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.

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Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone in the body that is associated with sleep and should be taken half an hour before bedtime. Although there is evidence from studies to suggest there are no significant side effects when used for up to three months, caution must be exercised if you suffer from certain conditions (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, autoimmune diseases etc) or are pregnant or a nursing mother. You can get a free trial of Melatrol which is melatonin in tablet form.

Valerian is one of a number of over the counter herbal sleep aids although it is not really known how it works which is a worry and probably why it doesn’t work for everyone and trials into its use have proved inconclusive. Valerian has a few unpleasant side effects and needs to be taken for a couple of weeks in order to work. This seems a bit silly as you can’t take it for longer than three months either! On the good side, Valerian is not addictive but because of reports of problems with particular its use along other drugs, particularly those to do with the central nervous system, may be it shouldn’t be over-the-counter at all and certainly do check with your doctor before taking this type of  herbal sleep aids.

If you come across Kava, give it a wide berth as the FDA has advised its association with liver injury and even the need for liver replacement surgery.

If you want to try out a natural sleep aid for FREE, you could try OXY SLEEP.  With OxySleep, you won’t have that that dull, “hung-over” feeling the next day. Instead, you should wake up feeling refreshed and rested. As your body re-establishes its natural sleep cycle, you’ll find you can sleep more easily. You won’t become addicted to OxySleep in order to get to sleep.

The Hibermate, is a snuggly, versitile sleep mask. It blocks all light, significantly reduces noise and will have you snoozing in next-to-no time.

Sleep Tracks Sleep Optimization Program, does what it says on the tin. Take the quiz to see if this program may work for you. For a limited time, you can also get a free 14-day-trial for a $4.95 processing fee. Click Here! for more details.

There are of course other natural sleep aids you could use, including various relaxation techniques and diet controls that may prove preferable. What are the best sleep aids will likely depend on the individual and a bit of trial and error.