To be honest, if you are looking for sleep aids that work you have to realise that that they all work, but individual products or techniques will work but because of individually differences in body chemistry and lifestyle differences what will work for one, won’t for another.
Unfortunately for you, you may need to try them all until you find that magic formula that does work for you.
Therefore, it would be wise to try the methods that don’t cost you any money first. Should methods involve various forms of relaxation techniques including different ways of reducing stress levels, sleep masks, dietary measures such as getting sufficient exercise and avoiding caffeine late at night and, if you must snack before bed, restrict it to carbs and avoid all sugary foods.
As for the best otc sleep aid, all of the manufacturers will claim their product is the best but in reality and as stated above, when looking for sleep aids that work, what works for one person may not work for another. Despite the fact that most otc sleep aid products are natural, these products can have some quite pronounced side effects. If you have any medical condition and/or are on any prescription medication really must consult their physician because taking them, may affect how their normal medications work.
These products include those based on Melatonin which is a naturally produced hormone in the body and Valerian which is an herbal sleep aid with some unpleasant side effects. Kava is another product that should be avoided as the FDA has now linked it to severe liver damage.
So, choose your otc sleep aids carefully and do this only after you have tried everything else you find.
Melatonin is a natural hormone believed to play a role in anti aging, as well as helping with jet lag and chronic insomnia. But caution is well advised with using melatonin as a supplement given its powerful effects.
One of the problems with melatonin is that most of the studies were done on animals and not humans. Animal studies are used by the scientific community to indicate whether a substance has promise, and can yield valuable results even though they are ethically questionable.
One such study was done at the University of Texas Health Science Center where scientists were able to establish not only that walnuts contained melatonin, but that it was able to be absorbed – at least by rats. But they believe humans would also be able to absorb melatonin from walnuts. Unfortunately, they don’t know just how many walnuts you’d have to eat to get any benefits. It might require a sackful for a good night’s sleep! But using food as a source of melatonin is a good option given that it is much safer, particularly if suffering from any serious illnesses.
People who should not take melatonin supplements include children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, those with serious allergies and HIV and cancer patients.
Melatonin is a very powerful substance and only small doses are needed to create improvements. For example, dosages as small as 2 to 3 mg only can help people suffering from insomnia. One such sleep aid is Melatrol if you fancy giving it a go.
Overall, melatonin is very promising, and may well help people with serious illnesses like cancer and multiple sclerosis. In the meantime, increasing our dietary intake of foods like walnuts that potentially supply us with this wonderful nutrient, may have a host of protective health benefits as well as slowing down the aging process and help insomniacs.
