By Jessica Migala, Oct. 01, 2020

Plan a transition period between awake time and going to bed. “Your brain needs to slow down to shift gears, and too many people try to be super productive to the last minute,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a dual-board certified doctor in psychiatry and sleep medicine in Menlo Park, California. If worries tend to spiral before bed, Dr. Dimitriu recommends journaling. “It’s common to be flooded with thoughts at bedtime, but if you sit and work through them [rather than avoiding them by filling the space with scrolling on your phone], these thoughts tend to get better in 20 or 30 minutes,” he says.

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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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By Elizabeth Millard, Fact checked by Andrea Rice, September 11, 2020

For many people, another issue is that it takes more than a few days to adjust, adds Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “In my practice, issues like insomnia, depression, and anxiety often get worse around the shift in daylight saving, and it can take people up to two or three weeks to fully adjust to the transition,” he says. “Beyond sleep and wake time, the loss of daylight in the afternoons, especially in the winter, makes it harder to exercise or spend time outdoors, which can both be beneficial to mood or nighttime sleep quality.”

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By Jamie Rose, September 9, 2020

In addition to shorter days, September marks the start of the back-to-school season, and many people return to work after summer vacations. According to Alex Dimitriu, MD, the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, many factors can contribute to a declining mood in September: “The official ‘return to work’ always adds stress as people return to ordinary business and school.”

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Elizabeth Yuko, 8/25/2020

In some cases, anxiety can cross the line between just being an emotion everyone experiences, to a disorder that could require some form of treatment. But where is that line? According to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist, everyone has a “baseline” level of anxiety—a certain amount that they feel all the time—as well as “spikes” of anxiety, triggered by events or other stressors.

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By Phoebe Mcrae, August 20, 2020

To help avoid sleepwalking episodes, ensure the sleepwalker adheres to a strict sleep schedule and make note of any potential triggers. As sleep medicine specialist Alex Dimitriu revealed to Well+Good, you should also, “Put gates at the top of stairs, locks on doors, set alarms, and keep floors uncluttered” to reduce the risk of injury.

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August 11, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Stressed! Is it them or is it me?

Ongoing problems with co-workers? Constant arguments with family members at home? Few friends because most people you meet are simply inferior, unintelligent idiots, who are usually to blame for the stressors in your life.  All the world seems full of jerks, and they are in your face. To quote Dark Helmet from the movie Spaceballs, “I am surrounded by a-holes.”Ever consider the real problem may be you?

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