Ideal Bite

The best sleep aid and the cheapest is to try modifications to your "sleep hygiene." Many if not most people with insomnia need to retrain their brains and bodies to sleep. People do things like read in bed, get up and go to sleep at all different times, lie in bed when they cannot fall asleep, and so on, all of which confuse your brain about sleep. I used a cognitive behavioral therapy program online to track my sleep patterns and improve my sleeping. It has worked great and does not involve taking any medications or buying any products at all, making it the best for the environment too. The only downside for some people is YOU have to do the work, as opposed to hoping some drug or other will do it for you. On the upside, since you are in control, it's very easy to fix any relapses back into insomnia.

oh this tip is going to kill me tonight. thanks alot! ;)

Tree Oil and Lavender were recently linked to breast tissue development in prepubescent boys. The one advantage of FDA-approved meds is that they actually have been tested and most of the time their side effects are known. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's safe for everyone--or non-addictive.

I recently discovered Rescue Sleep, which comes from the same company (Dr. Bach) as Rescue Remedy. It really works for me and has worked for a friend I recommended it to. It's a combination of flower essences that comes in this tiny spray bottle. You spray it a couple times on your tongue. So besides being effective, it's very convenient.

As a person with terrible insomnia for years, I've tried almost everything. The usual things that work for most people with stress-induced insomnia don't work for me, like not using the bed for "anything other than sleep or sex" (like reading, studying, watching tv), not drinking caffeinated drinks after lunch, not eating after 8, etc. Nothing really worked. I tried knock-you-out sleeping pills but hated how they made me feel and wasn't about to take them every night. A few months ago I talked to my doctor and he wrote me a prescription for Rozerem. It's a pharmaceutical grade melatonin supplement. Apparently you need about 8mg for it to really work, and most over the counter, unregulated supplements contain about 3mg. So you could ask your doc for Rozerem, or triple your dose of over the counter 3mg supplements. Certain foods also increase melatonin production. It is synthesized from tryptophan, which accord to Wikipedia is "particularly plentiful in oats, bananas, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, spirulina and peanuts." The only side effects that I've noticed are that I've been in a much better mood and have been able to gain more muscle and lose more weight from exercise!

The best product by far is Nutrasleep, by Source Naturals. It does not have any melatonin, a problem for many people because of its hormonal effects: wacky dreams, etc.

Elise (or others) Just read a very promising article about CBT. Can you direct us to the software or program you used? I'm very curious.

Hmm...how about just drawing a line against the world and actively taking time to relax?!?! Systems seem great, and drugs probably work, but those all seem a part of our ADD-creating, anxiety-raising society that gives a system, method or medicine for everything. How about going against the prevailing idea that we MUST be doing this, or being that, or achieving both, even stuff as simple as feeling like you have to fold laundry while you watch TV or cook dinner. Society's sucked the simplicity out of life, requiring us to always be multi-tasking, always connected and demanding immediate responses... If I had a dollar for every one of my friends who felt they need to do laundry, wash clothes, listen to the news...all simultaneously while making dinner... Insanity.

Oops, that should read "fold clothes". While typing, I was on the phone. Honestly!

i stumbled upon hyland's calms forte for anxiety years ago, but i still use it for occasional insomnia. other than having some wicked weird dreams every once in a while when i take it, it does the trick. it's homeopathic and i've never had any side effects (aside from the weird dreams) from it. i take one for anxiety and two for insomnia. three is what brings the dreams. ;)