Anyone have any experience with them? Good or bad?

I've not been sleeping well for the last few months on weekdays and it's starting to take it's toll. I'm used to 8-9 hours a night and lately I'm lucky if I get 6 on weekdays. I am exhausted by late afternoon, but somehow always perk up about 9pm and can't get to sleep. (I get up at 4:30am on weekdays.) And then it's like I try to catch up on weekends. I can sleep all day on weekends and it seems such a waste . For example I just got up after 8 hours sleep today and fell back asleep for another few hours. Now I'm all groggy.

I've been thinking of trying to take something to get myself back into a regular sleeping pattern. I'm sick of feeling tired and drained all the time. Anyone have any advice?

Never taken sleeping pills, I am scared to

CarrieMpls said:

Oh no Carrie! I hope we won't have to start calling you 'Judy' now...

purpleunderground said:

No, no. No danger of that.

Do you take vitamins?
I ask because my sleep pattern has been all out of whack for what seems like months now. Some times it does not bother me. Some times it makes me really cranky the next day.
Over this coarse of time I have tried 2 Ambien CR samples but I would never take on a regular basis. With most sleep aids you need to devote at least 8 hrs to sleep and I get up by 6am so that is hard to do. I am bad about making myself go to sleep.
What I have been doing lately is taking calcium and magnesium. Magnesium is supposed to help with sleep and calcium & magnesium work best together. Being a female at my age I need calcium anyways.
It seems to be helping me have a more restful sleep- I still get up early. I also get up on the same time on the weekends as I do the week days- that helps too.
On occasion I take 5-htp to help as well - also Valerian root can help for temp relief.
But as for OTC sleep aids- no I have not tried them.

Im scared of taking sleeping pills although I dont sleep very well.

JDInteractive said:

me too. I didnt sleep till after 4.30 am and woke at 7am

rhamiel said:

I'm not currently taking vitamins, but it's worth a try.
I don't mind carving out 8 hours for sleep. I LOVE sleep. And it's the amount I need. It's the getting to sleep bit I'm having a hard time with. I also think more exercise would likely help. I've not been doing the gym regularly for some time now. It's rather sporadic and frankly I'm utterly bored with it. I'm looking for a dance or yoga class to take several days a week in it's place. It's just hard with my current schedule.

CarrieMpls said:

I used to require 8 hours and loved to sleep as well..I must be getting old . The other morning I was up at 4:45am and I did not go to bed early.


Yes- exercise will help as well as long as you do not do it too close to bed time.

Sleeping pills are not bad on rare occasions if the lack of sleep is effecting your daily life.
Now freaking No Dose scare the hell out of me- made me very sick once.


It cannot hurt to take some magnesium with calcium for a few weeks and see what happens.
[Edited 7/15/07 8:21am]

OTC sleeping pills are very effective but if you start using them every day they won't do anything for you because your brain will build up a resistance. As an occasional aid they are great.

shanti0608 said:

see... that's my problem. Ideally, I should be sleeping by 8:30pm every night. 8:30!! Do you know how hard it is to find a class at 3pm? Even a 5pm class messes with my eating schedule.

I think I need to change my schedule.

the problem with otc sleeping pills is that they do not lead the pill taker to get into deep, or REM sleep. that's the stage of sleep during which one dreams and the body's systems rest and repair themselves. that being said, one of the best otc sleep aids is either benadryl, or chlor trimeton, both antihistamines.
both have sleepiness as side effects, and hence benadryl, or diphenhydramine is include in most if not all "pm" preparations, such as tylenol pm.
if you want totally natural, melatonin is an alternative, but not more than 3mg.
warm milk is also a good choice (or warm chocolate made with milk) Milk contains tryptophan, and when heated, tryptophan is changed into seratonin, a sleep inducing chemical in the body.

lovemachine said:

And that's all I'm looking for. Something to get me back on a regular schedule. I've never had this problem before in my life. It's so wierd.

I have never slept much or well

I went through a phase of trying otc aids ... never noticed much help from them really

they say exercize - physically and mentally challenging will help the mind and body rest better

OTC sleeping pills are by and large just antihistamines sold under another name. They're safe -- unless you're already taking an antihistamine (you don't want to OD).

