Which sleep aid gives you the best sleep?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
1. Sleep at the same time everyday. Don't cheat. You need to reset your circadian rhythm.

2. You need to do something relaxing for an hour before sleeping. No studying. No reading the internet (the flashing/shiny screen is bad for you).

3. Don't excercise at night. Exercise in the morning.

4. Don't take caffeine (including soda) past 12pm.

If you can do the above four, you will do great. It is hard to do these behavorial changes esp no reading on the internet and no studying for an hour prior to sleep.

Members don't see this ad.
 
1. Sleep at the same time everyday. Don't cheat. You need to reset your circadian rhythm.

2. You need to do something relaxing for an hour before sleeping. No studying. No reading the internet (the flashing/shiny screen is bad for you).

3. Don't excercise at night. Exercise in the morning.

4. Don't take caffeine (including soda) past 12pm.

If you can do the above four, you will do great. It is hard to do these behavorial changes esp no reading on the internet and no studying for an hour prior to sleep.

Guilty of screwing up all of the above four... maybe that's why I'm such a damn night owl.
 
i was hoping this person would post a study - any study - where warm milk put people to sleep

"scientifically proven." :rolleyes:

to the poster: are you, by chance, related to kevin trudeau?

Actually, i've watched a special on tv about this couple years ago. Drinking warm milk helps warm up your body, and then the drop in body temperature afterwards is what actually helps you fall asleep.

Personally, I have mild isomnia and the milk thing doesn't really work for me. I turn on the fan at night (even when it's sub zero outside), pop a benadryl, and i'm asleep.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Actually, i've watched a special on tv about this couple years ago. Drinking warm milk helps warm up your body, and then the drop in body temperature afterwards is what actually helps you fall asleep.

Personally, I have mild isomnia and the milk thing doesn't really work for me. I turn on the fan at night (even when it's sub zero outside), pop a benadryl, and i'm asleep.


:luck: is pretty solid for getting to sleep.
 
Ugh, I've also had insomnia my entire life but never tried medication until I started M1. I told my GP at the schools health dept about it and he wrote me a script for ambien, which generally works pretty well. However, a few months later he quite and when I called in for a refill I was told I'd have to refer to the psychiatrist for refill since the NP didn't feel comfortable refilling it (wtf, ambien has a LOW abuse potential and I had used a total of 30 over 3 months time). Anyhow, I referred to the psych, who was like "well, lets try not drinking caffeine before we go back to ambien". Grrr. I was like, "Listen, A) I am in medschool and doubt I'd make it to a class in the morning without a cup of coffee. B) I've gone without caffeine in the past with no effect on my sleep pattern". Eventually she agreed to write the script but it kind of pissed me off, considering I have no history of abuse nor have I shown any signs of abuse.

Exercise does nothing for me, nor does relaxation techniques, soft music, warm milk, etc. My problem is that for some reason, every time it is time for me to fall asleep, I get a second wind and cannot slow my mind down. It doesn't matter if I've been exhausted all day, as soon as I lay down, i will be wide awake.

About Ambien, it usually works for me but about 25% of the time I wake up about 3 hours after I take it wide awake.
 
About Ambien, it usually works for me but about 25% of the time I wake up about 3 hours after I take it wide awake.

ambien has a really short half life and that's a pretty common "complaint" from people on it. ambien cr was developed to counter for the short half life of the active metabolites. lunesta has a significantly longer half life and is better for some people because of that reason.

but regular ambien is generic and i don't believe the cr version or lunesta are, so that's sometimes a consideration, too.

personally i've been taking ambien for a couple months and have found it to get more to sleep more consistently than anything else and less likely to leave me drowsy the next day (unlike benadryl and lunesta, which both zonk me for like 12 hours).
 
Nyquil. Or reading Lehninger's Biochemistry.
 
[SIZE=-1]Hi,
I don't actually have insomnia, but one of my favourite philosophers did, for all his life. I thought I'd share this philosophical perspective...

