Equate Sleep Aid

Your insomnia comes and goes? You need at least 5 hours of sleep? You want something fast that you can get without a prescription. Besides, you really do not want to mess with those presumably "heavy" prescription sleeping pills. Here are fast facts about non-prescription sleep aids to guide you.

Usually, non prescription sleep aids generally refer to two types of sleeping pills. They are the antihistamines and dietary supplements.

Antihistamines:

1. How do they work? The most commonly used as non-prescription sleeping pills have been around for a while, probably since you were a child. These are drugs that you take when you have the same cough and colds or allergies.

These antihistamines are very popular not only because they are effective for coughs and allergies. You recover more quickly because the "benefit" of their side effects of prolonged drowsiness "forces" your body to rest and recuperate. Similarly, you are essentially using the side effect of drowsiness to help you sleep

2. What are they? Antihistamines are used as non prescription sleep aids are composed of two types of active ingredients diphenhydramine and doxylamine say

3. most popular brands are:

1. Sominex, Nytol, Tylenol PM, Benadryl (Diphenhydramine compound)
2. Unisom, Equate (Doxylamine compound)

4. Side effects are common:

• Prolonged drowsiness or hangover effect that impairs driving, etc.
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Reduced alertness
• Vomiting

Racing heartbeat and constipation are also more frequent complaints in this group of non-prescription sleeping pills.

5. Who can not use

However, there are certain groups of people who can not use antihistamines as a sleep aid without prescriptions. As with any medicine, they are not for pregnant or breastfeeding due to unknown risks of the drug transfer to the fetus and young infants on breast milk.

You should avoid taking diphenhydramine (Sominex, Nytol) if you have:

• Heart Problems
• Glaucoma
• Enlarged Prostate

Especially for Unisom, you can not even take them if you have asthma or bronchitis.

6. Other precautions when taking antihistamines.

Avoid alcohol. It increases the sedative effects of the pills. Even a small amount of alcohol combined with sleeping pills, you may feel dizzy, confused or wrong.

Never mix with a sleeping pill, sedative, tranquilizer, or another antihistamine. This could lead to dangerous results of drug interaction.

Food supplements:

2 of the most popular dietary supplements used as non prescription sleep aids are melatonin and valerian. It is followed by chamomile, a much milder non prescription sleep aid, which is often combined with other herbs as supplements in capsule form.

Melatonin

It is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland in the brain. It regulates our body clock or circadian rhythm is internal when it is time to go to sleep and when it is time to wake up. Melatonin has generated considerable interest among researchers, you will find over 14,000 studies on this hormone compared with valerian 556 studies, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) database.

Melatonin is probably the most widely prescribed in plants non prescription sleeping pills. Even 15% of pediatricians who prescribe sleeping pills for children suffering from insomnia recommend melatonin, according to the medical journal Pediatrics (2002).

1. Its synthetic form is available in many brands, avoiding the natural forms that are mainly derived from animal glands pineal melatonin because of possible contamination
2. Side effects that are common are daytime drowsiness headaches, dizziness, a "heavy-head" tax.