MetaChat - Do over the counter sleeping pills actually work?

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05 March 2007

Do over the counter sleeping pills actually work? →[More:] I usually go to bed around midnight, and that works fine. But in a couple of weeks I have to go to bed at 6 or 7 pm in order to wake up at 2 am to catch an international aeroplane flight. So if I take a couple of OTC sleeping pills, will they actually be able to override my internal clock that thinks I should still be awake and active? What's the best kind of sleeping pills that both work and also don't prevent me from waking up feeling like shit? Are there any?

(I don't sleep on planes because that ruins my well tested anti-jetlag regimen [stay awake for the entire trip, drink lots of alcohol throughout, go to bed after dark local time in the destination city. It works well for me.]. So I need to be well rested.)

post by: cmonkey at: 15:32 | 20 comments

cmonkey, i don't take any kind of depressants if i can help it because i have the sort of system that means they make me feel like shit for three days afterwards.

i think most traveller's websites/blogs etcetera recommend melatonin for what you're attempting to do.

posted by lonefrontranger 05 March | 15:39

What's in them? Melatonine does work, but in a subtle way - it just makes you drowsy-ish and you have to be relaxed and convinced of the need to sleep (and the drowsy feeling tends to pass if you don't doze off soon enough).

Benzodiazepines (like Valium and Xanax) are stronger stuff.

posted by goodnewsfortheinsane 05 March | 15:40

Does Benadryl make you sleepy? Because most OTC sleep aids are just antihistamines.

They don't work for me, but I'm an insomniac. I can pop two Ambien and still be downright perky.

posted by jrossi4r 05 March | 15:49

My doctor has recommended Bendaryl to help you sleep. It has very, very few side-effects and the primary one you are trying to leverage is that it makes you drowsy.

I have been taking another medication that has given me insomnia and Benadryl has helped counter it, but it does leave me a tiny bit woozy.

posted by plinth 05 March | 15:49

Melatonin has an inconsistant track record for me, so I need to scam myself into sleeping with drugs since I don't want to risk getting 2 hours of sleep that night and spending the next two or three days being a zombie because I fell asleep on the plane.

What's in them?

Antihistimines, primarily. Slate recommends an herbal thing, but I dunno how well it'll work if I'm not already tired.

posted by cmonkey 05 March | 15:51

Valerian is available in pill form OTC (Nytol) but it can induce a very heavy sleep. Other herbs that will get you off to sleep are scutellaria (skullcap) or clary sage (usually taken as an infusion - 1 teaspoon in a cup of boiling water, leave for ten minutes) If you are going the herbal route, it's important to have some trial runs beforehand to see how you respond. Both scutellaria and clary sage are strong and clary sage in particular can leave you with a thick head. In medievel times it used to be added to ale as a soporific.

posted by Arqa 05 March | 15:57

if am already really tired then they can make me go to sleep earlier than usual. if i am still wide awake and energetic, they do nothing.

posted by weretable and the undead chairs 05 March | 15:59

Yep, Benadryl and the sleeping portion of Tylenol PM (for example) are the exact same thing: OTC antihistamines. I find that if I'm having a little bit of trouble dropping off, they're great. But if I'm really having a serious bout of insomnia, they do nothing for me, either -- I have to resort to full-on prescriptions (yay for Xanax in very small doses!).

I've never gotten any relief from herbal remedies; melatonin just gave me wild hallucinogenic dreams (so intense that I felt exhausted when I woke up), and valerian didn't even make me yawn.

posted by scody 05 March | 16:12

Can you stay up all night the day before you have to go to bed at 6 or 7? I used to do that and it worked well. OTC stuff is hit or miss for me. Now I can't stay up all night unless I have nothing to do the next day because I'm a basket case.

posted by Divine_Wino 05 March | 17:55

My two cents: valerian makes me sleepy, but only if I'm already feeling tired. It also leaves me very groggy.

I'd go with Wino's suggestion, personally.

posted by Specklet 05 March | 18:09

The problem with Benadryl is that it takes forever to get out of your system. Its half life is what, 48 hours? 72 hours? I forget. But it means that it works pretty well for day one, but then next night when you take it, you've got not only that whole dose but a big chunk of the previous one still onboard. That's when I really feel like hell. One dose now and then doesn't screw me up too much.

posted by small_ruminant 05 March | 18:16

Yeah, most OTC sleep aids consist of Diphenhydramine which doesn't work for me. Even combining it with alcohol. It did leave me groggy the next day, however.

posted by frecklefaerie 05 March | 18:20

fwiw, if you happen have restless legs syndrome (i have it), otc antihistamines can make it worse. sometimes not, though -- depends on how restless the legs are to begin with.

posted by treepour 05 March | 18:30

My bf, who has occasional bouts of insomnia due to his rather erratic sleep schedule, and also his craving for sweets before bed, often tries to take a sleeping pill (Tylenol PM). They have never, to my knowledge, helped him fall asleep. In fact, it seems like they just make him anxious. Yet, he still takes them, for some unknown reason.

My advice would be not to fall asleep at all, or to only sleep for a few hours. Then, zombify your way through security and sleep on your flight. There's nothing worse than arriving in your destination at 8am, completely tired because you couldn't sleep on the plane.

posted by muddgirl 05 March | 18:32

Well, actually, I was going to suggest Tylenol PM. It works for me - I get drowsy within an hour or so of taking it, and I sleep well. (I was able to be wakened one night, but I was very groggy and out of it). Plus, I feel fine in the morning.

posted by redvixen 05 March | 19:59

Consider getting up real early the day before so that by 6 pm, you are running on fumes. Then pop a Tylenol PM or two.

posted by mischief 05 March | 20:35

Benadryl induced sleep is possibly the most relaxing kind of sleep I've ever had. Tylenol PM will also do the trick for me, but it usually leaves me feeling groggy for a few hours of waking up.

posted by youngergirl44 05 March | 21:15

They do work for me - the only problem I have is that I feel very groggy in the morning.

posted by sisterhavana 06 March | 01:53

Hmm, Tylenol PM is out because I drink more than three alcoholic beverages daily. Nuts. I'll do a test run of the Calms Forte and the Benadryl (seperately, of course) and see how that works out. If it doesn't, I guess I'll just have to stay up the night before I want to sleep early.

Thanks!

posted by cmonkey 06 March | 11:49

Calms Forte is completely useless. Meh.

posted by cmonkey 25 March | 02:28

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