A career insomniac, Cioran made insomnia a laboratory, no easy place to work in well.[...] When I was about twenty I stopped sleeping and I consider that the grandest tragedy that could occur. At all hours I walked the streets like some kind of phantom. All that I have written much later has been worked out during those nights."

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"Insomnia is truly the moment when one is totally alone in the universe. Totally. . . . During insomniac nights I have truly understood the mystical, ultimate states, because in the depth that is fascinating in the mystic, the depth conceived in ultimate states, there is nothing more than madness. You are in the midst of night, everything has cleared off, but the God who is not arises, and one has the impression of a mysterious presence."

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mln/v119/119.5regier01.html

[/SIZE]
 
Sonata works great for me because it only has a 4-hour active life in the body. Since I hardly ever have 8 continuous hours for sleep, I can't take either Ambien or Lunesta because they have an 8- or even 9-hour life. That's why you wake up groggy in the morning -- they're still in your system. Ambien for me was the worst -- it's the devil's drug as far as I'm concerned. Major morning grogginess.

But Sonata is out of your system after 4 hours. It's meant for people who either (a) have trouble falling asleep but no trouble staying asleep once they're out (my problem), or (b) people who wake up in the middle of the night (for whatever reason) and then can't get back to sleep. You can take Sonata in either case as long as you have 4 or more hours left to sleep. I have used Sonata occasionally for 3 years now (I don't use it regularly or continuously) and it always helps me fall asleep and never leaves me with a morning hangover.

Also, cut all ALL caffeine (coffee, cola, chocolate) at least 5 hours before bed.
 
Last edited:
Sleeping regularly at the same time is probably the biggest thing for me. I usually take 500mg caffeine at least around 5pm, and I drop like a brick if I'm awake anywhere near 11:30 pm. I didn't know sleeping aids were so prevalent either; I always imagined them for whacked out trophy wives to couple with their xanax.
 
The thing is that it I have read how sleep agents really don't give you the good sleep
I usually hit up Benadryl at least 9 hours before I need to wake up. But you're right--sometimes I've noticed I sleep 10 hours but still feel really groggy. I suspect the benadryl knocks me out but doesn't give me quality sleep.
3. Don't excercise at night
Hmm...exercising in the evening definitely helps me fall asleep, but I've also noticed it requires me to sleep more unless I want to feel deprived the following day.
 
I needed a sleep aid during biochemistry this past semester. I tried, Lunesta with a serious hangover affect, ambien that knocked me out like a sledgehammer but I was wide awake within 3 hours and finally TEMAZEPAM, this old drug worked wonders, helped me to relax and get to sleep and wake up charged. Has risks of dependency, I was on it for 30 days and quit cold turkey no problems. :luck:
 
Yoga, no caffeine, healthy diet (plenty of EFAs)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Trazodone! It was originally developed for depression but works better as a sleep aid. Non-habit forming and incredibly cheap.
 
Hey I don't know what you guys in the US call them but I use the old antihistamines and find them pretty good...
 
I had the same problem. The combination of 8hrs of sleep every night and lack of any physical activity during my last week of prep lead to difficulty sleeping. I found lunesta worked great and didn't leave me feeling crappy in the morning. Lunesta + melatonin was my weapon of choice the night before the test. I just made sure to wake up 2 hours before my test and get a nice shower and breakfast to wake me up.
 
Great thread. I've been an insomniac for as long as I can remember, but that probably has more to do with my not being a morning person. I just can't do it, my circadian rhythm refuses to reset and I can't fall asleep before 2-3AM. During school I'd build up a sleep debt through the week and feel like crap, then gorge on sleep during the weekend. I'm about to take Step 1 on Tuesday and I don't expect I'll really get a wink of sleep :-( Especially since I've been sleeping at 4-5:00AM and waking up at 1:00PM for the past month. Oh well, it's just for 8 hours. Hopefully the adrenaline will keep me awake.
 
