Sleep Aid Dosage

Nov

by Tracy

sleep aid dosage
Does Melatonin actually work?

I am trying to find a safe alternative to prescription sleep aids. I have tried diephenhydramine (Benadryl) to help and it has the opposite effect on me, making me really hyper. What is the proper dosage? Does it make you fall asleep, or just make your sleep deeper? All, I know is I can't spend another night like last night! Any help?

I take melatonin. It's a decent natural sleep aid. It won't exactly knock you out but it sort of puts you in the mood to sleep. In the past it took me 1-3 hours to fall asleep every night, but the melatonin helped me cut it down to 15-30 minutes. Part of the effect is probably placebo, I don't know, but it's been working pretty well for me for nearly a year. It's fairly cheap and the only side effect I've experienced is more vivid dreaming. I don't have stranger dreams or nightmares more than usual, just more memorable and clear.

It should be made clear that it's not a knock-you-out solution. You can't just pop one, hop into bed, and be carried off into sleep automatically. You have to calm down and relax and attempt to sleep like you would normally. It's best to use it in conjunction with other things to help you sleep. For me, I have to also have an audiobook or something to listen to in the background. I'll focus on that instead of my thoughts. That + melatonin seems to do the trick for me. Some people drink warm milk or chamomile tea before bed because they have "sleep-inducing effects" but it's more likely just because consuming them at a certain hour becomes habitual and starts sending the signal to get your mind/body ready for sleep. Similar things could be said about melatonin.

You have to find the right mix of stimuli to let your mind know "hey, it's bedtime, go to sleep." We are creatures of habit, so make sleeptime as ritualistic as you can and you might find it easier. I still have my bad nights where it takes me forever to fall asleep, but they are much less frequent. Save the real sleep drugs for those nights. Don't become a slave to them unless it's 100% inevitable.

Note: I do not have a problem with staying asleep once I fall asleep. Once I'm out, I'm out. Some people have trouble initially falling asleep; some people have trouble STAYING asleep. I do not know how well melatonin works for the latter. I don't believe its half-life in the body is very long (less than an hour). So, if you have some serious insomnia issues waking up constantly during the night, you may need a prescription med like Ambien.

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