By Ambar Pardilla, April 1, 2021

A pillow “can make a big difference in our ability to sleep well,” noted board-certified psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, a sleep medicine specialist. Like your posture during the day, your posture throughout night is just as important. Generally, the wrong pillow will fall short for two reasons: It’s too high or it’s too low for your head and neck. The right pillow will help ensure you “maintain a relatively straight or neutral head and neck position — neither too high, nor too low,” Dimitriu explained. You can imagine your neck “as a straight or kinked garden hose” — whereas a straight hose represents how you should be sleeping, “the latter is more likely to obstruct” both your breathing and sleep quality, he added.

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Lana Farinha, Active Mothers Podcast, March 23, 2021

Dr. Dimitriu was the guest on the Podcast. 

Click HERE to listen.

March 17, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “A Little Bit of Anxiety Can Do a Whole Lot of Good”

Anxious?  Well, that may be a good thing – in moderation.

Experts say anxiety increases a person’s arousal to the point where motivation, performance, and the ability to complete difficult tasks or activities are significantly enhanced. Too much of it, though, leads to neurological, psychological, and even physical disorders; too little of it might encourage an “It-don’t-matter-that-much” attitude, causing distractedness, disorganization underachievement, and lack of ardor to do a job well.

Click HERE for the full article.

By Jennifer Aldrich, March 17, 2021

Another common issue is “poor sleep hygiene,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., who’s double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “This often results from going to bed at irregular times, or sleeping too much on some days, and then having insomnia on the next,” Dimitriu explains. “I call this the ‘oscillating insomnia pattern,’ because truly there are people who can flip flop between oversleeping and undersleeping.” “Sleep will impact every aspect of our physical and mental health,” Dimitriu says. In the short term, some restless nights can cause mood changes, low energy, and lack of concentration, Avena explains. But there are more problems you could face in the longterm. “Lack of sleep can cause weight gain, immune suppression, high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, accelerated aging, and worsening physical appearance or skin quality,” Dimitriu says. “Mentally, lack of sleep can cause memory and attention problems, impulsivity, depression, anxiety, irritability, and diminished mental performance.” What’s worse, numerous individuals have severe sleep loss, but are unable to recognize it. “So many people walk about chronically sleep deprived, and not know it; they assume this is their ‘normal,'” he adds.

Click HERE for the full article.

By Abby Stassen Fact checked by Ashley Hall  March 10, 2021

Loud, unexpected, or overly variable sounds can catch our attention, and interfere with sleep. A good sound machine would ideally create a gentle backdrop of very neutral noise—in this case, white noise machines or the sound of a fan, can be helpful. —Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine.

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By Lindsay Champion | Mar. 1, 2021

Sleep apnea. This is one of the most common causes of morning headaches. Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, tells us. “This happens because the brain is starved of oxygen during periods of snoring, which leads to headaches.” Sleep apnea can be dangerous and may require a breathing assistance device, like a CPAP machine, so if you snore and frequently get headaches in the morning, get checked out by your doctor.

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Jessica Estrada・February 21, 2021

Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, adds dreams are very likely the brain’s way of working through problems, past events, as well as planning for the future. “Dreams allow us to connect loose concepts and ideas, and may also be a source of creativity and ingenuity,” he says. “They may also be a form of self-therapy, as the brain is able to process experiences and emotions and make sense of life events.” He says there’s also been a recent rise in research backing the belief that dreams are a type of psychedelic experience, which explains why dreams are powerful in emotional healing and growth. “Interestingly, the dreaming brain looks a lot like the psychedelic brain,” he says. “Both are able to make loose connections and come up with creative solutions.”

Click HERE for the full article.