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otc sleep aids

Insomnia is one of the most common complaints when patients go to their doctors. While it is not a debilitating sickness in itself, insomnia may cause bodily harm in the long run. This condition may cause huge amounts of stress to long-term sufferers which may further lead to stress-related diseases such as cardiac disorders. Furthermore, lack of sleep affects the overall performance of a person’s daily activities including his work, social life and personal life.

While there are many ways to prevent insomnia such as changing your daily habits, sometimes it just wouldn’t work enough for you to get a good night’s sleep. In this article, I will write about over-the-counter or OTC medications which may help you to sleep if you have short-term or transient insomnia.

ANTIHISTAMINES

These medications, which are most commonly used in cases of allergies, are the most common over-the-counter drugs for insomnia. Histamine, a chemical messenger released by the brain during allergic attacks, is also a chemical that promotes wakefulness. By suppressing the action of histamine, antihistamine medications also promote sleepiness. This is why we feel very drowsy every time we take antihistamine medications.

Commonly, the antihistamines sold and marketed today as OTC medications for insomnia normally contains one of these two types:

1. Diphenhydramine citrate or Diphenhydramine hydrochloride. Brand names include Nytol, Benadryl, Compoz, and Sominex.




2. Doxylamine succinate. Brand names include Unisom Sleeptabs and Nighttime Sleep Aid

While these medications are effective in alleviating symptoms of short-term insomnia, it is not proven to be effective in patients suffering from insomnia for 2 weeks or longer. The main reason for this is the side-effects associated with the long-term use of these OTC sleep aids.

Side Effects of Antihistamines as OTC Sleep Aids

1. Prolonged drowsiness that may carry to the next day. This side effect depends on the people who take antihistamines, some of which may display none or severe daytime drowsiness.
2. Headaches and feelings of dizziness.
3. Dry mouth and throat.
4. Reduced alertness and lack of focus, coordination and concentration. Driving is prohibited while you take this medication, as the activity requires you to have mental alertness and coordination.
5. Gastrointestinal side effects such as vomiting and constipation.
6. While the effects of antihistamine in pregnant or lactating women are still under study, medical practitioners discourage its use during pregnancy. Also, these drugs could be secreted into the milk of lactating mothers which may have harmful effects on the newborn.

Furthermore, it is not advisable for the person who is taking these kinds of OTC sleep aids to drink alcohol because antihistamines add greatly to the sedative effects of alcohol. Taking these kinds of medications with medications that cause drowsiness is also discouraged.

Other Problems Associated with OTC Sleep Aids

For patients who have taken OTC sleep aids for a week or more, they will most likely develop a drug tolerance to it. This means that larger doses of this medication may be required to achieve the desired effect.

Another problem associated with taking OTC sleep aids is the eventual drug dependence of the person taking the medications. A person may not be able to sleep anymore without taking the medication. Abrupt stopping of drug intake may also cause withdrawal symptoms.

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photo credit: B Rosen

mattress for insomnia

While room temperature, physical condition and stress level plays a role in a person’s ability to get a good night sleep, those who suffer insomnia definitely also have to choose the best mattress for them. It is undeniable that getting a good mattress is an important step to a good night sleep.

Top Choices for Best Mattress for Insomnia

Top choices for mattresses that help in preventing insomnia are memory foam, latex and coil mattresses. Furthermore, latex and memory foams also come as a topper.

The cheapest and the most popular choice of mattress is the traditional coil mattress. Individually enclosed spring coils support a wide variety of materials atop of it including latex and memory foam. For people who are on the heavy portion of the weighing scale, this type of mattress helps you in getting out of bed easier. Remember though, that in buying this type of mattress, make sure that it has around 400 coils in it for better body support. Or else, you may stay awake at night finding your hips sagging uncomfortably.

Developed for astronauts, memory foams responds to body weight and temperature that makes them follow the contour of your body. This makes it ideal for comfort and in reducing pressure points during sleep. Memory foam also absorbs movement and is ideal when you sleep with a partner. It is not recommended for people who have high body temperatures though, as the foam’s sensitivity to heat makes you feel hot at night.