That's sharp advice sharkmark7. I guess praying fixes everything huh?
 
What about smoking pot as a way to relax before going to bed? Its probably less harmful than a lot of the drugs people are taking to get some sleep at night.
 
I didn't read through everything here, but if melatonin doesn't work, try to increase dosage up to around 6mg. Keep in mind that you might have to take it regularly for a week before a balance is restored. I "experimented" with my friend. At first she had hang-overs in the mornings, but after about a week or two eventually the balance was restored and the hang-overs were gone. Her insomnia is now completely gone and she is fine with intermittent 3mg melatonin doses.

If that doesn't work, you can try Valerian or 5-HTP (more powerful than tryptophan, which is another pill you can try).
 
Last edited:
Seroquel (25 mg) is great! Used for bipolar patients, but in low dosages a powerful sedative.
Here's my problem... my husband and I want to have a baby. Is there any med similar to Seroquel, or any script sleep aid that is safe for pregnant women? I have tried Ambien, which I know is class b, but it makes me have "out of body" experiences.
Please help! My sleep is essential!
 
sex does it for me better than any drug. Don't know about the affect it has on you, but baby-making would get me tired enough to have a good-night's sleep.
 
Seroquel (25 mg) is great! Used for bipolar patients, but in low dosages a powerful sedative.
Here's my problem... my husband and I want to have a baby. Is there any med similar to Seroquel, or any script sleep aid that is safe for pregnant women? I have tried Ambien, which I know is class b, but it makes me have "out of body" experiences.
Please help! My sleep is essential!

Hey dude, go to your doctor. This place isn't for medical advice, but you may not know this given that this is your first post. Your post is threatening to have this otherwise awesome and informative thread closed by our ever-vigilant moderators. Everyone else: I suggest NOT responding to this question with medical advice.

FYI, just to add some science to the mix: low-dose Seroquel works by antagonizing histamine receptors. Benadryl = low-dose quetiapine. hah!

and yes, making babies should theoretically tire you out. Go see your doctor.. Perhaps the one that's been giving you low-dose Seroquel is just making lots of money off the manufacturer.
 
Just started trying melatonin recently, it's been working great for me. I think it helps improve the quality of sleep too, because I've been noticing a decreased need for sleep too. So far no depression (in fact, feeling pretty happy with the newfound energy), so keeping my fingers crossed that it won't become an issue.
 
Just started trying melatonin recently, it's been working great for me. I think it helps improve the quality of sleep too, because I've been noticing a decreased need for sleep too. So far no depression (in fact, feeling pretty happy with the newfound energy), so keeping my fingers crossed that it won't become an issue.

What dosing do you do? NJBMD posted one time that 1/2 the dose of melatonin actually helped more if crazy dreams / etc. started springing up.
 
Disclaimer -- I didn't read this whole thread, this is JUST a response to the OP's original post.

Disclaimer -- This is not medical advice, simply an observation. Consult your doctor.

If your problem with insomnia stems from stress, or from being unable to 'turn your mind off', and nothing else is helping, one thing I've used is clonazepam 0.25mg qHS. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a benzo, you'll get addicted (no you won't) blah blah balh, but it works. It'll take the edge off the hyperactive mind, and it's a fairly effective hypnotic, but the dose is low enough to not zonk you out (or give you tolerance issues, especially if you don't use it all the time). Use a low dose long acting type. Just make sure you're only using long acting hypnotics when you can afford to sleep until you wake up. Otherwise you need the short acting types so you aren't groggy in the morning.

Obviously for any prescription drug, particularly of the scheduled variety, you need to consult your doc for a Rx. Scoring from your buddy is bad, bad, bad.
 
