The best sleeping tablets?

[Letmeinletmein]

To anyone who uses sleeping tablets, please could you let me know the best OTC ones you’ve found that work but don’t leave you feeling like a zombie the next day?

Piriton, Nytol, Benadryl etc are Anticholinergics and might be linked to dementia and Alzheimers. Several studies show a link but they are not definitively sure if it's the meds or the insomnia. Piriton and Nytol work wonders for me but that research scares me given its not one study. So am trying to depend more on melatonin. Plus I think the former tend to leave me groggy. Might try Phernegan or Mirtazapine next . Where can I get these @Busybeemumm

Bach's rescue night gummies help me but I can't take a lot of stuff that's been recommended so far.

I should have said that I was prescribed mirtazapine for depression and sleep difficulty. I had the most amazing sleep on these as well as some weird dreams but the weight gain was so much and so fast that I stopped taking them after about 6 months.

Still have a couple of packets left so take a tiny bit and seems to help with sleep. I will have to try the other recommendations on here- so thank you everyone and OP for asking the question 😊

I've just ordered some melatonin on the basis if this thread and about to rummage through my medicine cabinet for some Piriton.

The boots own brand, either two a night or one a night. They’re usually on Advantage prices too. I find Nytol makes me groggy but the Boots own doesn’t

Wow! That's so strange. Zopiclone absolutely wipes me out. Like unconscious. It's powerful

F

Melatonin from biovea usually gets here in 2 working days.

Phenergan absolutely knocks me for six. We get ours from a pharmacy for travel sickness but have also been prescribed them for insomnia after I went to the GP and told them I'd not slept properly for so long I'm seeing spiders that aren't really there out of my peripheral vision, wood grain floor moves like it's got water flowing underneath it, and having doors closed had given me claustrophobia that a cave diver would have nightmares about.

I couldn't take them any longer as I had horrible sleep inertia, and felt like a zombie all day the next days.

Mirtazipine also feels a bit like this for me, but I don't feel comfortable taking an SSRI for sleep, even though it is sedating.

I’m in the UK - I buy melatonin with no issues

Melatonin & Magnesium don’t work for me.
Nytol or other similar products do, usually.
My insomnia is all stress related.

I’ve had 5hrs sleep since Sunday, nothing is working and I feel so unsafe driving
watching this thread in hope of something I haven’t tried

Nytol blue packet. I take half a tablet around 6pm so I'm very sleepy by 8pm.

Promethazine does the same to me. One tablet and I was out for 16 hours!

Nytol blue is reasonably effective, the smelly herbal ones in the green box don’t work at all for me.

Night Nurse knocks me out but it’s dangerous to get too reliant on it.

Likewise. I cut down to using just 1/2 a tablet as I was feeling wiped out the next day.

Please don't drive if you don't feel safe.

Right now I'm using one or two Calms which seem to give me more sleep than not taking them, but I think my sleep is dependent on so many things and what works one night doesn't work the next.

I can’t get to work without driving and it’s a new job, 8 weeks in
I drove in on the back roads today rather than the motorway as that felt safer to do

No job is worth risking your life for. The stress of prioritising a day at work also won't help you sleep.

Please be safe and take some time off to rest.

The thing about magnesium is that there are different formulations with different effects depending on what you need, so I wouldn't discount it. Mg glycinate (Mg bound to glycine) is best for relaxation, sleep, anxiety reduction etc. Other formulations are better for promoting energy, or as laxatives. I wouldn't just go out and buy any old Mg off the shelf. I personally find it works quite well.

Rest is the entire issue, even if I took the day off I can’t sleep
spoke to my manager but someone is off unwell so they can’t do anything for me today
I find people are very much “I’ve got kids and I’m always tired so just get on with it”

I am sympathetic to your situation but no one’s life is more important than your need to work.

Watching with interest.

I can fall asleep OK but can't stay asleep. I woke up 8 times last night 😟

I'm looking for something that knocks me out from the first time I wake up that works straight away.

It's not available over the counter in the UK, it must be prescribed.