Introduction
Many people sometimes experience difficulty falling or staying asleep, and this could be for various reasons such as stress, caffeine intake, or screen time before bed. Unfortunately, poor sleep can lead to issues during your daily life, such as irritability and poor concentration, which can impact your work performance and personal relationships. In this blog, we take a look at some holistic tips you can try to help improve your sleep, as well as natural remedies and sleep aid medications.
Holistic tips for sleeping better
Before using a sleep aid medication, you should take the time to incorporate different holistic tips to see if they help you fall asleep faster and sleep better.
For example, it’s important to avoid caffeine before bedtime (in fact, you should avoid caffeine starting in the afternoon to help ensure it doesn’t disrupt your sleep later that night). You should also avoid nicotine, as this is a stimulating substance.
Similarly, although some people may find that alcohol makes them sleepy at first, it can actually disrupt your sleep later on in the night, and so should be avoided as well too close to bedtime.
You may find it’s helpful to exercise more often, although you should avoid exercise too close to bedtime in case it’s overstimulating.
You can also try the following:
- Set a bedtime, and stick to it in order to create a consistent sleep schedule.
- Avoid screentime (phones, laptops, television) before and around bedtime.
- Establish a good sleep environment, taking into account temperature (cooler is better), darkness (consider installing blackout curtains), sound (try earplugs if needed), and comfort (mattress and pillow firmness).
- Avoid napping during the day.
Some people also find that aromatherapy (a calming scent) helps them to relax and fall asleep faster, or that drinking chamomile tea in the evening helps them to sleep better.
Natural sleep aid products
If after incorporating the above tips you still find that you’re having problems falling or staying asleep, you could try a variety of natural sleep aid products which may help.
One product we offer is A. Vogel Dormeasan Drops. These drops provide a natural remedy consisting of the active ingredients of hops and valerian root. They can be added to water or juice 30 minutes prior to bedtime to work as a sleep aid, although you should not take more than two doses per day and should not use the product for longer than four weeks if you’re not noticing any improvement.
We also stock Nytol Herbal One-A-Night tablets, which contain valerian root, hops, and passion flower, which is taken in the evening to help you sleep, and Kalms Lavender One-A-Day capsules, which can help to reduce stress and anxiety, in turn impacting how you sleep.
You may also want to try a product such as Diso Sleep Multi-Vitamin Oral Strips in cherry flavour, which contains natural ingredients such as melatonin, valerian, and chamomile to help you sleep better. The strips are also packed with vitamin B6, which helps your body produce melatonin and serotonin (sleep neurotransmitters) and passion flower extract which can help lower your brain’s activity and thus relax.
It may also help you to try nasal strips at night, particularly if you sometimes snore. These nasal strips attach to the outside of your nose and help to clear your nasal passages so you can breathe and sleep better. We carry the strips in clear as well as tan colouring, and there are different sizes available.
An alternative to the nasal strips is the Mute Nasal Snoring Device, which offers a 30 day supply. This device gently helps open your airways, which may help to lessen nighttime nasal congestion and decrease snoring by allowing more nasal airflow. In turn, you may find that you sleep better.
Medicated sleep aid products
If after trying the above holistic tips and natural remedies you find that you are still having issues falling and staying asleep, or sleeping restfully, the use of a medication may help, although these medicines are only intended to be a temporary solution.
We carry Numark Sleep Aid Tablets, Nytol One-A-Night Tablets, and Galpharm One-A-Night Sleep Aid Tablets, all in 50mg, and the active ingredient of which is diphenhydramine hydrochloride. This ingredient is an antihistamine with sedative properties, which often helps people to fall and stay asleep throughout the night. We also stock many of these medications in a 25mg dose as well.
If for some reason you cannot take a sleep aid product with diphenhydramine hydrochloride, we also carry products containing promethazine hydrochloride, such as the generic 25mg tablets. As with any sleep aid medication, the tablets are intended for short-term use.
In summary
Many people have occasional trouble falling or staying asleep, and the effects of poor sleep can impact your daily life in a negative way. It’s best to first try our holistic tips, but, if needed, there are natural remedies you can take, as well as medicated sleep aid products. As with any medication, you should first speak with your doctor before taking it, and you should always follow all directions.