If your problem with insomnia stems from stress, or from being unable to 'turn your mind off', and nothing else is helping, one thing I've used is clonazepam 0.25mg qHS. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a benzo, you'll get addicted (no you won't) blah blah balh, but it works. It'll take the edge off the hyperactive mind, and it's a fairly effective hypnotic, but the dose is low enough to not zonk you out (or give you tolerance issues, especially if you don't use it all the time). Use a low dose long acting type. Just make sure you're only using long acting hypnotics when you can afford to sleep until you wake up. Otherwise you need the short acting types so you aren't groggy in the morning.

Funny, I have a friend who had best results with Klonopin over any other similar drug, as well. Interesting...
 
I thought I was the only one who experienced this... my parents (and everyone else): "but you're so sleep deprived, shouldn't you be able to sleep right now??"

Sounds like a symptom of "Delayed sleep phase syndrome"..relatively rare
 
I have also found that trazodone worked for me... it isn't one of the meds that keeps you asleep but it really helped me to relax and go to sleep- which was my problem. The PA who gave it to me said I could take anywhere from 1-3+ pills. I usually take 1-2 pills and the time I took 3 I did wake up feeling tired.

I only use this if I am stressing over a test, need to sleep, but can't calm thoughts in my head... it was originally prescribed for my endocrine disease but not that I am regulated from that insomnia isn't an issue
 
sleeping regularly at the same time is probably the biggest thing for me. I usually take 500mg caffeine at least around 5pm, and i drop like a brick if i'm awake anywhere near 11:30 pm. I didn't know sleeping aids were so prevalent either; i always imagined them for whacked out trophy wives to couple with their xanax.

orly?
 
I did research in a sleep lab for a year. There's a lot of comments on here about various drugs, so I won't repeat that, but I think there are some behavioral practices worth mentioning.

1. The bed is where you sleep. Period. Not where you read, not where you watch TV, not where you play with your dog, not where you talk to your wife. It's where you sleep. Or participate in pre-sleep activities ;)

2. If you cannot sleep, do not stay in bed. This goes against Rule #1. Get up and do something that will allow you to become sleepy (for me, it's reading). Do not subject yourself to anything that is over-stimulating - no TV, no movies, no video games, no computers. Reading works for many people, so long as you aren't reading something you're so captivated by that you'd actually put off sleep to read it. Do not make yourself comfortable doing this. Do not lounge in the overstuffed leather recliner. Sit on a kitchen chair or otherwise uncomfortable spot. After about 15 or 20 minutes, reassess how you feel. Close your eyes. If you feel tired, go back to bed.

3. While in bed, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ALARM CLOCK. It will make you anxious and this is counter-productive.

4. Develop a nighttime routine. This should not include anything that stimulates you. If you shower at night, do it at least an hour before bedtime. The hour before bed should be peaceful and stress-free. Try aromatherapy.

5. Make your surroundings conducive to sleep. Many people don't realize the effects of their environment on anxiety levels. Your bedroom should be a place that feels calm and peaceful. Look at your wall color for 15 seconds. How does it make you feel? Look at your room as a whole. Is it messy? This can make many people feel anxious on a subconscious level.

That's all I can think of for now. I've overcome my insomnia with a combination of these tactics and those mentioned above. I shower an hour before bed, put on my PJs and brush my teeth, then read in a quiet room for a bit before bed. Sometimes I take a melatonin tablet, and sometimes I have a glass of red wine while reading. For me, it's really key to maintain constant sleep and wake times. I realize that's not possible for everyone, for it's very good to do when you can.
 
Last edited:
I did research in a sleep lab for a year. There's a lot of comments on here about various drugs, so I won't repeat that, but I think there are some behavioral practices worth mentioning.