My favorite combo for sleep is herbal -- kavakava and valerian root. (Full disclosure: Valerian stinks -- smells like sour socks.) A calcium/magnesium supplement taken before bed can be helpful for sleep, too -- because both are "calming" minerals. (Never take B vitamins before you go to bed -- they're energizing.)

Make sure you check the labels on anything you take and don't mess with it if you have any contraindications. (You shouldn't take kavakava if you have liver problems, for example.)

Behavioral stuff can also enhance your sleep. Try not to do anything too "active" (physically or mentally) before you get in the sack. Don't watch TV in bed.

BlackAdder7 said:

We are currently testing different types of sleeping pills that help ppl that can fall asleep but have trouble staying asleep - therefore effecting sleep rhythms and cycles.
You have to watch the antihistamines- they cause short term memory loss due to the sedating side effects.

CarrieMpls said:

I take Target sleep aid almost every Sunday night because usually I end up sleeping in so late on Sunday morning that I can't go to bed at a normal time Sunday night. This morning I was up at 10:00 so that's not too bad.

lovemachine said:

I am considering a target trip later today...

You lack of sleep may be caused by another problem.
Are you stressed?

littlemissG said:

Not particularly. I'd actually say I'm probably in the best mental health I've been in in the last 10 years. Which is why it's kinda pissing me off. I had no problems sleeping through years of depression. Shouldn't I be feeling all healthy and energized now that I'm relatively happy? But no. I can't sleep and I'm tired ALL the time.

I would NEVER take sleeping pills except as a last resort.

Try:

1) stepping up exercise but not too close to bedtime
2) Feng shui
3) Two hours prior to sleep, don't pay bills, don't do anything stressful, try to read a book or watch Television that is not too stimulating (violent, etc.). Perhaps even orging is bad since it's a "duty" now that you're a mod.
4) Addressing possible light issues or noise issues where you sleep.
5) Perhaps your bed is not comfortable enough?

I'm just not a fan of sleeping pills cause of how they eventually make you feel. Folks are like walking zombies sometimes when they're on them.


I had insomnia from the age of 15 to 27ish. I ended up giving up caffeine (for the most part except occasionally a soda or coffee) and I feng Shui'd my master bedroom. That shit actually worked.

Imago said:

I don't know that I "believe" in feng shui, though I believe if you think it's works, that's good enough. Besides, with a studio apartment, there's no where else to arrange anything.

I'm fine with caffeine, I barely drink any and none after 10am.

Noise, light and bed are fine.

The exercise thing is needed, but it's getting hard making myself. As I said, I'm exhausted most of the time after work. I'm still looking for a class, though, that would keep me interested enough to want to go. And I've stepped up my walking the last few weeks.

Not doing ANYTHING 2 hours before bed is sooooo difficult, though. I should be sleeping at roughly 8:30pm. I'm only ever on the org late cause I've already tried to sleep and can't so I get bored. But maybe I should be stricter about it...

PS - All good advice. Thanks.

CarrieMpls said:

Walking is miraculous if you can't get to the gym. You just have to make sure it's fast enough to keep the blood pumping at a certain percentage.

You may be in a downward spiral type cycle with that. Fatigue leads to lack of activity. Lack of activity keeps pent up stress in you. Then you loose more sleep, etc.

I'd incorporate the exercise even if you feel shitty for the first 2 weeks and see what comes of it.

Seriously, I'd do pills as a last resort.

Also your morning hours are insane.

What I meant by the morning hours being insane is that you aren't seeing much natural sunlight at that time in the morning are you?

Maybe you need a full spectrum sunlamp in the morning too. But those are quite pricey.


I'm a seasonal depressant so I'm looking into getting one.

Imago said:

I'm a seasonal depressant also. And no, I don't see much natural light at that time. But I figure I get more in the afternoons/evenings. The winters here are particularly harsh as even if you work a normal schedule it's generally dark when you leave the house in the morning and dark when you get home. Working earlier, at least I was getting an hour or two of sunlight in the afternoon by leaving earlier.

As for the walkng, yeah, it's been good. I figured out it's roughly 4.6 miles to walk down to Lake Calhoun, around it and back and I'm doing it in just over an hour, so I'm not being leisurely about it. In another few weeks, I'm switching to Lake Harriet which is over a mile away and a bigger lake, so I'm guessing that'll put it up to at least 6 miles, maybe 7...

Sometimes I think I should try jogging for a bit, but I just can't.