If you can't sleep and are tempted to try sleeping medications to help you get your seven to eight hours each night, the only person you should talk to is your doctor. Doctors are the only people who can accurately prescribe sleeping medications that will work with your body's chemistry. Yes, there are plenty of over the counter sleeping medications, but those are not a good idea. Here is why those over the counter sleeping medications are best left alone:
Over the counter sleeping medications major ingredient is a specific kind of antihistamines. Antihistamines act by keeping histamines away from your brain. Histamines are chemical agents that travel to your brain to tell it to be awake and alert. Anti histamines keep this process from happening. This is why when you take any sort of medication that contains an antihistamine (including allergy and cold medications); you get drowsy and have a hard time staying alert. So, essentially you could get the same affect from your allergy medication that you would get from non-prescription sleeping medications. This very important antihistamine ingredient is also what can make taking over the counter sleeping medications so dangerous. If you already have some sort of cold medication or have allergies and have taken allergy meds at any point during the last couple of days, the over the counter sleeping medications could have an extremely adverse affect on your system.
As it is, over the counter sleeping medications have some not so nice side affects. Sleeping medications bought at the drug store run the possibility of causing you to vomit, get dizzy, have a headache, reduce you alertness, cause fatigue (one of the reasons you bought the pills in the first place) and cause daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness is the most irritating of all of the symptoms. It is very likely that the sleeping medications won't work when you want them to, but will kick in several hours later-in the middle of your work day.
It is also important to know that over the counter sleeping medications are incredibly bad for you if you have any sort of alcohol or sedative agent (like tranquilizers or other sleeping pills) in your system. They are also incredibly dangerous for women who are pregnant or are nursing.
If you do break down and buy over the counter sleeping medications make sure you read all of the fine print included before popping a single pill. That fine print will let you know what to avoid for the next couple of days while the sleeping medications work its way through your system and will let you know what physical conditions to look out for. The FDA requires that this information be included in the packaging, so make sure you read it.
Sleeping medications are best left to doctors to prescribe. After all, your doctor knows your body and might be able to figure out a natural remedy for you that you haven't thought of. Sleeping medications should only be used as a last resort.
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Difficulty Sleeping Tip #1
Caffeine is only your friend during the morning hours. Even though you might not think that caffeine affects you very much, it does play a big part in your body's ability to settle down and rest at the end of the day. If you must have coffee, switch to decaf after lunch. Caffeine can affect your body for up to eight hours. The longer it has to leave your system the less likely it is to affect your sleeping habits. |
Difficulty Sleeping Tip #2
Exercise will not wear you out; it will actually pump you up. Exercise actually gives people energy. While you might feel tired immediately after a workout, your body will not sleep well if you try to do your workout right before bed. It is also bad for your body as a rule to go from lots of motion to staying still. This is why there are warm ups and cool downs before and after exercise workouts. |
Difficulty Sleeping Tip #3
While many of us may fall asleep while watching television, if you are having sleeping problems, you want to give yourself at least an hour before going to bed that is television free. Television is a stimulant for your brain (even if the material is not particularly scholarly in content). Watching it right before bed keeps you awake and it takes a while for your brain to wind down after you turn the television off. |
