There are so many sleep aids, sleeping hacks, supplement suggestions and recommendations around. It can feel really overwhelming.
That’s why, in this blog, Dr Lindsay Browning answers some frequently asked questions about different types of sleep aids and explains which ones can help and how.
Frequently suggested sleep aids
From supplements to simple sleep aids, like masks and sprays, it’s important to understand how they may (or may not) help you to sleep. In addition, it is vital that we understand any scientific research, as well as what is simply anecdotal evidence.
Should you take melatonin supplements?
Some studies have shown that melatonin supplements can help to speed up circadian rhythm adjustment, such as when changing time-zones. Also, there is some evidence that neuroatypical children such as those with ADHD and autism can sometimes benefit from melatonin. There is mixed evidence whether melatonin is particularly helpful when someone has insomnia, and other treatments like CBT-I have been generally found to be more effective.
As people age, however, and their natural melatonin production may wane, slow release melatonin may be helpful for older adults (specifically those 55 and older in the UK) to help with poor sleep. However, for each of these situations, correct timing is essential, because taking melatonin at the wrong point in your circadian cycle can make sleeping problems even worse.
Melatonin supplements must be prescribed by a GP in the UK and are not suitable for everyone.
Please check with your healthcare provider to see if melatonin would be suitable for you before trying it.
Can taking magnesium actually help you fall asleep faster?
Although magnesium supplements have become very popular on social media, there is limited evidence that it is a general “better sleep wonder drug”. Some small studies have found that in older adults and in people who have anxiety, magnesium may aid sleep, but findings are inconsistent. The greatest benefits have been found where somebody has a specific deficiency in the magnesium levels.
If somebody has a magnesium deficiency, then this can be associated with poorer sleep, and therefore taking a magnesium supplement to redress this balance may help. However, if you don’t have a magnesium deficiency, then taking magnesium supplements (especially in larger quantities), can cause an upset stomach and may have little to no effect on your sleep.
Rather than taking a magnesium supplement, it might be worth looking at your diet and making sure that you have a balanced diet with plenty of magnesium-rich foods such as leafy greens, nuts and whole grains.
Can over the counter antihistamines help?
Nytol and similar over-the-counter sleep aids typically are antihistamines (such as diphenhydramine or promethazine) which act as sedatives. These can make you feel more drowsy which may help you fall asleep more easily in the short term. However, they are not recommended as a long-term treatment for insomnia as you can become tolerant to the medication, or even experience grogginess or a hangover effect the next day if the medication does not fully leave your system before the morning.
If you find yourself using antihistamines often to help you sleep, speak to your GP or a pharmacist about safer and more effective long-term treatment options.
Do eye masks really make a difference for better sleep?
We sleep better when it’s dark, as light can suppress melatonin, making it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep. Therefore, if your bedroom has thin curtains or bright lights from gadgets, or you are a shift worker trying to sleep when the sun is still up, then an eye mask can be a really helpful way of blocking out disruptive light.
An eye mask can also be helpful if you’re travelling and you don’t know what the sleeping environment will be like at your destination – such as a hotel room or when sleeping in a tent – or you want to take a nap after lunch.
I always find that a well fitting eye mask can also be a positive part of your pre-sleep routine adding a sense of stability and consistency, as it’s portable comfort from home wherever you are sleeping.
How can aromatherapy improve your sleep quality?
Certain scents, such as lavender, chamomile and jasmine, are often described by people as relaxing. Therefore, smelling these may make falling asleep easier by promoting a sense of calm.
Some small studies have found that these aromatherapy oils (especially lavender) may reduce heart rate and improve sleep by promoting relaxation, however the scientific evidence to prove this is limited.
The main benefit is likely by incorporating a pleasant scent into your regular pre-sleep routine. If we do something consistently before bed, such as taking a jasmine scented bath or drinking a chamomile tea, we can start to psychologically associate this activity with the sense that sleep is coming. Over time, this consistent cue can help to send the psychological message that it’s time to wind down and that sleep will be coming soon.
How do pillow sprays work — is it the scent, or something deeper?
A pillow spray is a fragrance that you can spray on your pillow before lying down to sleep, often containing essential oils, such as lavender or chamomile (as discussed above).
They are a great way of making your bed smell lovely and bedtime more pleasant. Although some small studies suggest lavender and other essential oils may promote calmness or improve how people feel they slept, there’s no strong scientific consensus that they directly improve sleep. It’s really about finding a fragrance you like and making it part of your bedtime ritual. If you use a scented pillow spray before bed, it can be part of your pre-sleep routine helping your brain associate the smell with oncoming sleep.
Personally, I use a pillow spray every night and take it with me when I travel, because that familiar scent helps create a sense of comfort and consistency, wherever I’m sleeping.
What about sleep apps?
Sleep apps work by either guiding you through some relaxation exercises, such as slow deep breathing, or a body scan meditation, or by distracting you by giving your brain something else to think about other than worries and stresses.
In the short term, these features can be helpful when you are facing a new or infrequent sleeping problem. However, when people start to rely on sleep apps to help them get to sleep all of the time, they can actually start to become harmful for a healthy relationship with sleep.
Potential pitfalls of using sleep apps to help you sleep are that the sound coming from the phone can actually wake you up again after you’ve fallen asleep – meaning that you drift in and out of a light sleep for longer at the start of the night, rather than simply falling asleep and staying asleep. Also, you can become reliant on using them to fall asleep at the start of the night and therefore whenever you wake up during the night you may need to restart the sleep app again to go back to sleep again – therefore, it can be helpful to learn how to fall asleep at the start of the night in dark and silence so that you’re able to go back to sleep again in the middle of the night without needing external help.
There are another group of sleep apps that are specifically aimed at delivering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). These are often recommended as part of insomnia treatment on the NHS and can be highly effective at helping treat insomnia.
Do you have any other recommended sleep aids?
One of the most important sleep aids is not so much a physical thing, but a good bedtime routine, including wind down time.
Many people don’t prioritise a wind downtime before bed and go straight from doing last-minute late night work emails and try to sleep. Also, if you don’t give yourself a wind down time before bed you may find yourself getting into bed and too wired to sleep and may end up scrolling through your phone for a long time after you intended to go to sleep, robbing you of the recommended 7 to 9 hours’ sleep.
Although we live in a 24/7 world where we try to maximise our productivity every minute, carving out a little bit of time before bed doing something enjoyable and relaxing can really help you transition from a busy day into relaxing sleep.
Evening rituals can be very helpful by teaching your brain what to expect too. For example, doing the same few things before bed like dimming the lights, reading a good book or doing some gentle yoga can act as cues that the day is coming to an end and sleep will be soon.
Over time these consistent activities can create an association that sleep is coming and help you feel relaxed and ready for sleep.
Using sleep aids to help your sleep
As discussed above, there are lots of different sleep aids. We have only touched on a few but I hope it shows that in many cases it is a personal choice. It is ok to try different things, but do be aware of the pros and cons of each, as well as the potential to become overly reliant on one thing. A good bedtime routine, as well as taking time to wind down, before bed is still one of the most powerful strategies to support you to get a good night’s sleep.
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