How to Pick the Right Over the Counter Sleep Aid

More than one-third of Americans suffer from insomnia. While the reason behind the growing number differs depending upon to whom you speak, the sheer number remains staggering. With ever-increasing stress, more and more Americans are turning to over-the-counter sleep aids. Desperate for a quick answer and exhausted enough to try almost anything, Americans are now spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on these drugs.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• List of your other health issues
• List of the medicines you currently take
• List of your allergies
• List of what you hope your sleep aid will do for you

1. Contact a physician or, at the very least, an online medical site to determine how over-the-counter sleep aids might effect pre-existing health conditions. Purchasing over-the-counter drugs of any kind without understanding their effect can be both dangerous and deadly.

2. Ask your physician or check with the medication's online site to determine how over-the-counter sleep aids might interact with medications that you already take. Again, purchasing drugs of any kind without understanding their effect in conjunction with other medications can also be dangerous and deadly.

3. Cross check any of your personal allergies against possible over-the-counter sleep aid products that you are considering to make certain there is no possible interaction.

4. Determine what you want your sleep aid to accomplish as well as which symptoms you are and are not willing to live with. For example, I can often get to sleep but cannot "stay" asleep. Therefore, I need my sleep aid to help me with both, if possible, or at the very least with remaining asleep once I get there. On the flip side, however, I cannot afford for my sleep aid to prevent me from being bright and busy-tailed first thing in the morning. Therefore, whatever sleep aid I choose must not have lasting side effects.
   
   

   There are basically two types of over-the-counter sleep aids on the market today: herbal and antihistamines. Herbal sleep aids can include certain teas, some vitamins and minerals or tonics. They work to send the brain a message to relax and sleep. While these are effective at helping you get to sleep, they do very little to maintain a restful slumber.
   
   

   Antihistamines use diphenhydramine hydrochloride or doxylamine succinate. They work to inhibit the brain's neurotransmitter in order to depress the body's central nervous system. They can work effectively to help a person both get to sleep and remain there. However, the down side is they can also cause problems with waking up and feeling energized first thing in the morning.

5. Determine which over-the-counter medications fit within the "type" of sleep aid you have decided is right for you. For example, you will find herbal sleep aids in chamomile tea and passion flower in some herbal supplements. On the other side, diphenhydramine hydrocholoride or doxylamine succinate can be found in popular over-the-counter sleep aids like Excedrin, Tylenol, Advil PM, Unisom and Sominex.
   
   

   To determine which one is right for you, research the products on the Internet. Ask family and friends that use them and seek additional information from your family physician.

6. Use your over-the-counter sleep aid only as directed. If the sleep aid you have chosen doesn't work for you, do not risk increasing the dosage. Instead, back up and start over. You may have chosen the wrong type of aid. Better yet, contact your physician and ask him or her to specifically prescribe something for you based on your detailed personal medical history.

Tips & Warnings

• Always try natural or alternative sleep preparation options before resulting to medications of any kind.
• Use your doctor or local pharmacist as a counselor and guide to help you find the right med for you.
• Keep track of any side effects that you experience with your over-the-counter meds and report them to your physician.
• Discontinue use of any medication that causes any kind of dangerous side effect such as rapid or slowed heart beat, trouble breathing, high or low blood pressure, or an inability to function. Contact your physician immediately.
• Don't increase the dosage on your sleep aid without physician approval. Just because it is purchased over-the-counter doesn't necessarily mean that it is totally safe.
• Don't take the medication for an extended period of time without physician approval.
• Don't mix various sleep aids together. They are work slightly differently and might interact in a negative way with one another.
• Don't continue taking medication that makes you feel ill, interferes with your lifestyle, or slows down your reactions.