Latex mattresses offer that bouncy and firm feel of the mattress. This makes it very comfortable for those who use it. While latex functions like the memory foam, it offers more support as it pushes back to the body.

Tips in Choosing the Best Mattress for Insomnia

1. Make sure that your mattress is made of only top quality materials. Your mattress should last for more than a decade. Quality mattresses also don’t sag or sink.
2. Look for mattresses that offer warranties of up to 10 years or more.
3. The materials for the cushioning also matter. Unlike cotton polyurethane blends which makes you sweat during the night, wool makes your body “breathe”.
4. The softness or firmness of your mattress should depend on you. You can try the mattresses out by lying down on them and find out which you’re most comfortable with. Customers who buy mattresses online usually return the mattress dissatisfied.
5. The bigger the mattress is the better. If you have a partner to whom you share your bed with, a king-size bed may be the best.
6. Another option in choosing the best mattress for insomnia is the viscoelastic or memory foam. Though it is slightly pricier than most normal mattresses, you get the value for your money because you would want to buy a mattress that keeps your spine aligned when asleep.
7. A good rule to remember is that the heavier you are, the less foam on the top of your mattress should be. This goes without saying that having a lighter body weight means getting more foam on top of your mattress. By doing this, you avoid getting your neck, hips, lower back and other pressure points to sink into your mattress.

photo credit: Shika Kaoin

zZzZz...-Nancy

More often than not, how to get better sleep is among the common questions that working people think about. This is because they rarely experience it because of too much stress or being too busy in their work. If you are one of those who are having problems when it comes to sleeping, here are some of the ways that can help you get better easier:

1. Develop better sleeping habits. Like everything else, developing good habits helps a person accomplish a certain task at hand. For those who are prone to not sleeping well at night, it would be best to start developing good habits that would help him or her get better sleep. Good sleeping habits might include daytime routines such as eating the right foods, exercise, and enough napping in the afternoon. Experts say that eating the right foods would help a person be lulled into sleep without so much hustle. If one wants to get better sleep, he or she must avoid eating foods that contain ingredients that stimulate the nerves and the senses such as those with caffeine content. To help the body relax, enough physical activities such as exercise should also be done at day time so it will somehow exhaust the body and let it crave for rest at night time. Although napping is good to some people, it can be bad to those who are having sleeping problems because they have a tendency to “over nap” that which will eventually affect their sleeping at night.
2. Enough amount of daily exercise can help a person to get better sleep. Aside from health benefits, regular exercise also helps a person get better sleep especially at night. This is because it lets the body work just enough so it would want to rest at night. Strenuous activities such as workouts are not really necessary if one is not used to it. Simple exercises such as brisk walking or light yoga activities are enough to help to get better sleep at night.



3. Come up with you own personal sleeping plan. Above anybody else, you should be the one who knows your body. If you are having problems sleeping at night, you are the first person to identify what is the problem and try to address the issues properly. If you are having trouble sleeping, analyze what may be the problem. If it is something that you can handle, try to do the things that will help you overcome it. You can do this by coming up with a personal sleeping plan that will really work for you. You can plot the activities that you can do and try to implement them during nighttime. If the specific plan doesn’t work today, try another set of sleeping plans the next night and then another one for next, next night. By doing this, you can discover the techniques that would work for you.
4. Create a good sleeping environment for yourself. If one wants to get better sleep, the easiest way is to create a comfortable, nice, and cozy sleeping environment. If you are having trouble sleeping and you have tried all the techniques available but those did not work, why not try re-arranging your bedroom. Figure out is something inside your bedroom that hinders you from getting better sleep. Check if your bed still suits the needs of your body and if not, try replacing it. Check if there are some things that catch your attention and makes it hard for you to sleep, if there are, try removing them for a while until you are able to sleep better.

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I am excited to introduce to you my new co-author – Anna Brown. Anna and I know each other for many years. I always liked Anna’s original and unique way of thinking. Recently, after Anna heard about my site, she said that she would be delighted to share her knowledge and insights with you. I immediately and cordially invited Anna to become a co-author on YourBestSleepAid.com. As I just finished giving Anna access to the system, you should be seeing here her first post very soon. I am sure you are going to love and enjoy Anna’s writing and ideas.

Please welcome ANNA BROWN!

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