If you have insomnia, you know that it can negatively impact your performance during the day. When you’re addressing your insomnia problem, you’ll likely consider over-the-counter sleep aids. Use the criteria below to help you determine whether an over-the-counter sleep aid can be helpful for you in treating your insomnia.
Experts suggest that if your insomnia is causing you difficulty, getting out of bed is the best course of action. Avoid getting too frustrated and just counting the minutes away. Get up and walk around or read for a bit, to get your mind off of the obsession of needing to fall asleep. This should help it come more easily.
Try a light snack to offset the problems with your insomnia. Nothing too heavy or extreme, just a few crackers or a piece of toast should do the trick. When you’re fighting with insomnia, a moderate snack can help put your body more at ease, helping you to fall asleep.
See a doctor. You might not be able to find your insomnia on your own, and you might need a professional to help. A doctor can make sure that there is not some other underlying condition causing you to miss sleep. He can also help you to try some sleep medication if necessary.
What you eat and drink before bedtime can have big effect on eliminating insomnia. Avoid alcohol, caffeinated drinks and heavy meals within 3 hours of your regular bedtime. If there is a prescription medication that you are taking that may cause wakefulness, discuss a better time to take that medication with your doctor.
Just like children when they’re young get to bed faster when they use a routine every day for bedtime, you can get yourself to fall asleep and keep asleep if you too have a routine before sleeping. Take a warm bath, listen to soothing music, practice deep breathing exercises. Get satisfying sleep by practicing these bedtime rituals every night.
For those taking 5-HTP supplements as a sleep aid, a 100mg dosage may be the right amount. This is a low dose, but is effective in helping depressive people sleep better. Talk to your healthcare provider prior to trying this.
Melatonin is a great supplement for those who deal with insomnia. Studies show that older people who have trouble sleeping are low in melatonin, so replacing it with a supplement can really help. 1 to 3 mg taken 90-120 minutes before bed can do the trick, but talk to your doctor about dosage.
Being bored can actually make way for its own stress and anxiety. Give yourself something to look forward to each day and to get excited about. Schedule an event for your future and when lying in bed, think about how great or fun that event will be. You can find local events in your newspaper or just plan a gathering of friends and family.
If you are having a hard time falling asleep at night, take time to look at what you are consuming throughout the day. See if there is anything that contains caffeine. Some people are very sensitive to it and can not have anything such as coffee, soda or chocolate after one in the afternoon if they plan to go to sleep at a reasonable hour.
Insomnia can really do damage to your ability to perform at your best. If you’re considering over-the-counter treatments for insomnia, it’s important that you understand what you’re taking into your body. Use the criteria discussed above to help you decide whether an over-the-counter sleep medication could be the right answer for you in treating your insomnia.