Over the counter sleeping pills

Over the counter sleeping pills

Are over the counter sleeping pills any good?

Many of the over the counter sleeping pills which you can buy without prescription were originally used to treat other allergies. Then once they were found to cause drowsiness – the drug companies re-developed them and re-packaged them as insomnia cures and medications.

Antihistamines
The most common over the counter sleep remedies are probably the antihistamanes. The two most common forms of this being dipenhydramine and promethazine. They tend not to be as strong as some prescription medications and in some cases have a positive
effect on curing sleep disorders.

They can be useful with helping short term insomnia by kick starting the sufferer back into that sleep routine.

Research has shown that many of the over the counter remedies are no better than herbal remedies – so many people prefer to take something which is more natural than synthesized.

Considerations
There are a few things to consider if you are planning on taking over the counter medication. I’ll list the key ones down:

1. They shouldn’t be taken with alcohol

2. They can cause grogginess the next day if taken too late at night

3. Some are known to give the taker a very dry mouth

4. Other side effects include blurred vision or upset stomachs

Important Note:
Over the counter sleeping pills should not be taken by anyone with angina, glaucoma, prostrate or urinary infections. They should also not be taken with any anti nausea or travel sickness medication.

Tolerance
As with prescription based sleeping pills and insomnia drugs – there is the risk of building up a tolerance. This means you need to keep on increasing the dose to get the same benefits.

Nytol
Probably the best known brand of over the counter sleep remedy is Nytol. This contains the antihistamine Dipenhydramine and is often promoted as a cure for jet lag or temporary sleep disorders caused by stress. But you should not take this medication for longer than 2 weeks without seeing a GP. The other well known product similar to Nytol is Dreemon where the same advice applies.

The other antihistamine mentioned earlier is promethazine and this is the base for the other 2 well known over the counter sleep remedies – Phenergan (which is sometimes given in small doses to help babies sleep through the night and Sominex.

Hope that gives you a bit more insight into the over the counter sleep remedies –and allows you to make the decision on whether this route is right for you in your search for a good nights sleep.

Dan Kennedy has written a free ebook on how to Cure Your Insomnia. To download it visit www.cure-your-insomnia.com