When it comes time to lay down to sleep, you can’t seem to drift off. Your mind is racing from the day’s events and you can’t get yourself to calm down enough to get to sleep.
What do you do? Today we’re looking at some of the best safe sleep aids that don’t require a prescription.
Best OTC Sleep Aids
Diphenhydramine
Diphenhydramine is commonly found in allergy medicine, like Benadryl and Aleve PM. It’s got some side effects: it can lead to blurry vision, constipation, urinary retention or daytime drowsiness. However, many people note it’s quite effective at simply knocking them out if they’re having trouble getting to sleep. This is doubly effective if you already need allergy relief.
White Noise
Many people find it difficult to get to sleep in a totally silent room. If this applies to you, consider sleeping with some white noise. A softly running fan, or some quiet nature sounds could do the trick. Some people even listen to soft music while they’re trying to sleep, finding it helps them to calmly dose off.
Doxylamine succinate
Commonly found in medicine like Unisom sleep tabs, Doxylamine succinate is a sedating antihistamine like Diphenhydramine. It also has similar side effects to those found in Diphenhydramine, though it is technically a different compound. Much like with Diphenhydramine, Doxylamine is good for treating allergies as well as sleeplessness.
Control Your Space
Make sure the room you’re trying to get to sleep in is quiet, dark and cool. Trying to sleep in a room that is too hot, too loud or too bright can be very difficult. If you need to, consider getting blackout blinds, noise-canceling headphones and running a fan while you sleep.
If there are others that live with you who don’t respect the tie you need to sleep, pull them aside and ask them to be more conscientious of your time. It’s important that you get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night!
Melatonin
Melatonin supplements are commonly used to treat people who are having trouble getting to sleep. While melatonin can have headache-inducing side effects, it’s also a great way to treat jet lag and off-kilter sleep schedules. You can typically find melatonin supplements available over the counter.
Keep in mind that no medication or technique is a miracle solution. Extreme cases of insomnia could require help from a sleep doctor to remedy, so speak to your doctor if you’re having substantial trouble sleeping.