I second the caution against any kind of drug sleep aid. They're for short term use only! Aside from the side-effects like Kandee describes, they'll also tend to lose their effectiveness after you use them for awhile.
I'm also one of the approximately 20% of people for whom valerian and other herbs don't work. They call it a "paradoxical reaction".
I've had much better long term effectiveness with natural practices. Some things that I find helpful:
Cut off ALL caffeine and sugar after noon! I've found this to be quite effective, and the converse (eating sugar or anything with caffeine after noon) to be just as much of a guarantee of a bad night's sleep. Remember that caffeine includes chocolate too.
Try a little "tryptophan loading" before bed... eat a little turkey, banana, or other foods with tryptophan, a natural soporific.
Turn your digital clock toward the wall! I read this and didn't believe it, that we tend to program ourselves to wake up and look at the clock several times a night, and then become anxious when we see what time it is and see how much sleep we haven't gotten. But I tried it and it really does make a difference.
Try to get up and go to bed on the same schedule every day, regardless of whether it's a weekend or weeknight.
Don't take a nap during the day!
Tire yourself out with lots of honest work during the day (not a problem for most of us, I know  ), and some physical activity as well.
Try a self- hypnosis program (if you haven't yet) or another kind of relaxation audio program. There are many good ones out there. Belleruth Naparstek's work is excellent.
This sounds really stupid, but counting sheep or a mind game like it is really effective. I play the "ABC game"... I pick a category like men's names, names of songs, names of countries, animals, etc, and go through the alphabet. The idea behind any of these games, of course, is to shut your mind off. But guess what? It works!
I've been a chronic insomniac since childhood, and although I will probably never be able to say "I'm cured", all of these little things help to increase the amount of quality sleep and decrease those "zombie days".
Hope they help you.
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Re: Sleep Aids?