1. The bed is where you sleep. Period. Not where you read, not where you watch TV, not where you play with your dog, not where you talk to your wife. It's where you sleep. Or participate in pre-sleep activities ;)

2. If you cannot sleep, do not stay in bed. This goes against Rule #1. Get up and do something that will allow you to become sleepy (for me, it's reading). Do not subject yourself to anything that is over-stimulating - no TV, no movies, no video games, no computers. Reading works for many people, so long as you aren't reading something you're so captivated by that you'd actually put off sleep to read it. Do not make yourself comfortable doing this. Do not lounge in the overstuffed leather recliner. Sit on a kitchen chair or otherwise uncomfortable spot. After about 15 or 20 minutes, reassess how you feel. Close your eyes. If you feel tired, go back to bed.

3. While in bed, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ALARM CLOCK. It will make you anxious and this is counter-productive.

4. Develop a nighttime routine. This should not include anything that stimulates you. If you shower at night, do it at least an hour before bedtime. The hour before bed should be peaceful and stress-free. Try aromatherapy.

5. Make your surroundings conducive to sleep. Many people don't realize the effects of their environment on anxiety levels. Your bedroom should be a place that feels calm and peaceful. Look at your wall color for 15 seconds. How does it make you feel? Look at your room as a whole. Is it messy? This can make many people feel anxious on a subconscious level.

That's all I can think of for now. I've overcome my insomnia with a combination of these tactics and those mentioned above. I shower an hour before bed, put on my PJs and brush my teeth, then read in a quiet room for a bit before bed. Sometimes I take a melatonin tablet, and sometimes I have a glass of red wine while reading. For me, it's really key to maintain constant sleep and wake times. I realize that's not possible for everyone, for it's very good to do when you can.

:thumbup: really helpful advice.

when i was in ms-1, i used to keep midnight as my goal for finishing up studying and getting to bed. that was a bad idea, because i'd always stay up way past midnight... i usually start to get sleepy around 10:30-11pm and once i've fought off that initial sleepiness... i stay awake for a LONG time.

know your body and cater your sleep cycle towards that. being in bed by 10:30 gives me a chance to relax wind down and sleep. i wake up early now - and i'm finding that the extra study time and energy gained from going to bed early far outweights the energy drain from staying up really late to study.
 
I didn't read through everything here, but if melatonin doesn't work, try to increase dosage up to around 6mg. Keep in mind that you might have to take it regularly for a week before a balance is restored. I "experimented" with my friend. At first she had hang-overs in the mornings, but after about a week or two eventually the balance was restored and the hang-overs were gone. Her insomnia is now completely gone and she is fine with intermittent 3mg melatonin doses.

If that doesn't work, you can try Valerian or 5-HTP (more powerful than tryptophan, which is another pill you can try).

I actually tried this. I started having some very vivid dreams and nightmares on the melatonin. I eventually got a 6-week prescription for ambien to finish my 1st year with a promise to my doc to explore some non-pharmacological interventions this summer when i'm done with 1st year.
 
man, insomnia is f-ing frustrating.

earplugs and sleeping mask. anti-histamines work if you have 9-10 hours to sleep because there's no way youre getting up in the morning. no sugar or nicotine 1 hour before bed. there's no way im giving up caffeine though, i just started drinking coffee M2 year and my productivity has shot through the roof (though there are many other contributing factors). Try sleeping earlier and getting up earlier, force yourself to get up and you'll be tired at night. Then again, don't take my word for it because I still have trouble sleeping several times per month.
 
I did research in a sleep lab for a year. There's a lot of comments on here about various drugs, so I won't repeat that, but I think there are some behavioral practices worth mentioning.

1. The bed is where you sleep. Period. Not where you read, not where you watch TV, not where you play with your dog, not where you talk to your wife. It's where you sleep. Or participate in pre-sleep activities ;)

2. If you cannot sleep, do not stay in bed. This goes against Rule #1. Get up and do something that will allow you to become sleepy (for me, it's reading). Do not subject yourself to anything that is over-stimulating - no TV, no movies, no video games, no computers. Reading works for many people, so long as you aren't reading something you're so captivated by that you'd actually put off sleep to read it. Do not make yourself comfortable doing this. Do not lounge in the overstuffed leather recliner. Sit on a kitchen chair or otherwise uncomfortable spot. After about 15 or 20 minutes, reassess how you feel. Close your eyes. If you feel tired, go back to bed.

