Sleep Remedies

Try exercise in the evening.  Also, get out of bed in the middle of the night.  Try a meditation class.  I had some relief from antidepressant medication since depression was a big part of the problem.  Major life changes (quitting that particular job) was the ultimate cure. 

You might try Herb Pharm's Milky "Oat Seed" -- it's a tincture and is a good relaxant without side effects.

But probably my strongest recommendation is Hylands "Calms Forte" -- even swing shift workers use it because it's so good at helping you into sleep mode.  It's formulated for babies but the same 2 tablet dose works for both adults, kids and dogs.

It's unusual as a homeopathic in that it's designed to either be taken with water or chewed and swallowed.

Might sound silly, but when I can't sleep I read a very boring book, usually one of DH's law books...works everytime.

Instead of getting into bed and trying to fall asleep, I need to get into bed and read or look at dogs on the Internet, etc.  Something simple and non-physical to unwind.  If I REALLY cannot sleep, I take a half a pill of original dramamine. 

When my allergies kick up I take a Benedryl every evening....works like a charm, allergies are contained and I get sooooo sleepy.....

Thanks so much, I am going to start to look for these things tonight.  I am so desparate for a night's sleep!

I will check all of these out, thanks, are any of them addictive though?  I don't know if addictive is the right word, but I very easily become dependent on pills.  I used to take advil non stop, even when I didn't have a headache, of when I thought I was going to get a headache, I would take them.  I was finishing off bottles of it each week. 

 I've used the Calms Forte too, for airplane flights, and it really helped. It's supposed to be very non-habit-forming. It's also fairly cheap, so if it doesn't work you're not out bunches of dollars :-p

Another thing that helps me sometimes is a nice warm cup of milk with some honey in it. I read something about it once, something about calcium absorption helping you relax? And the honey helps the calcium absorb? I'm not sure, but it's nice and soothing.

Some people also swear by eating a potato (with skin) before bedtime. Not sure how or why it works, but a lot of people seem to think it does. 

 Find a movie that you have always wanted to watch but never got the chance, or better yet,one you've seen the ending to on tv a million times, but was always curious about the beginning.  Throw it in and snuggle up with a blanket and fluffy pillow.  You'll be asleep before opening credits are over.

I think anything, benadryl or the homeopathics, have the ability to become addictive, even if it's just psychological. I have an addictive personality too, so I have to be very careful. The key is to find something that's safe to be addicted to. For example, you could find that exercise helps and you can't sleep if you don't exercise. That wouldn't be a bad thing, right? Meds on the other hand, might be a bad thing, especially if you found you needed to increase the dosage on it. I take benadryl to sleep too. It was suggested by one of my Dr's and works beautifully. I now *think* I can't sleep thru the night without it though. I've never upped the amount I take and I only take 1/2 of a 25mg pill, but I'd say that I'm hooked on it now and if you have a problem with that type of thing, it's probably not the best idea in the longterm. If you could take one, say just for tonight so you could catch up on some sleep, I think that'd be fine though. Sleep deprivation is awful, so I hope you catch some zzzzzzzzz's soon

I agree Cathy....a good night's sleep by itself...is addictive...you want that all the time, once you have it.

So anything that helps you accomplish that, well you need to make sure it's only a help and not a necessity, if it's chemical or medical nature, IMO.

My husband takes Valerian Root and swears by it. I believe it's an all natural supplement. Might be worth a try.

 I sometimes listen to "relaxation for sleep" CDs.   They can be kind of new agey and hokey, but they're very helpful and can teach you methods you can use on your own.