# valerin/sleep aide



## Guest (Mar 11, 2001)

Has anyone tried valerin to help get a good nights sleep? If not, are there any other natural suggestions? I just can not sleep more then 3 -4 hours uninterruptedly each night. Thanks for your help.------------------Mildred


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2001)

Mildred, I would try Kalms or Natursleep. Kalms work really well for me. ------------------Pink


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2001)

I have found that Valerian works quite well, as does anything with Hops, Skullcap, or Melatonin. Schiff makes a good product called Knockout. It's a bit of a horse-sized pill though!Sweet Dreams.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I prefer melatonin of the sleep aids. Sedating things often disrupt the sleep cycle so even though you put in the hours, they may not be the best quality.Melatonin is the chemical your body uses to induce sleep, so it appears that the sleep cycles are quite normal.Improving your sleep hygiene can help alot as well.1. No vigorous activity for a few hours before bedtime.2. No caffeine after noon.3. Get up at the same time every day no matter what time you went to bed (you can get up 1 hour later on weekends, but no more than that)4. No napping. If you absolutely have to take a nap, nap for no more than 20-30 minutes.5. No activities in the bed other than sleeping or sex. You want to train your body to associate the bed with being asleep. Reading or watching TV in bed break that association.6. If you can't get to sleep after some 45 minutes to an hour. Get out of the bed and do a quiet activity, in relatively dim light, like useing a lamp rather than the overhead light, until your start feeling sleepy again then give it another go (this is part of the bed=sleep thing, you don't want to train for the bed=being awake).7. Taking a warm bath or shower about an hour before bed can help. One of the things that happens when your body prepares to go to sleep is the body temperature drops a little bit. By exaggerating that drop you can make yourself sleepier.8. Make sure your bedroom is dark enough, quiet enough, and the temperture is comfortable enough. You may need to put a darkening shade on the windows or try ear plugs if your bedroom is not sleep inducing.HTHK.------------------I have no financial, academic, or any other stake in any commercial product mentioned by me.My story and what worked for me in greatly easing my IBS: http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/Forum17/HTML/000015.html


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## plm123 (Sep 25, 2000)

I am going to add my input but I couldn't have said any of it better than Kmottus did.Melatonin works for me better than anything else and it doesn't smell as bad as the Valerian. I still find it more difficult to get up in the morning but once I start to move (unlike with other sleep aids, natural or otherwise) I do wake up. I also take it a bit earlier in the evening (around 9 or 10) to make sure I get sleepy by 10 or 11. I personally wouldn't take it at 2am if I was having difficulty sleeping because I am extremely sensitive to it.P.


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## Guest (Mar 11, 2001)

Valerian has been proven to help sleep problems, but it smells awful. If you can stand it, it's worth trying. You could also try chamomile either in tea or capsules. Melatonin is also good. I prefer the one mg. time release version, but there are 3 milligram pills that you could cut in half if you find 3 is too much. The longer you take it the better it works. Any of these should be taken at least 45 minutes before you plan to go to bed. If you know someone knowledgable about homeopathic remedies, they can custom blend something for you, which is what I'm doing now. Good luck.


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