3. While in bed, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ALARM CLOCK. It will make you anxious and this is counter-productive.

4. Develop a nighttime routine. This should not include anything that stimulates you. If you shower at night, do it at least an hour before bedtime. The hour before bed should be peaceful and stress-free. Try aromatherapy.

5. Make your surroundings conducive to sleep. Many people don't realize the effects of their environment on anxiety levels. Your bedroom should be a place that feels calm and peaceful. Look at your wall color for 15 seconds. How does it make you feel? Look at your room as a whole. Is it messy? This can make many people feel anxious on a subconscious level.

That's all I can think of for now. I've overcome my insomnia with a combination of these tactics and those mentioned above. I shower an hour before bed, put on my PJs and brush my teeth, then read in a quiet room for a bit before bed. Sometimes I take a melatonin tablet, and sometimes I have a glass of red wine while reading. For me, it's really key to maintain constant sleep and wake times. I realize that's not possible for everyone, for it's very good to do when you can.


great advice. I have to learn to get out of bed and do something instead of tossing and turning for sometimes 2 hours. also not looking at the alarm clock is huge, it will make you go mad which makes it even more impossible to sleep. also may turn down the lights in your apartment and hour or so before going to bed, and never take a midday nap
 
I'm not sure what I would have done this past year without benadryl... though i do need to do some research on that and see what the hell I'm doing to my body...
 
lthough not exactly an official clinical term, deep sleep refers to the periods in your sleep cycle in which you are considered the most asleep. In other words, your brain experiences more delta waves – indicators of deep unconsciousness and lowered brain activity – in this phase than in any other. Some scientists say that your restorative sleep takes place during this phase. This can lead to problems with those who take sleep aids. Most sleep aids just help you get to sleep – but they prohibit strong delta-wave formation. In other words, while you may be able to become unconscious, your body will not get the delta waves it craves. If you are awoken during deep sleep, you are more likely to be very groggy and irritable. So, it is necessary to get deep sleep not only because of health reasons, but also to keep your family members from giving your irritation right back to you!
 
I did research in a sleep lab for a year. There's a lot of comments on here about various drugs, so I won't repeat that, but I think there are some behavioral practices worth mentioning.

1. The bed is where you sleep. Period. Not where you read, not where you watch TV, not where you play with your dog, not where you talk to your wife. It's where you sleep. Or participate in pre-sleep activities ;)

2. If you cannot sleep, do not stay in bed. This goes against Rule #1. Get up and do something that will allow you to become sleepy (for me, it's reading). Do not subject yourself to anything that is over-stimulating - no TV, no movies, no video games, no computers. Reading works for many people, so long as you aren't reading something you're so captivated by that you'd actually put off sleep to read it. Do not make yourself comfortable doing this. Do not lounge in the overstuffed leather recliner. Sit on a kitchen chair or otherwise uncomfortable spot. After about 15 or 20 minutes, reassess how you feel. Close your eyes. If you feel tired, go back to bed.

3. While in bed, DO NOT LOOK AT THE ALARM CLOCK. It will make you anxious and this is counter-productive.

4. Develop a nighttime routine. This should not include anything that stimulates you. If you shower at night, do it at least an hour before bedtime. The hour before bed should be peaceful and stress-free. Try aromatherapy.

5. Make your surroundings conducive to sleep. Many people don't realize the effects of their environment on anxiety levels. Your bedroom should be a place that feels calm and peaceful. Look at your wall color for 15 seconds. How does it make you feel? Look at your room as a whole. Is it messy? This can make many people feel anxious on a subconscious level.

