows available now for all types of sleepers.

Click HERE for the full article.

How Does Central Sleep Apnea Affect Mental Health?

By Sarah Sheppard, Mar 31, 2022

“In central sleep apnea, there is no obstruction. The brain simply does not initiate the breath,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “The body essentially feels choked during such episodes, and it wakes up to reopen the airway. Oftentimes, people do not remember these small awakenings, or they just wake up, roll over, and fall back to sleep.”

Click HERE for the full article.

A 30-Minute Workout May Help Relieve Some Symptoms of Depression

By George Citroner, Mar 30, 2022

Although in more extreme cases, Dimitriu said stronger measures might be needed to treat this condition. “Therapy has been shown to be as effective as medication for depression – however it can take longer, unlike two pills of Prozac,” he cautioned. Dimitriu said medications might be more beneficial and faster acting than therapy for people with more severe symptoms or significant family histories of psychiatric conditions.

Click HERE for the full article.

How Cheating Starts and How to Stop It

By Risa Kerslake, Mar 21, 2022

“Our expectations are the source of our success as well as our unhappiness in life,” explained Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert who founded Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California. This applies to relationships, as well. According to Dimitriu, relationships begin with certain expectations, and if they aren’t met, a partner might search elsewhere to fulfill their needs. Not everyone has this response, he cautioned. The fact that some people cheat and others don’t when they’re met with differing expectations is what makes human thinking more of a spectrum as opposed to black and white. Whether your partner’s expectations are reasonable or their response to your own expectations is appropriate makes up the gray area, Dimitriu said.

Click HERE for the full article.

How Bad Is It Really to Keep Hitting the Snooze Button?

By Madeleine H. Burry, Mar 19, 2022

“The snooze button can be a nice way to procrastinate waking up, or wake up a little more gently,” says psychiatrist and sleep physician Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD.

Click HERE for the full article.

A *Tha-Thump* in the Night: The Heart-Pounding Science of Nightmares

By SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD on Mar 16, 2022

Dimitriu says, “The brain is essentially awake during REM sleep, and the body is paralyzed (on purpose).” During this time, he explains, the brain is processing and storing memories, while also rehearsing past events and playing through potential future scenarios. Because of this process, dreams can be “good and bad in some ways, because that is also the reality of daily life.”

Click HERE for the full article.

Dream Interpretation: What Do Dreams Mean?

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.”

Click HERE for the full article.

It Feels Like Everyone Takes Melatonin for Better Sleep—but Should They? Here’s What Sleep Experts Say

By Ashley Zlatopolsky, Mar 2, 2022

“Taking supplemental melatonin can help people adjust to jet lag and improve sleep quality in some people with insomnia (having trouble falling and staying asleep),” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. “It has also been shown to relieve anxiety in people before and after surgery.” 

Click HERE for the full article.

34 Little Signs That You’re Probably Being Lied To

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.”

Click HERE for the full article.

Learn How Your Antidepressants Might Affect Your Birth Control

By Megan Deak, Feb 25, 2022

“There is no direct interaction between oral contraceptives and antidepressants,” said Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a double-board-certified psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in Menlo Park, California. “However, there are certainly brain regions where the two medications may interact, possibly with opposed effects.”

Click HERE for the full article.

How Mouth Taping Affects Sleep + What To Know Before Getting Started

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.

Click HERE for the full article.

Risk of Mental Health Disorders Increases After COVID-19

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.

Click HERE for the full article.

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