When you've tried every possible behavioral modification to eliminate your insomnia, it may be time to try insomnia medicine. There are three different ways you can go with insomnia medicines: natural herbal remedies, over the counter medications, and prescription medicines. Each of these has strengths and problems, and they should be tried in that order.

Herbal Medication for Insomnia

Sleep disorders have been around since the beginning of medicine, and there have always been insomnia drugs around to help treat them. You can find a wide variety of herbal insomnia medicine, with the most common listed here:

Sativa

Valerian

California poppy

Chamomile

Kava

St. John's Wort

Lavender

Each of these medications is effective for some people, the most commonly effective being St. John's Wort and valerian (also called melissa). However, the user of these medications needs to realize that they are drugs, just like anything you get from the pharmacist, and your doctor needs to know you are taking them.

Try each of these remedies, but give them time to work. Most herbal insomnia medicine requires a loading period during which the medicine is concentrating in your bloodstream, but doesn't have much effect on your body. Keep a record of which insomnia treatment seems to work best for you.

Your next step when seeking a good insomnia medicine is to use over the counter insomnia drugs. The most common OTC drug used to help you sleep is Benadryl, the antihistamine, and it is very effective in most people provided it is not overused. In other OTC insomnia medications, look for diphenhydramine; this is the active ingredient in Benadryl, and you'll find most nonprescription insomnia medications use some form of it. The key with this sort of insomnia medicine is to not overuse it. Benadryl used once a week can be very effective, but used every day it will slowly grow less effective.

Only when nonprescription treatments for insomnia have failed to work should you seek out insomnia prescription medications. There are dozens of different insomnia medicines available by prescription, most of which act to relax your central nervous system. The problem with this: anyone with sleep apnea is likely to find their apnea getting worse, so while they may get to sleep, they won't have a good sleep.

With each of these insomnia treatments, know what the medicine side effects are. Most sleep medications require that you not drive or operate dangerous machinery, sometimes for many hours after you've taken the drug. Alternative medicine for insomnia is less likely to cause this problem, but some (like kava and St. John's Wort) have the potential to make you sleepier during the day.

All of these medications will be more effective if used in conjunction with a plan for changing your sleeping habits. The most effective treatment for your insomnia will incorporate healthier sleeping habits, healthier livestyle habits (like eating and exercising properly), along with insomnia medicine. Only by changing your habits will you be able to truly cure your insomnia.

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