OTC Sleep Aids

Sleep Hygiene captures the natural, from set times to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  After getting by for a while, it became time to see what the chemicals could do, cheap stuff from the Dollar Store that undercuts CBT both in price and convenience.  Our Dollar Store offers two options, melatonin chewable tablets and diphenhydramine.  I had both on hand.  Having taken their melatonin twice at bedtime with a negative outcome, I tried one during the daytime, which makes more sense since melatonin levels were already elevated when I took them after dark.  Good result.  I didn't sleep during the day but could detect a relaxation that I might be ready for sleep.  A good horizontal four hours ensued, feeling a bit refreshed  by mid-afternoon.  At a prespecified normal sleep time, still reasonably awake but ready to call it a night, I swallowed two 25 mg tablets of diphenhydramine.  Within a half hour I was asleep.  Most importantly, I did not have awakening between sleep cycles like I usually do.  Often I feel dragged when I do this, but this morning I feel reasonably refreshed, not at all sleep-deprived.

This is not something to do nightly, even though the results seem favorable.  But either has its utility when I've been experiencing interrupted sleep over an extended time that carries forward to the day.