Find the right sleep solution

With so many choices out there, it might help to get an idea of the different drug-free supplement and medicinal options available to help you sleep. Over-the-counter medications often contain histamine blockers like doxylamine succinate. Blocking histamines can have a sedating effect, and help you get to sleep and stay asleep.²

As far as supplements go, melatonin is a hormone that your brain produces in response to darkness.³ It’s just one of the supplements you can use to help your body get the rest it needs.

Here’s a closer look at some of the most commonly used sleep supplements and over-the-counter drugs:

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that is naturally produced in the body to regulate the sleep/wake cycle. It is not a sedative, but a natural cue that it's time to wind down. Being exposed to light at night can block our body’s natural production of melatonin.³ Taking a melatonin supplement can help increase melatonin level in the body, making it easier to “turn out the light” at bedtime. Travelers sometimes use melatonin to help with jet lag, and studies have also shown that it can help night-shift workers adjust their internal clock.³

Lemon balm

Lemon balm leaves have been used since the Middle Ages to help reduce stress, promote sleep, and ease the discomfort caused by indigestion.⁵ It is often combined with herbs like valerian and chamomile to promote relaxation.⁵ Lemon balm is available in different forms such as tea, capsules, drops, or topical cream.

Passionflower

This is another one from the history books, traditionally used in the Americas and Europe as a calming herb for anxiety and insomnia. The belief is that passionflower increases levels of certain chemicals in the brain helping you to feel more relaxed.⁶ Passionflower is available in infusions, teas, and liquid extracts.⁶

Valerian root

If you think valerian root sounds like something you might find in a medieval potion, you’re not far off: it’s been used as a medicinal herb since the time of ancient Rome and used specifically in connection with sleep since the 2nd century AD.⁷ You can buy valerian root as a powder, liquid, dried herb, pill, or tea.⁷

Diphenhydramine

Diphenhydramine is available in many popular over-the-counter sleep-aids.⁸ Your body releases histamines naturally, and when their production is blocked, it can make you feel drowsy. Sleep-aids with diphenhydramine can help you fall asleep quickly and wake up less frequently during the night.⁸ 

Doxylamine succinate

Like diphenhydramine, doxylamine works to block the production of histamines.⁸ Sleep-aids with doxylamine have been shown to help people fall asleep up to 33% faster and stay asleep longer through the night.