Alex Dimitriu, MD

Sleep Medicine & Psychiatry Professional

Alex Dimitriu, MD is the Owner of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, a clinic based in the San Francisco Bay Area with expertise in psychiatry, sleep, and transformational therapy. Alex earned his Doctor of Medicine from Stony Brook University in 2005 and graduated from the Stanford University School of Medicine's Sleep Medicine Residency Program in 2010. Professionally, Alex has dual board certification in psychiatry and sleep medicine.

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Forum Comments (4)

How do you pull an all nighter?

Bright lights will really help you stay awake. The important thing that we were taught at Stanford was that boredom unmasks sleepiness. One of the goals if you're trying to stay awake is not to get bored, so if you find yourself shutting down, do something interesting for a while.

However, caffeine and power naps are really the bonafide method to stay awake. This strategy is even employed by the army. It's a double-whammy method: drink a strong cup of coffee and immediately after that, take a nap for about 45 minutes. Right as you're waking up, the caffeine is kicking in, and you're looking at a double turbo boost of wakefulness, which can help you stay awake.

I can't sleep. What should I do?

If you're in bed and trying to fall asleep, avoid watching the clock! But if you cannot fall asleep within about 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing, ideally reading a book, in a dimly lit room. No phones, email, or problem solving: you want a passive, relaxing activity. When you start to feel sleepy, return to bed and try to fall asleep. Ideally try to avoid tossing and turning, and getting stressed out in bed. The bed is for sleep, and sex. Keep it that way.

I want to start lucid dreaming. Any good beginner methods?

The key component of lucid dreaming is really being able to recognize that you're dreaming. We are designed to forget our dreams and not remember them, so trying to lucid dream is a bit like fighting your biology. You can do it, but it takes time and practice. The goal is to train yourself to recognize that you're dreaming. There is some element of waking yourself up a little bit during the dream so that you are awake enough to know that you're dreaming but not awake enough to end the dream.

People use all kinds of tricks. Look for print. Most people can’t read written things when they dream. Also, you can look for familiar objects. Those will help you realize you’re dreaming if you inspect them closely enough. There are also devices you can buy that shine gentle red light behind your eyes when they detect eye movement (which means you’re in a deep sleep), which may help bring you into partial consciousness. Good luck!

I keep falling asleep in class!! How do you stay awake?

If you're trying to stay awake and alert, caffeine and power naps are really the bonafide methods that have been employed by the army. It's a double whammy method, where people have a strong cup of coffee, and immediately after that, they take a nap for about 45 minutes. Right as you're waking up, the caffeine is kicking in, and you're looking at a double turbo boost of wakefulness. Boredom unmasks sleepiness, so if your class is boring, you're going to have a hard time staying awake.

But if you're having trouble waking up in the morning, the main reason is not getting enough sleep or not getting quality sleep. If you're sleeping in a loud environment, if you're sleeping in a hot environment, if you have pain from any musculoskeletal or medical reasons, it can disrupt sleep. Also, sleep apnea can really disrupt the quality of sleep. There are people who will sleep nine hours a night and, because of poor sleep quality, still wake up feeling exhausted and tired. It's a matter of optimizing both sleep quantity and sleep quality but also recognizing that there might be an underlying sleep debt that might take more than one or two nights to resolve.

Q&A Comments (148)

Can you adapt to less sleep?

The short answer is not very well. The long answer is that you may be able to get used to a little less sleep, but your efforts may be in vain, or you may be risking your health. If you do not get enough sleep, your body will get it anyway it can, so you will likely just fall asleep on the job, at school, or another situation where you really need to be alert, like driving a car! If you're not getting enough sleep, it will eventually catch up to you and you'll end up nodding off. Realize that a lack of sleep can lead to increased risk for a variety of health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and even obesity, just to name a few. On the other hand, if you feel like you have been sleeping much more than you need to, you may be able to cut it down. If you wake up feeling well-rested and don't feel sleepy during the day, you are probably ok.

How can I reduce my sleep instantly?

Unfortunately, there's no good way to do this. Your best bet would be to simply wake yourself up as required and then do your best to take a nap when the chance presents itself to eliminate your sleep debt. Chronically reducing your sleep can come with many negative health consequences. Whenever you can, try to keep a regular sleep schedule and practice good sleep hygiene—this ensures that you get the most high-quality sleep throughout the night.

How can I function without sleep?

Truly functioning without any sleep is impossible. Your memory and emotions will suffer quite soon if you don't get enough sleep (perhaps even sooner than your health). Plus, your anxiety can get worse, and your emotions can become harder to regulate.

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