By Carol Lee, JUN 4, 2021

Not only has the pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns led to skyrocketing rates of anxiety and depression—common culprits behind insomnia—but working and living mostly at home have caused people to keep irregular schedules, with more individuals working at night and sleeping during the day. In the evenings, people are also taking in unprecedented levels of blue light from their devices instead of naturally adjusting to the gradual darkness in preparation for bedtime. These inconsistencies have had serious consequences, the most severe of which is the highly concerning disruption of people’s circadian rhythms. But what exactly is a circadian rhythm, and why is circadian health so important? “Circadian rhythms are essential to our wellbeing because, literally, as the name implies, they set the rhythm of our daily lives,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine (CA). “Circadian rhythms will determine everything from the best time to sleep, eat, make love, exercise, and perform at your peak capacity mentally and physically.”

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Syazwana Amirah, May 28, 2021

This feeling of dread and overwhelming emotion when contemplating life’s meaning is not necessarily exclusive to the young, gifted and the non-religious. A study published online in 2018 revealed that patients with advanced cancers often experience existential dilemmas, suffering “high rates of psychological distress, including depression, anxiety, and spiritual despair.” (Dimitriu, 2020). 

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By Mili Godio, May 20, 2021

“Not everyone is an equally deep sleeper, and people with any sleep issues at baseline will often have a harder time sleeping in a louder and less comfortable environment — such as an airplane,” added board-certified psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, a sleep medicine specialist. He noted that posture plays a big role in the discomfort we feel — and as anyone who has slept on a plane knows, “the head tends to fall off to the side or forward, which is both uncomfortable and can cause neck pain, and [can] even make breathing less efficient.”

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by Rebecca Strong, May 18, 2021

While training yourself to wake up without an alarm, the idea is to work with your own internal clock, not against it — because if you’re not getting adequate rest, you’ll probably need to continue depending on an alarm to wake you up. “Someone with a sleep debt will always have a hard time waking naturally in the morning, or getting into a healthy regular rhythm,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine, told POPSUGAR.

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May 11, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “How Sleep Deprivation Impairs your Mind, Moods & Memory”

Pioneering sleep scientist William Dement once called sleep deprivation “the most common brain impairment.” The research is proving him right.

Authors of the latest sleep study, just published (April 2021) in the journal Nature Communications, find that “persistent” sleep deprivation during the midlife years – 50s, 60s, up to age 70 – is associated with a 30 percent greater chance for developing dementia.  And this increase is independent of other sociodemographic, physical, behavioral, and mental health variables, according to the researchers.

April 29, 2021 — Dr. Alex Dimitriu, Founder of the Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine clinic, was interviewed by Insider for the article, “Magnesium may help you sleep — here’s how to take it to improve your sleep quality.”

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By Elizabeth S. Mitchell/April 22, 2021

While cortisol might sound scary – since many associate it with being the stress hormone – it actually has a positive affect on our energy levels with proper doses at the proper time. Medical doctor Alex Dimitriu tells Well and Good that these clocks can not only work, but may be a healthier means of waking each morning than standard alarms. Dimitriu points out, “Our circadian system is closely tuned to natural as well as artificial light. Light-based alarm clocks can provide a gentle wake signal, to prepare the body for wakefulness.”

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