Natural Sleep Aids

In addition to the Rescue Remedy suggestion, I would also like to add "Sleepytime Tea" by Celestial Seasonings. That herbal tea (which BTW is caffiene free) has knocked me out for the night on several occasions. When my daughter had trouble winding down for the night (I think she was about 3.5 yrs old at the time), I would give her a little tea cup of Sleepytime as a part of her bedtime routine.

I also take the fast dissolving Melatonin, but I have found the thing that works best is listening to self hypnosis for deep sleep. This will teach you some deep breathing techniques and total body relaxation so that you can get to sleep, stay asleep and wake refreshed

Melatonin works great for me and my doctor said that it's safe to take (you might want to check with your own doctor). You can find it at a grocery store or drug store with other vitamins and supplements. There are different strengths in different brands so you should be able to find a strength that works for you. The 3 mg. strength works great for me. I take it about 30 minutes before I go to bed and it really helps me sleep more soundly but I don't feel groggy at all the next day. I also love Bigelow's Sweet Dreams herbal tea and it helps me relax and sleep too.

Wine is made from grapes and grapes are natural right? Wine works for me. :)

Hops tea. Its quite bitter, but it's the one of the reasons people get sleepy after having beer. Valerian is good too, but I used to find that it varied a lot by brand, and it tasted like old socks. Chamomile is good if you're not allergic to ragweed. You could just try Sleepy Time tea, and wind down for an hour before bed doing quiet activities.

Oh, and the best thing: if you wake up and find you can't sleep, you may just have a lot on your mind. Try yoga or meditation during the day, and if you wake up, put the tip of your tongue behind your top teeth and hold it there and concentrate only on the tip of your tongue. Don't let your mind wander. Just keep focused and eyes closed, and you'll go back to sleep. The more you panic about needing to get back to sleep, the worse it will get.

Another mom mentioned she was giving her 12 yr old son melatonin as a sleeping aid, it is natural so no drugs involved... and it works for everyone... I am thinking about trying it myself as i have been alight sleeper all my life and as I get older I feel I am sleeping less and less.. You can buy it at any drugstore off the shelf (Walmart. Walgreens, Publix) but do consult the pharmacist if you are taking any kind of medications just to be on the safe side.

What I use and helps me:

1) Hyland's Calms Forte- for adults
2) Chamomile Tea

both are natural.
Not meds or 'tranquilizers.' Not habit forming. You won't wake up feeling hung-over. You just wake up feeling normal.

For the Calms Forte, if you go to Amazon, you can read the reviews of it there. Whole Foods or any natural food stores has it.

all the best,
Susan

i too use Melatonin.. it also helps with my migraines! i highly recommend it! its cheep too! LOL

i take melatonin and it works sleeping pills dont phase me

Rescue remedy is excellent for this. A totally natural product - I give it to my children and even given it to my dog! My husband and I both take it as we suffer from exactly the same problem. It is best taken in drop form and is made by Bach Remedies. It is very good for shock, worry and insomnia. We each keep a bottle of Rescue next to our beds. Purchase it from Health Super'Marts.

wine???Are you serious? Drop the alcohol and research on Bach Flowers...they are wonderful!! Good luck.

I use a product from Young Living that has the Valerian in it, as well as Lavender and Ruta oil. I was using Melatonin but with two babies and constantly waking up throughout the night, the Melatonin would make me feel groggy. The YL product, RutaVaLa, helps me to go to sleep and wake up feeling rested, even if it is just for a few hours. Plus it is nothing to ingest. You just inhale it.
https://www.youngliving.com/essential-oil-roll-ons/RutaVa...

Calcium/Magnesium- one of those you add hot water to get it to desolve. If that isn't enough add essential fatty acids.
Waking at 3- try a supplement fr Standard Process called AF Betafood, and Cataplex G- it is the part of B vits that causes relaxing, Only available thro a doc, call the company for a practioner near you.
Well done on not wanting drugs- not safe with kids.
best, k

Melatonin is probably the most commonly used one. Our son takes it because he has ADHD and can't calm his body enough on his own to fall asleep. Really works well for him. I have tried it myself and it just makes you fall asleep naturally, with no side effects.

Only warning, though, is that natural supplements aren't government regulated. So, you'll find a lot of variation between brands. With one you might need 1 mg. and another 3 mg. for it to work well.

I feel I've tried EVERYTHING natural.. Unfortunately I started having sleep problems 1.5 years ago :0(

You can try:

Melatonin
Valerian root
Relora Root
5-HTP
Pregnenolone

My good friend is a senior natural health advisor..One thing I do is get my hormones checked to see if anything is out of balance. That can affect your sleeping.
Do some research on those natural meds and talk to someone at the Vitamin store for there opinions...
UNFORTUNATELY for me, none of them really worked BUT I know a lot of people that they worked wonders on..(Some can make you feel drowsy when you wake up)
Good luck! I know how hard it is not sleeping, very trying on your mental state.. I hope you get to sleeping soon~

Kava extract and passion flower can also help, though you may want to use melatonin or pre-cursors like tryptophan or 5-HTP to help you body produce melatonin. Magnesium is also helpful to relax the nervous system. Besides those you can learn relaxation exercises that help your mind and body settle, use binaural sound brainwave entrainment delta sleep CDs to slow down your brain activity, etc.

I was never a light sleeper til the kids came. Now every little noise i hear and cant turn off thoughts in my head. My answer was to get a sound machine. I put the white noise on and am out in about 5 mins. I still can hear the baby monitor if i put the monitor on low.

Also, try not to have caffinee after lunch. Finally, parent magazine reccomends a cool and dark bedroom after turning off the tv/ computer about an half hour before bed.

my mom takes vitamin b5