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Q. I keep reading how important it is to get a good night's sleep. I seldom get four hours at night and feel tired during the day. Sleeping pills leave me too groggy to function. Please send me some information on what I can do to promote better sleep.
A. Sleep experts often suggest a hot bath an hour before bedtime. As you cool down, your body gets the message to go to sleep. A small high-carb snack before bed may also help. Many readers report that a magnesium supplement or melatonin can be beneficial. Sedating herbs include valerian, lemon balm, passionflower, catnip and hops.
We are sending you our Guide to Getting a Good Night's Sleep with details about these and other approaches.
A short-acting prescription sleeping pill called zaleplon (Sonata) may not leave you feeling groggy in the morning. Ask your doctor if it would be appropriate.
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and gradma's home remedy ... if you are not sensitive to milk products a glass of WARM milk with honey.
I was waking every two hours and having trouble falling back asleep. I started taking 5-HTP and exercising by riding a stationary bike for 30 minutes and lifting weights and stretching for 15minutes three times a week. My sleep is ever so much better - I'm not waking as often and I'm able to fall back asleep when I do. I think the exercise was a crucial factor!!!
I am blessed with the ability to be able to get comfortable in my bed... and turn off my thoughts or problems of the day. I tell myself that tomorrow is a new day and that I better get some sleep to be able to face the new day! I have also found that eating a small bowl of cereal with milk right before I go to bed seals the worries of the day. Chamomile lotion is also known to relax the body. Z Z Z ZZZZz
1. As a dog person, I'm not about to take Catnip.
2. Thanks for the photo--now I'll NEVER get to sleep.
3. I've tried hops, they leave me with a hangover. Oh wait, not in beer form?
4. Us Insomniacs at least try to laugh about it at times.
5. I've yet to find the solution.
6. Thanks anyway.
7. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I have tried the hot bath in the evening before bed and it made it more difficult to go to sleep. I've also tried hundreds of sleep aids and methods.
The first thing I ever tried that worked was Fatigued to Fantastic by Enzymatic Therapy. That stopped working after a couple of years, and I found Nighttime Tension RX by Biochem, which worked fantastically. Then the company discontinued it, so I'm back to looking for the perfect solution.
I do not advise taking any of the hypnotic type drugs such as Sonata or Ambien because they inhibit learning (through brain plasticity - learning is "cemented" at night). I confess to giving these a try because when you're desperate you'll try anything. After only three nights of taking Sonata, they would no longer put me to sleep, even when I tripled the dose.
The latest thing I've found which is effective is Doxepin HCL, which I was taking to fix an itchy skin patch. I found that I fell asleep quickly when I took it right before bed. I will only take it occasionally because it makes me kind of drowsy in the mornings, despite my low dose, 10 mcg. It's a very inexpensive prescription medication which has been used in the past as an anti-depressant, and as an antihistamine, and now is prescribed also as a sleeping aid.
I manage enough total sleep most days by several short naps. My concern is that I never sleep deep enough to dream. In the past I always had vivid and interesting dreams most every night. Does the loss of dreaming sleep affect my mental or emotional health? I think it does.
Eating anything before bed other than a piece of fruit (possibly with a little peanut butter) makes me very restless and unable to sleep well. I take B-12 daily and spirulina with dinner, both to increase melatonin production. A friend says that taking reishi mushroom extract early in the morning and a half hour before bed helps her. I also try to get to bed by 10:00 or 10:30, or else I often get a "second wind" and can't get to sleep for hours.