By Maggie Aime, Nov 25, 2024
Pregnant women have higher body energy needs, which can result in a greater need for sleep, Alex Dimitriu, M.D., double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, tells Sleepopolis. (8) But other factors can make it harder to get that extra rest.
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Solo sleepers wanting to upgrade from a twin will score a bit more wiggle room with a full size mattress. It’s cheaper than a queen and better suited for small-space living. Some couples may opt to share a full mattress, too, though: “A full size bed is usually the smallest size comfortable for two,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double-board certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert based in Menlo Park, California, tells SELF.
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Nov 19, 2024
Another reason for Adderall sleep problems is that it tends to stay in the body for a long time after it’s ingested. Adderall has a half-life of 10–14 hours, according to Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. That means it takes 10–14 hours for the body to eliminate half of the medication. “Because of the longer half-life, Adderall has a greater chance of causing insomnia and reducing deep sleep as well as REM (dream sleep) in the morning,” he says.
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By Reda Wigle, Nov 12, 2024
Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist and sleep doctor based in California, previously told The Post that a cold room — between 60 and 67 degrees — is best for getting to and staying asleep. When your body temperature drops, it signals it’s time to slow down. He recommends using blankets, rather than heat, to get warm once you’re in bed. The ideal temperature varies between experts. The Sleep Foundation says to aim for 65 degrees Fahrenheit, while Cleveland Clinic supports setting the thermostat at 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit to turn your bedroom into a “cool, dark and quiet” cave.
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By Heidi Borst, Nov 8, 2024
Blackout curtains can help block ambient light while you’re sleeping, but why does that matter? According to research, a dark room improves overall sleep depth and duration by stimulating melatonin, a hormone that regulates circadian rhythm. In other words, it helps you sleep deeper and longer by keeping your body’s sleep clock on track. “Sleep is best in a cave — ahem, a cool, dark place,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a sleep medicine physician. While blackout curtains can benefit everyone, Dimitriu says anyone who needs to sleep when it’s light out will find them particularly beneficial. Shift workers with unconventional schedules or individuals living farther from the equator, where the sun takes longer to rise and set, may struggle to sleep in a brighter room.
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By SingleCare Team, Nov 7, 2024
Introducing your body and brain to a new medication can be a bumpy ride for some. Since you’re not accustomed to the drug, you may experience side effects right off the bat. For example, clinical trials showed that 19% of epilepsy patients taking gabapentin experienced somnambulance, while 17% had dizziness, 13% had ataxia, and 11% felt fatigue. However, in many cases, these side effects are short-lived—just as long as it takes for your body to adjust. According to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, “most side effects are because it is sedating, and these can include dizziness, sleepiness, fatigue, all of which generally improve within days or up to a few weeks from starting.” The National Capital Poison Center agrees, saying side effects can last several days to a few weeks, depending on your body’s tolerance, dosage, and condition.
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By Elizabeth Bernstein, Nov 6, 2024
Don’t steal from sleep.Many couples—especially those with young kids—fi t sex in wheneverthey can, which often means sacrifi cing sleep for intimacy. Steal time from something else,such as Netfl ix or social media, sleep specialists say. And try getting intimate earlier. “If there is an activity you really love doing, why would you leave it for the last thing of theday?” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist in Menlo Park, Calif.
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Brigitt Earley, Oct 31, 2024
“The invention of artificial light, and more recently screens, have resulted in people staying awake well past sunset, and often well past midnight,” adds Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified expert in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Having to go to school or work in the morning can then result in not getting enough sleep on weekdays, and sleeping in on weekends to catch up on missed sleep, which is not ideal.”
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By Kristen Fisher, Oct 28, 2024
“The main idea behind sleep divorce is to try to optimize sleep for each partner. In our increasingly busy lives, we end up not getting enough sleep by default. The sleep quality we do get starts to count more than ever before. So it’s not surprising that people optimize sleep in any way possible, including eliminating any disruptions like a bed partner,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in Menlo Park, CA, told Sleepopolis.
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By Kendra Cherry, Oct 24, 2024
When anniversaries, memories, or tough moments recur, lean in. Be accepting, curious, and supportive. Take care of yourself and your own reactions so you can show up and be a good friend, not a jealous or frustrated partner.— ALEX DIMITRIU, MD
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By Tene Goodwin, Oct 20, 2024
Turns out, there’s a close relationship between anxiety and insomnia. A 2022 clinical review1 estimates that half of people with anxiety also struggle with sleep disturbances, and in turn, conditions like insomnia can make anxiety worse (talk about a vicious cycle). What’s more, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a dual-board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist, the type of polyphasic sleep I was subsisting on (that is, short bouts of sleep throughout the day instead of one long period of sleep each night) can result in symptoms of sleep deprivation, including worsened memory and impulse control as well as heightened anxiety. Additionally, he notes that rapid eye movement or REM sleep—which is crucial for overall health and well-being—would not occur in shorter sleep windows or naps.
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By
For many people, the difference between getting a solid night’s sleep and constantly waking up throughout the night comes down to how much space you have in bed to spread out comfortably. But if you’re working with limited square footage, a roomy king isn’t always possible. “A queen size mattress strikes a good balance of room for two while not taking up too much space [in your bedroom],” Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double-board certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert based in Menlo Park, California, tells SELF.
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Oct 3, 2024
“However, Viagra can lower blood pressure, and gabapentin can increase dizziness—these two effects together may be undesirable,” says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “Consider lower gabapentin and/or Viagra dosing if taken together, and make sure you can tolerate each separately first.”
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By Claudia Fisher, Oct 3, 2024
Cooling. “It is essential for your body to be able to cool off during the night,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, previously told SELF. “Research has found that [this] makes us sleep deeper and possibly longer.” That’s why finding a mattress that’s built with breathable, heat-dissipating materials and layers that promote airflow should be a top priority for folks.
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By Elizabeth Millard, Sep 27, 2024
Another medication already in use, clozapine, also works on muscarinic receptors but has significant side effects, adds Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine in California. “The question has been whether focusing on these receptors in a different way could help in schizophrenia without the effects of clozapine, and KarXT attempts to do that,” he says.
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