Who hasn’t had that occasional night when sleep will simply not come? There are those nights when one cannot turn off the day that has just passed or worry about the day that is about to come. Our bodies are tired, but our minds just won’t quit and that peaceful needed sleep will not come.

There is always, of course, the option of taking a prescription or an over-the-counter sleep medication. Goodness knows there are plenty of both of them. The problem with all prescription and over-the-counter sleep medication is that they can all become addictive. Additionally, there are other nasty little side effects that sleep medications can cause.

All you want is to turn your busy mind off, get some sleep, and be wide awake and alert for the day to come. You don’t want to be drugged and then feel listless and unfocused the next day.

There are better options than prescription or over-the-counter sleep medications to help those of us who have the occasional night when we find it difficult to sleep.

*Note: There are serious sleep problems that do need to be treated by a doctor.

The following information should be applied only to the OCCASIONAL sleep problem, and not to more serious or very frequent ones.

Lavender: Lavender is most effective when it is applied as oil and massaged into the body, but it can also be used as a tea.

Lavender can also be used as aroma therapy to promote relaxation and sleep. Recently a well-known company has marketed a baby bath product that contains lavender to help get babies to go to sleep.

Chamomile: Chamomile has been known for its ability to promote peace, calmness, and relaxation for generations.

Valerian: Valerian has long been used by herbalists to help relieve sleeplessness, pain, anxiety, and stress.

Melatonin:  Your body has its own internal clock that controls your natural cycle of sleeping and waking hours. In part, your body clock controls how much melatonin your body makes. Normally, melatonin levels begin to rise in the mid- to late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then drop in the early morning hours.

Light affects how much melatonin your body produces. During the shorter days of the winter months, your body may produce melatonin either earlier or later in the day than usual.  Natural melatonin levels slowly drop with age. Some older adults make very small amounts of it or none at all.

In most cases, melatonin supplements are safe in low doses for short-term and long-term use. But be sure to talk with your doctor about taking them.

Children and pregnant or nursing women should not take melatonin without talking to a doctor first.

Melatonin does have side effects. But they will go away when you stop taking the supplement. Side effects may include:

• Sleepiness.
• Lower body temperature
• Vivid dreams
• Morning grogginess
• Small changes in blood pressure

If melatonin makes you feel drowsy, do not drive or operate machinery when you are taking it.