“I need something non addictive for sleep?”
Some nights I can do off for an hour or two and some nights I can’t sleep at all can you give me a script for something, desperate to sleep.
Female | 59 years old
5 Answers
FamilyMedicineSleepMedicineSpecialist
Insomnia is multifactorial. I believe in finding the root cause while using pharmaceuticals on a temporary basis.
Depending on what is going on and the reason, there are medications that can help with this.
Melatonin is okay. Non-pharmacological treatment is best, and prescription sleep medications are not good long term. Cognitive Behavior therapy is the best modality for insomnia.
The best treatment for this is probably not a pill at all but rather a behavioral set of interventions. These go by the name cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. This is generally done through a PhD psychologist or someone of equivalent skill. Your physician should be able to direct you to a suitable practitioner. There are are websites that provide similar support including Sleepio and CBTforinsomnia and you should look at one or another of them
Good quality of sleep at night is "addictive". If there are no mental health issues underlying the symptoms and if there no symptoms of circadian rhythm problems, then one could consider Melatonin 2 mg (Remfresh) 2 hours before habitual bed time and Restoril 7.5 mg 1/2 before bed time. Avoid alcohol, smoking, caffeine, and vigorous exercise. Establish a dependable sleep schedule with a total bedtime of 9 hours and sleep time of 7.5 hours. No cell phones, videos, or computers before the bedtime.
