Better Sleep; Tips and Herbal Remedies for a Good night's Sleep Tonight.

Copyright (c) 2007 Ted Crawford

BETTER SLEEP.Tips and OTC remedies.

Being a family physician, one of the biggest complaints I
hear today is problems with sleeping. As you all know, it
is a huge problem which has blossomed into a multi million
dollar industry for the pharmaceutical companies with such
prescription medications as Ambien, Sonata, Lunesta and
Rozerem, to name a few.

What a practitioner should stress to patients is to first
make sure that they are practicing good sleep hygiene
habits such as not watching television in bed, not drinking
caffeine or alcohol in the evening too close to bedtime,
not eating a large meal or exercising too close to bedtime,
and unwinding prior to hitting the bed. Easier said than
done I realize. Eating a healthy diet and establishing a
regular daily exercise regime can make a world of
difference in enabling one to get a proper night's rest.

The most popular over-the-counter sleep aids all contain
diphenhydramine, an anti-histamine most commonly known as
the brand name Benadryl. Whether it is Sominex, Nytol,
Tylenol PM, or any other sleep formulation you see on the
shelves, most contain this ingredient. One of the unwanted
side effects of this medication is that it IS an
anti-histamine and will not only dry you out, but can cause
urinary retention and make you feel very groggy the
following morning because of its fairly long half life.

Before I prescribe one of the prescription sleeping
medications, I like to recommend some other herbals which
you can purchase over-the-counter and are safer and seem to
work without all of the side effects associated with
diphenhydramine and the prescription medications.

You may want to try one or all of the following if you
haven't. An inexpensive and healthy way I use commonly to
calm down before going to bed is a tea with chamomile in
it. The particular brand I commonly drink is Sweet Dreams
by Bigelow which is a nice combination of chamomile and
mint. It works. It is also good at relieving
gastrointestinal distress as well.

Another herb which I have found helpful is valerian
(Valeriana officinalis). 400-900 milligrams by mouth about
30 minutes prior to going to bed is the suggested dosage.
One of the brand names is Alluna which is two tablets about
an hour prior to bedtime.

One herb sometimes recommended as an anxiolytic or sleep
aid is Kava which I would AVOID. It IS hepatotoxic
(damages the liver).

Hopefully you do not experience any problems going to sleep
or staying asleep, but so many of us do and it is nice to
not have to rely on the prescription "big guns" as I refer
to them as for getting the sleep we need.

May this help assist in you getting a wonderful night's
sleep tonight!

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Dr. Ted Crawford is a family practice physican in Tucson,
Arizona and has a website devoted to helping patients find
reliable health information and products. His article
"Better Sleep; Tips and Remedies for a Better Night's Sleep
Tonight" can also be found at http://www.babyboomersdoc.com