That's all I can think of for now. I've overcome my insomnia with a combination of these tactics and those mentioned above. I shower an hour before bed, put on my PJs and brush my teeth, then read in a quiet room for a bit before bed. Sometimes I take a melatonin tablet, and sometimes I have a glass of red wine while reading. For me, it's really key to maintain constant sleep and wake times. I realize that's not possible for everyone, for it's very good to do when you can.


I found your post amusing, after reading all those non-pharmaceutical ways to sleep, you end with....
 
i would stay with diphenhydramine (unisom/benadryl) or the other first generation antihistamines for sleep, or melatonin. the benzo's (temazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, etc) are addictive, and the sleep drugs like ambien/lunesta (which are modified benzo's) tend to lose efficacy after a few weeks and so aren't a long-term solution. trazodone is an option and was one of my favorite drugs as an intern for patients who couldn't sleep, but it's a Rx and the rare side effect is priapism which is quite unfortunate. doxapin is a tricyclic antidepressant that's also pretty good for sleep but has the nasty side effect profile of the TCA's. i would guess that most premeds/med students who don't sleep well are stressed and have poor sleep hygeine habits, rather than true insomniacs. i'd stick with sleep hygeine tips and some occassional benadryl :).
 
I found your post amusing, after reading all those non-pharmaceutical ways to sleep, you end with....

LOL, well with my life I sometimes need a little help. But I left the Ambien behind years ago. Plus, I really really like wine :)
 
i would stay with diphenhydramine (unisom/benadryl) or the other first generation antihistamines for sleep, or melatonin. the benzo's (temazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, etc) are addictive, and the sleep drugs like ambien/lunesta (which are modified benzo's) tend to lose efficacy after a few weeks and so aren't a long-term solution. trazodone is an option and was one of my favorite drugs as an intern for patients who couldn't sleep, but it's a Rx and the rare side effect is priapism which is quite unfortunate. doxapin is a tricyclic antidepressant that's also pretty good for sleep but has the nasty side effect profile of the TCA's. i would guess that most premeds/med students who don't sleep well are stressed and have poor sleep hygeine habits, rather than true insomniacs. i'd stick with sleep hygeine tips and some occassional benadryl :).

Bet that would keep me awake.:laugh:
 
When you guys re pulling 30 hour call duty as M3's, trust me, you won't have problems sleeping. A useful exercise would be to practice sleeping with one eye open. You'll need it when your on retractor pull during a 12 hour Whipple Procedure.
 
Non-pharmacologic treatments (behavioral modification, environmental changes, etc.) are a crucial part of insomnia treatment. When paired with pharmacologic interventions such as BZRAs (i.e. zolpidem/Ambien), melatonin or SSRIs they're an important part of comprehensive insomnia management.

Some of the newer BZRAs have been evaluated for chronic use. Funny how on-patent status can make research dollars flow. In some individuals there's far less tachyphylaxis to judiciously applied BZRAs compared to OTC antihistamines.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2225552/

Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Zolpidem Extended-Release 12.5 mg, Administered 3 to 7 Nights Per Week for 24 Weeks, in Patients With Chronic Primary Insomnia: A 6-Month, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Parallel-Group, Multicenter Study

Conclusions:
These findings establish the efficacy of 3 to 7 nights per week dosing of zolpidem extended-release 12.5 mg for up to 6 months. Treatment provided sustained and significant improvements in sleep onset and maintenance and also improved next-day concentration and morning sleepiness.
 
I started sleeping regularly a few months ago and it made a small miracle. I study much more efficiently now - with 7.5 mg Zopliclone at bedtime. A bit groggy in the morning but it goes away before 8am. Hope it helps
 
I've always just used OTC diphenhydramine (Benadryl, Simply Sleep). It's cheap and effective. Also, you could try and get a script for promethazine if benzo's are contraindicated, or, you just prefer to stay away from them. Both diphenhydramine and promethazine are antihistamines that are known to be very safe, even in larger doses if necessary. I believe promethazine is OTC in many European countries.
 
Top