By Jessica Migala, September 29, 2020

Your body was built to deal with anxiety as soon as you open your eyes in bed, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a dual-board certified doctor in psychiatry and sleep medicine in Menlo Park, California. “In the morning, [the stress hormone] cortisol is elevated, and you have more adrenaline and an elevated heart rate. That’s what wakes people up,” he explains. But for some people with anxiety, that physiological response becomes psychological and symptoms are far worse in the morning than any other time of day. Lack of sleep or going to bed late the night before tends to make morning anxiety worse, says Dr. Dimitriu. The circumstances of the day can also accentuate symptoms. “Lateness can really make people anxious,” he says. It can make you feel scattered as you scramble to make up for lost time all day.

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Written by Meg Walters on September 11, 2020

According to Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, hot weather causes you to wake up more often at the end of the REM cycle. This means you’re more likely to remember the dream you were just experiencing. “As the body’s temperature drops during sleep, we enter more deep, restorative sleep. Cooler temperatures, therefore, may also help us stay asleep and have dreams but forget them, as we are supposed to,” he explains. “Indeed, warmer temperatures can result in more awakenings from sleep, during which dreams may be remembered. However, fragmented sleep is the opposite of ideal,” Dimitriu says.

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By Elizabeth Millard, August 28, 2020

This study highlights a potentially curious feedback loop between external appearance and internal feelings, according to Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “There could well be a link between how we appear and how we feel, whether we are forcibly smiling or simply frowning less,” he says, adding that this is highlighted by a previous study² that linked Botox injections in improved depression scores. Does that mean faking a few moments of happiness could lead to the real thing? The recent research, as well as previous studies, suggest that could be true, Dimitriu says.

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By Eva Taylor Grant and Jay Polish, Aug. 24, 2020

“Certain medications, taken for sleep, can also cause next-day sedation or headaches,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, M.D., the founder of therapy and psychiatry service Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. If your doctor prescribes sleep medicine to you, make sure you talk about the side effects. And if you’re picking them up over the counter, consulting a pharmacist can also help prep you for what to expect.

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by Elizabeth Yuko, AUGUST 18, 2020

Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist, tells SheKnows that what makes a person toxic is when they intrude on the lives of those around them, noting that “while it may be OK to be a reclusive curmudgeon or an isolated, anxious person, toxicity emerges when these people’s moods try to spread to those around them.”

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By Lauren Brauns, July 22, 2020

Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a California sleep doctor, told Psychology Today that avoiding burnout may be better accomplished by simply paying attention to basic biological needs instead of writing the next American novel. Sleep at least seven hours and aim for eight or nine, Dimitriu said, and eat healthy—even when comfort food seems like the right solution to pandemic stress. Exercise vigorously for 30 to 40 minutes three to four times a week, call friends and loved ones and finally get outside and play instead of opting for the couch, he said.

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By Carina Wolff, July 20, 2020

Not everyone with bipolar disorder will have had a manic episode. “Some people may simply experience cycles of low mood and even mood,” psychiatrist Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, tells Bustle. “Others may experience periods of increased irritability and productivity — but never the happy high we all associate with bipolar.”

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