Over-the-counter sleep aid recommendation?

In My Humble Opinion
21

Aggghhh…it’s 3.17 am and I’ve been up since about one. :frowning: I took a Flexeril but clearly it didn’t do anything.

Definitely going to stop and get some Benedryl AND some Nyquil today. May give melatonin another shot.

Insomnia does indeed suck. At least I don’t have to be on the job until about 10 am.

22

Although all the ads for Diphenhydramine as a sleep aid say it is not habit forming, in my experience you can become dependent on it.

I would not use Nyquil as it has acetaminophen in it. Use ZZZquil, and if you need an analgesic, take it separately. One reason they created ZZZquil is that too many people were using Nyquil solely as a sleep aid and many people did not understand that it contains acetaminophen. You do not want to take an overdose of acetaminophen. I do find that the combination of a little alcohol (both of them have it) and Diphenhydramine knock me out.

23

I did some serious “sleep hygiene” work several years ago and that really helped.
My issues were:

  1. Quit smoking.
  2. Quit drinking caffeine.
  3. Exercise.
  4. Completely dark room.
  5. Cool/Cold room.
  6. Quiet room.
  7. My bedroom is ONLY for sleeping and putting on clothes, not anything else.
    And then I started all the other small things.
    Every now and again, I have issues, but it’s easier to manage.

I highly suggest Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for insomnia. Also do a really honest sleep hygiene log of what is causing you to wake up. Lastly, I find being aggressive about my insomnia is a much better idea than just hoping it’ll work out.

My favorite new sleep pill is the Nature Made brand sleeping pills which are really just melatonin and some random herby things. I was very skeptical as I am with any new sleep aid. But dang gosh howdy, those things drop me to sleep after about 30 mins to an hour. I usually use 1 and 1 50 mg generic benadryl.