subject: 5 Most Effective Doctor Recommended Sleeping Aids [print this page] 5 Most Effective Doctor Recommended Sleeping Aids
Sick and tired of counting sheep? Look at one of these solutions and get a great night's rest.
- Aromatherapy
When to Use: When you're sleepy but a bit tense.
How to Use: Rub a dab of aromatherapeutic cream or oil on the backside of one's neck and shoulders and inhale deeply prior to go to bed. Selected fragrances, such as lavender and lemon balm, enhance snooze-inducing rest, says Rubin Naiman, PhD, a sleep specialist at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, located in Tucson.
Helpful Tip: You don't need to follow traditional aromatherapeutic scents, any scent which makes you feel fine can be calming, states Phyllis Zee, MD, a professor of neurology at Northwestern University in Chicago.
- GABA Enhanced Drink
When to Use: When your head is full of anxieties.
How to Use: Take a shot of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) immediately just before bedtime. GABA, an amino acid located within you, has been shown to calm the mind if consumed orally.
Helpful Tip: Certain food items, such as brown rice, bananas, and certain fish, have GABA. Ingesting these during the day may help an individual sleep much better during the night.
- Melatonin Supplement
When to Use: In the event you don't feel tired right until way past bedtime.
How to Use: Have a 3-milligram tablet 15-20 mins prior to bed. Your human brain makes this specific neurohormone naturally to tell the body that it's time for sleep. But many individuals have suppressed melatonin production mainly because they're overexposed to light in the evening.
Helpful Tip: Talk to a medical expert prior to taking melatonin. It isn't encouraged for currently pregnant females, women attempting to conceive, children, and teenage boys (it can affect testosterone amounts in maturing males).
- Over-the-Counter Sleeping Product
When to Use: Whenever you're experiencing a short time period of sleeplessness, similar to during a nerve-racking time at your workplace.
How to use it: At bedtime, take two pills which contain diphenhydramine, an antihistamine which makes you feel sleepy (research shows that an excessive amount of histamine in the body might cause insomnia). The less often you take these types of products, the better. You can build up a tolerance, and then they won't do the job as well. Note: Never combine alcohol and sleeping pills.
Good to know: "The older you are, the slower people metabolize this kind of drug. Meaning you could experience lingering drowsiness in the morning.
- Prescription medicine
Try it: When insomnia gets to be a chronic problem.
How to use it: Work with your physician to figure out which medicine is best for you personally. A favorite is Rozerem. It works on the melatonin receptors within the brain that enable you to fall and remain asleep (other drugs behave simply as a sedative). Have a pill about 30 minutes before bed.
Good to know: Discovering the right medicine may require trial and error: Several may make you more wired and awake. Unwanted side effects are common, and range from the annoying (headaches, grogginess) to the serious, like unconscious nighttime binge eating and driving. Expectant women may want to stay away from these aids, though they have not been proven to be harmful.
