Does anyone TAKE anything to help them sleep

[kally]

I mean over the counter or prescription medication. Life is not simple when you don't sleep well. So no judgement or anything, I am just interested if you would care to share.

[razz]

It is what I don't take most of the time especially I do not watch TV as it agitates me. I have a glass of hot milk and a banana if I am feeling too alert at bedtime but mostly it is a matter of very calming activities in the evening like music and reading peaceful articles after lots of exercise during the day.

I do feel for you as lack of sleep makes my life very miserable.

[puglogic]

Everyone's metabolism is different and what works for me might do nothing for another individual. Nor do I get any sort of kickback for this link, naturally. But this is what I use when I can't sleep for multiple nights in a row:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SW1128/ItemDetail
I take two at bedtime, and it gets me through at least 7 hours before waking. No morning grogginess, no side effects.

In the dead of winter, at times when my hormones are giving me heck and things get very bad for me sleepwise, I occasionally turn to small doses of the medication my doctor prescribed for this purpose, trazadone. I take something like a quarter of a regular dose, and it puts me flat out. That's just for rare emergencies, when I haven't slept well in days and I am becoming a danger to myself. I like it because it's true sleep -- dreaming, REM, the whole nine yards, not like a lot of prescription stuff. Same with the scullcap....it's truly refreshing restful sleep, not fake chemical sleep.

I don't like having to do either, but I've tried many, many other options -- EVERYBODY's top ten list for getting better sleep, exercise, tea, baths, darkness, quiet, no stimulation, white noise, stress reduction, meditation, breathing, yoga, oh I could go on -- and this system, combined with good exercise and fresh air and low stress, just works for me at those times when nothing else does (there's nothing more frustrating than doing everything on your list, and still popping awake after two hours....horrible). I am hoping that after menopause it will either get easier, or I'll be better able to roll with the punches.

[bae]

Exercise, and a CPAP machine.

[kally]

interesting about the skullcap. Is this something to take regularly do you think?

[Juds]

What I would not give for even a few days once in a while where there was time to do any process of relaxing or sleep-inducing things at or near the end of my day. That sounds like pure wonderfulness to me.

I am so busy that I am usually exhausted by the time I need to go to bed, and I go right to sleep. But, when the stress is particularly high around here, and that happens too many times each year, sometimes that translates into simply being unable to do anything, not calming or relaxing exercises or music or carby foods or a nice and warm bath or anything. When that happens I take a Benadryl tablet. The dosage is two tablets, but I think that I have taken that dose only a couple of times in the past dozen years or so. One puts me to sleep in about twenty minutes and I awake ready to hit the floor running. It is cheap, non-habit-forming and works every single time. Now, if I used it more often, it might not work that well, but I have to resort to using it only once or twice a month. I think. I am usually sleep-deprived, so I am not sure. :)

[JaneV2.0]

I've never really had trouble sleeping, but I've taken valerian to relax on occasion. I've seen both valerian and hops recommended as sleep aids.

[redfox]

Melatonin, every night. I asked a Naturopath if there were any studies or concerns about negative impacts from taking it nightly, and she said no.

[kally]

redfox, how much do you take at night?


Melatonin, every night. I asked a Naturopath if there were any studies or concerns about negative impacts from taking it nightly, and she said no.

[RosieTR]

I've taken melatonin once or twice as well. DH used to take it when he was on 3rd shift. It's cheap and easy to find, and a natural hormone made by the brain so it shouldn't make anything too wonky. I just bought pills and took one of whatever they were. These are especially helpful for weird light issues like jet lag or problematic sleep schedules. Other than that, a glass of wine or beer usually does the trick for me, though that doesn't always work for staying asleep. Sleepytime Tea (by Celestial Seasonings) is very mild; I think they sell two versions: one with like mint and chamomile and another with some other stronger thing in it as well. Any of those options is less than $10.

[Marianne]

I take one generic Benadryl once in a while. Honestly, I haven't slept really well in years, so now I just accept it, but I'm in a position that I can take a nap if I have to. I do the white noise thing with a little fan and the TV turned to a boring show (barely audible and the sleep timer on for an hour).

[Selah]

I take 3 mgs of melatonin a night, along with 50 mgs of Benadryl for my allergies. I sleep like a baby and wake up very refreshed. If I know I'm not going to get enough sleep because I have to get up very early, or need to sleep on a plane on a long journey, I will take two 3mg tablets of melatonin. Cheap and cheerful, and no scary side effects like Ambien can have. Melatonin can either give you weird dreams, or just make it easier to remember the weird dreams you have--I'm not sure which, but that just makes life more interesting for me!

