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Are drugstore sleep aids safe?

Sleep medications that are available over the counter use antihistamines as their main active ingredient. Nytol, Sominex, and Unisom (the blue capsule form), for example, contain 25 to 50 milligrams (mg) of the antihistamine diphenhydramine per pill. Other over-the-counter sleep medications, such as Unisom SleepTabs, contain 25 mg per pill of an antihistamine called doxylamine succinate. These medications work by blocking certain brain chemicals, which can have a sedating effect. They are generally safe but come with some risks. "You tend to become tolerant of the effect relatively quickly, so they stop working for you. And we don't have a lot of long-term data about what happens if you use them…

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Articles of Interest

Alarming number of teens are using sleep aids, doctors warn of potentially risky results

Teens don't get enough sleep and one in four cope by medicating. Less than three percent of teens get the recommended 8 or 9 hours of sleep a day, according to a recent Pediatrics study. So, robbed of slumber, a quarter of them seek relief in herbal, over-the-counter pills and prescriptions.

Are You Taking A Sleeping Pill That Messes with Your Brain?

Do you ever read the labels on OTC drug bottles? Can you pronounce doxylamine? Do you know what it is? This sedating antihistamine is used as a sleeping pill. What are the risks?

Do Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids Really Work?

AASM doesn’t recommend diphenhydramine or melatonin for sleep onset or sleep maintenance in people with insomnia. AAFP doesn’t recommend doxylamine for the same uses, either. But they do recommend controlled-release melatonin if you have trouble falling asleep.

Drugstore sleep aids may bring more risks than benefits

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) in 2017 officially recommended against treating chronic insomnia with common over-the-counter antihistamine and analgesic sleep aids as well as herbal and nutritional substances, such as valerian and melatonin, because there is not enough evidence that they are effective or safe. "And there are definite concerns about their risks," says Dr. Suzanne Bertisch, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Take a Sleeping Pill Every Night

Studies have linked the regular, long-term use of OTC sleep medicines to some potentially serious side effects.

How Bad Is It to Take an Antihistamine to Sleep Every Night?

The researchers determined that the evidence behind DPH-based drugs leading to better sleep were “clinically insignificant,” suggesting that people shouldn’t try to use these medications to fall asleep more quickly or stay asleep longer. But, OK, how bad is it in a pinch? DPH is generally very safe and carries a low risk of serious side effects, so it’s not that big a deal if you turn to it to help you drift off every now and then, Dr. Rapoport says. But there are a couple things doctors want you to be aware of first. “The big problem with this kind of medication is that it lasts a fairly long time in your system,” Dr. Pelayo says. The lingering effect of a standard adult dose (25 to 50 milligrams, i.e., one to two pills or liquid doses) will likely not be incredibly strong, Dr. Rapoport says, but it may be enough to make you feel sleepy or foggy-headed the next morning. Other side effects are mild and can include dry mouth, nose, and throat; dizziness, constipation; headache; and nausea, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

How Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids Can Hurt Your Brain

There are different antihistamines, and Benadryl (or diphenhydramine) is among the worst in terms of cognitive side effects. Other types of antihistamines are used to treat allergies, but none of them are used in sleep aids. It’s important to find one that allows you to function well and control your allergy symptoms. The best way to do that is to consult your physician.

Is it safe to take OTC sleep aids every night?

For occasional use, there are many relatively harmless sleep medicines and supplements—but there are certain groups of people who shouldn’t take them.

Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids

When someone is having trouble sleeping, it’s best to look at sleep habits first because that usually that will solve the issue. We often want a quick fix, but often that can lead to even more problems or not solve the issue in a helpful way.

The Trouble With Sleep Aids

Not all sleep medications are the same. Here’s how to find one that works for you. Like many people with insomnia, I’ve turned to sleep aids. During much of the pandemic, I was taking over-the-counter antihistamines — drugs sold under the brand names Benadryl, Sominex and ZzzQuil. But when I saw my primary-care nurse practitioner last summer, she warned me that these medications aren’t recommended for long-term use and suggested that I switch to melatonin, a hormone that regulates the body’s sleep cycle. I

Thousands of kids are getting sick from downing melatonin pills

Parents may think of melatonin as the equivalent of a vitamin and leave it on a nightstand, said Dr. Karima Lelak, an emergency physician at Children's Hospital of Michigan and the lead author of the study published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But really it's a medication that has the potential to cause harm, and should be put way in the medicine cabinet," Lelak said.

Trouble sleeping? Experts say skip antihistamines

Antihistamines have side effects that include altered mental state, urinary retention and dry mouth. While these side effects are generally mild and well tolerated in young patients without other medical problems, they can pose a risk, especially for the elderly. “Use of antihistamines can lead to sleep walking and other parasomnias. That can definitely occur with Benadryl just as with other hypnotic agents like Ambien,” Alapat said. While antihistamines may help you to fall asleep, overall sleep quality is usually not very good, he said. Sometimes, they even have the opposite affect and cause hyperactivity, especially in children.