Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine
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Screen Time Doesn’t Hurt Kids’ Social Skills, Study Finds

by George Citroner on May 1, 2020

“Excess screen time, especially in the evening hours, and even more so just before bed, is bad for everyone’s sleep,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and founder of Menlo Park (California) Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “The blue light from the screen — yes, even the dimming features are not enough — reduce melatonin, and reduce the quality of deep sleep that our brains need,” he said. Dimitriu also described how the interactivity of digital devices could keep people internet surfing until late at night, while you may only read a book for 20 minutes before dozing off.

Click HERE for the full article.

7 Benefits of Weighted Blankets, Explained by Sleep Specialists

By Kara Cuzzone , | Apr. 29, 2020

In a 2015 study published in the Journal of Sleep Medicine and Disorders, participants with insomnia slept more calmly and spent less time awake in the middle of the night than when they used their regular bedding. They also subjectively believed that the blankets provided them with a better quality sleep. But it’s important to remember that this won’t necessarily be the outcome for everyone who suffers from insomnia, especially since this sleep disorder has a number of different classifications. “Given the mixed evidence, I encourage patients to try [a weighted blanket], but with the realization that it may not work,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu M.D., double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

Click HERE for the full article.

Can depression cause insomnia? Yes, the conditions are closely related

MK Manoylov, April 29, 2020

This article was medically reviewed by Alex Dimitriu, MD, psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine. 

Depression and insomnia often go hand-in-hand. That’s because depression can disrupt many aspects that help control our sleep-wake cycle.  This disruption can make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or both. Here’s what you need to know about how depression is related to insomnia and how to treat the combination of these medical conditions. Can depression cause insomnia? Depression can cause insomnia because of how it impacts the mechanics of sleep

Click HERE for the full article.

Staying Up Too Late Only to Feel Exhausted During the Day? Here’s How to Break the Habit

By Caitlin Flynn, April 23, 2020

Of course, committing to getting up at the same time every morning can be difficult if you’re having trouble falling asleep at night, so you may need to power through a period of feeling tired. Once you’re up, try getting some light exercise — or at least some natural light — to help jumpstart your day, and know that this will pass. “After several days of feeling tired, people will naturally feel sleepier at an earlier time in the night,” Dr. Dimitriu said.

Click HERE for the full article.

Are naps good for you? 20 to 30 minute naps are best

April 16, 2020 — Dr. Alex Dimitriu, Founder of the Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine clinic, was interviewed by Insider for the article, “Are naps good for you? 20 to 30 minute naps are best.”

Click HERE for the full article.

COVID-19 Pandemic Fuels More Anxiety Dreams

Article by: Jennifer Nelson, Apr 13, 2020

“We know that people can problem solve in their dreams, and so, as the overall anxiety level has crept up, it is not uncommon that we may have more anxious dreams,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in the San Francisco Bay area. Dreams, according to Freud, and in reality, also have “day residue.” “This is the leftover unfinished business of the day that we try to catch up on, and resolve in our sleep,” he says. They’re a reflection of what’s going on in our conscious mind that becomes part of our unconscious, and we process it during sleep.

Click HERE for the full article.

Home Office Syndrome

Apr 13, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today about “Home Office Syndrome.”

“There’s no place like home.” Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz certainly believed it, but many of the millions now required to work from home for seemingly endless weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic might disagree.  In fact, those unable to cope with the upheaval that the virus has caused in their lives may be feeling somewhat stressed, lonely, exhausted and, perhaps, overwhelmed—symptoms of what psychiatrists and psychologists sometimes refer to as “home office syndrome.”

Click HERE for the full article.

TMS may curb cognitive impairments in chronic schizophrenia

By Marilynn Larkin, APRIL 8, 2020

Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California, commented in an email to Reuters Health, “This study looks fairly solid and supports prior evidence that 10-20 hz stimulation can improve cognition in non-schizophrenic patients (https://bit.ly/2RlPa8S). “One major limitation for clinical practice may be that patients may have emergent paranoid ideation over treatment with a magnetic coil,” he said. “Compliance with multiple treatment days per week over eight weeks may also be problematic.”

Click HERE for the full article.

Sleeping in on the Weekends Could Be Good for Your Life Expectancy

Natasha Lavender, Apr 05, 2020

Before you let yourself off the hook for staying up for just one more episode of your favorite Netflix show every weeknight, hear out the experts. California-based psychiatrist and sleep specialist Dr. Alex Dimitriu says, “I worry about studies like this, because we’re already a sleep-deprived society. Just look at the lines in Starbucks! Catching up on sleep does work to some extent, but suffering from sleep deprivation along the way can be dangerous, both because it causes accidents, and [it can affect] an individual’s health. Sleep deprivation can impact anxiety, depression, ADHD, and memory.”

Click HERE for the full article.

Tips To Help Stop Touching Your Face

Apr 01, 2020

Hand hygiene is an important precaution, washing our hands often for at least 20 seconds with soap and water helps reduce the risk of passing on anything to our faces that we may have picked up on our hands. “A new ring, jewelry, or even a rubber band around the wrist can serve as a reminder to increase awareness of the hands, and ideally to remember to not touch your face,” said Dimitriu. “Something needs to be different, however, to encourage ‘different’ and nonautomatic behavior.”

Click HERE for the full article.

8 Ways to Conquer Your Nightmares Once and For All, According to Sleep Experts

By Alyssa Jung, Mar 31, 2020

One common nightmare trigger is stress. “They sometimes result from us trying to solve problems in our sleep — this is the brain’s rehearsal system at work in the night, so too much daytime stress can lead to nightmares when you go to bed,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California. Find activities that keep you calm and make them a regular part of your daily routine. Try things like meditation, yoga, walking or other exercise, a hot bath before bed, or scheduling a few minutes of quiet “me time” where you wind down from the day.

Click HERE for the full article.

Sleep ‘Sweeps’ Mind of ‘Monsters;’ Helps Fight Dementia

March 25, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today about the connection between sleep and dementia

“I’ve always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept; All the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.” This simple quote from David Benioff, an American TV producer and screenwriter, is close to the scientific truth about sleep and its effects on mental and overall health. Most notable is the growing evidence of a relationship between lost, fragmented and disordered sleep and the incidence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia.

Click HERE for the full article.

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MENLO PARK PSYCHIATRY & SLEEP MEDICINE

CONDITIONS TREATED: Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder, Insomnia, Bipolar Disorder, and Treatment Resistant Depression

REGIONS COVERED: We serve clients of the Bay Area, including the communities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Mountain View, Portola Valley, Atherton, Sunnyvale, and San Jose

Phone 650-326-5888
Address 1225 Crane Street, Suite 205
Menlo Park, CA 94025
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