[daisy]

I take 3mg of melatonin each night. I still don't always sleep through the night, but it does seem to help me most nights.

[loosechickens]

I usually go to sleep very easily, but for the rare occasions when I'm too stimulated to go to sleep easily, I swear by a nice cup of camomile tea. It was good for Peter Rabbit, and over the years, I've found that it's pretty effective for me, too.

[Simpler at Fifty]

I bought Melatonin today and am going to take one tonight. I rarely sleep through the night. I am hoping this helps me get more than 3 hrs at a crack.

[puglogic]

interesting about the skullcap. Is this something to take regularly do you think?

I don't really know. I've never noticed any side effects whatsoever, but I try not to take anything regularly (i.e. every night or even most nights). And I should note that my problem is not falling asleep, it's staying asleep. Melatonin, chamomile, and valerian helped me fall asleep. I'll sleep for about 3 hours then wake up. I can't always nap or sleep in, and sometimes get so sleep deprived that I can't function. For those times, it's nice to have an option that gets me a little good rest for a longer period.

[redfox]

I usually take 5 mg. at bed time, and keep some 2 mg. tabs on my bedsides table in case I wake up & cannot get back to sleep. The most I have taken in one night was a combo equalling 12 mg, and I was a bit drowsy the next day! I used to get time released ones, which I prefer, but cannot find them now.

[HappyHiker]

During those spells when I cannot sleep, I take a melatonin capsule and do about 15 minutes of gentle yogic deep breathing, head twists and some meditation and it usually helps me drift off.

However, I must say, during certain powerful full moons, it's all useless and resign myself to being up all night. I read a good book and know that soon the moon's spell will turn me loose from her power.

[treehugger]

Melatonin doesn't seem to work for me. I think this might have something to do with the fact that I almost never have trouble falling asleep; instead I wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble going back to sleep. Anyway, on the advice of my OB/GYN, I started taking a dose of generic Benadryl a couple nights a week, and this really helps.

I also seem to have too strong an internal clock, so I am unable to sleep in or nap on weekends when I have the time. I simply can't sleep past 7 am, no matter what time I go to bed. So, yes, even on weekends, I try to make sure I go to bed at my "week night" time. If I have a catering gig late on a Saturday night, I really suffer all the next week, since I can never make up my sleep debt.

Puglogic, it sounds like you and I have similar sleeping issues, so I will check out that skullcap.

Kara

[Gardenarian]

I also take Benadryl occasionally. I buy the kids liquid kinds so I can take a very small dose - I find it to be very strong and taking too much leaves me hungover.

I wish there was something I could take in the middle of the night when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. I've tried melatonin and it had no effect on me.

[redfox]

Sooo, being awake at 4 am, AGAIN, I'be lamenting my not so helpful stress response, middle of the night obsessing. Ugh. Melatonin did not help tonight... as soon as my DH is up, I am going back to sleep & will go into work late today. Meh.

[freein05]

A Teddy Bear.

[crunchycon]

Another valerian person, here. I have taken a single generic benadryl; I sleep very deeply, but awaken a bit hungover.

[frugalone]

My husband recommends Valerian and Benadryl.

However, I like a prescription pill called Sonata. It lasts about 4 hours, but will keep you "down" and there's no hangover effect the next day. It's also non addictive, I believe.

I also tried Ambien, but was not as thrilled with it.

[pony mom]

I use Melatonin, but as selah says, it can give you pretty wacky dreams. Sometimes I'll wake up and think "WOW! What was THAT all about??!!"

I've also used Calms Forte, a gentle homeopathic sleep aid. It works, but only if you're in bed and relaxed. There have been times when I've taken it when my mind was racing or doing too much before bedtime and it doesn't work as well. But it's totally safe--I think it has valerian in it.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I have tried GABA and have had good luck with that, for the most part. Valerian once worked for me but I seem to have built up a tolerance to it if such a thing is possible - the recommended amounts just don't work for me any more. I also have heard of sprinking lavender oil on pillows or spraying it into the air and am thinking of trying that - supposedly that is very calming and had the added bonus of smelling nice, too. Then I have also heard of skullcap, hops, california poppy, passionflower, and even catnip as help you sleep agents but I have no experience with any of these. I tried 5-HTP a few years ago when I had a spell of depression and it seemed to help me sleep a little better, too. Rob

[Simone]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/fashion/mothers-and-sleep-medication.html

Read this article around midnight one morning last week and have been ruminating about it ever since!

[Tiam]

I confess to using Ambien.