Slllllleeeeeeep.

[pauraque_bk]

First, a general question. I've slept a total of about eight hours in the last four nights, and I NEED TO SLEEP. Recommend me your favorite over-the-counter sleep aids. I've already tried NyQuil; it didn't do a whole lot.

Despite being extremely sleep-deprived, yesterday I did manage to meet aubrem, laurelwood, makesmewannadie, noblerot, and idlerat (whom I'd met before), and have a smashing good time. I'm not at my most articulate right now, but... they were lovely. ♥

Luckily, I wrote almost all of my post for the hp_essays HBP read-along before I stopped sleeping, so it probably makes more sense than I'm doing now: HBP Chapter 4: Horace Slughorn.

Aaaaand kaptainsnot drew me some Lupin/Harry sketches, which are so very very pretty. Again, I have lost most of my perspicacity, but... yay! Yay this! Hearts!

Comments

[florahart]

Sleep: you tried valerian tea? it's more or less chamomile-ish tasting. worth a try, maybe?

[pauraque]

What sort of place would sell that?

[florahart]

Anywhere with even a pretty minimal health food section?

Think I got mine at Fred Meyer (=Kroger's?) or maybe even Safeway in their like half-a section organic area. It's *goes-gets to look* Yogi brand "bedtime" tea?

It's available as a pill or tincture, too, but I found tea was cheaper and since this was to like give it a try...

[kaysha.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, valerian tea! (I was just looking up the German word for it..) I don't like the taste, but it's relaxing/sedative/..

Here, you can get valerian tea (and fennel, chamomile etc. tea) at supermarkets, but also at the chemist's.

[tpod.livejournal.com]

Tylenol PM usually does it for me. I'm allergic to most OTC sleep aids (other than Nyquil); they make me itch all night long....

An Update/Article

[tpod.livejournal.com]

Our local paper published an article touting a few methods to combat sleeplessness:

Tennessean article (http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050830/FEATURES04/508300314/1004/FEATURES)

Thought it might be of interest. ^^

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

Well, if you're truly desperate... Gravol knocks most people right out and solves any nausea problems you might have as a bonus... (I do know people who just take it for the sleepy thing, though), and anti-histamines tend to do the same thing, only they solve your allergy problems instead of the nausea thing.

Less drug-related: this may gross you out entirely, but when you heat milk, it releases something called tryptophan, which is supposed to make people sleepy. I find it a wee bit gross, however - a shot of Bailey's helps immensely. Best of luck. :)

[fluffyllama.livejournal.com]

Wah, I was away and forgot to say happy birthday before I left because I'm hopeless! Hope you had a good one :-)

[woolf.livejournal.com]

Melatonin usually knocks me right out--although I know some people have 'hangover' type effects. You can usually find it in the vitamin/supplement section of the grocery store/drug store.

[noblerot.livejournal.com]

Hey, Eo!

You could always count flying mice until you drowse off. However, in the absence of vermin... Melotonin, available at health food stores everywhere, used to work pretty well for me before I moved on to the prescription stuff. Yes! I AM INDEED ON DRUGS.

Loved meeting you last night. And! A member of the Dumbo Collective just skittered across the kitchen floor. True!

[chaos-rose.livejournal.com]

Valerian tea or caplets can be found at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or pretty much any health food store - they do work very well.

8 oz. of hot whole milk or half-and-half with a shot of Bailey's or Irish Mist can work in a pinch.

[atrata.livejournal.com]

You too, huh? Benedryl or Tylenol PM usually does it for me. Alcohol never quite manages.

[etymological.livejournal.com]

I second the Benedryl. Doesn't knock me out, but makes me too groggy to want to stay awake.

[kaysha.livejournal.com]

Fennel tea? I don't think it's used as a sleep aid, but hmm, it's mild, I guess also relaxing and good, IMO. (Very much like chamomile but tasting much better.)

Or maybe a cup of hot/warm milk with honey? (Important: only add the honey later!)

[glitterdemon.livejournal.com]

tylenol pm. i usually take the allergy nighttime, but... that's because i have allergies. i'm sure the general works just as well.

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

Hmm...things that help me sleep... hot showers and heavy blankets (weight wise, not hot)? Uh...yeah, I don't know. I have an extreme amount of trouble sleeping. I'm a really light sleeper for some reason. Being clean, well fed and in complete darkness helps but I've never really been able to fall asleep fast and sleep for a long time unless I've got, say, mono. Ugh. I can't think of any particular substances that help

[katfusion.livejournal.com]

Melatonin all the way for me. Lovely stuff.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Benadryl! Generics with dyphenhydramine work just as well and are cheaper. Chamomile tea, spiked with valerian or not, your choice, is also good. You can also wash the benadryl down with the tea; as far as I know they don't interact. Hasn't killed me yet, anyway.

The biggest drawback with the tea is having to get up to pee just when you're falling asleep, but that's life.

Good luck.

[asphodeline.livejournal.com]

antihistamines work a treat for me - Piriton puts me directly to sleep for hours but no idea if you call it the same thing. COmputer manuals do pretty much the same thing too of course!

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

COmputer manuals do pretty much the same thing too of course!

Okay, apparently I do have a recommendation after all. Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene. Sent me out like a light every time I picked it up during my English degree. I never did finish it, and bluffed my way through the essay on the thing in my Finals.

[vejgurl.livejournal.com]

I think valerian root in pill form might be a wee bit stronger than the tea...but mind the smell *ew*

[muridae-x.livejournal.com]

Alas, I have no sure-fire remedies. I've tried prescription sleeping tablets, the over-the-counter ones, antihistamines of the drowsy variety, NyQuil (and its equivalent over here which I suspect has a little less kick). They drug me but don't send me to sleep; I just get groggy the next day. It sounds like you have a similar reaction.

Hope you find something that works though, Eo. As you're no doubt aware, I know that need to sleep extremely well. :-(

[ellen-fremedon.livejournal.com]

Red wine is the only thing I've found that helps me sleep without giving me a hangover.

[shinywhimsy.livejournal.com]

First of all *waves as is new to your friends-of list* Hi!

Second, I felt the need to reply even though I'm horribly shy 'cause I'm a pharmacist heee! Valerian tea/pill/tincture tends to work for most people. I wouldn't go for the medicines that have other properties (like antihistamines) because they might screw up with other stuff. I'd leave those as backup in case the herbal stuff didn't work. The worst that can happen with the tea is that it could taste bad (I wouldn't know, have never tried it). But the pills should solve that.

You could try reading about politics too...

Hope you find something soon and that you can rest! :D

[heybritney.livejournal.com]

Hi! *waves* I'm just saying hello... My name is Nina... I added you, I heard you have some very interesting takes on Harry Potter, and I loved your post in chapter-a-day about Horace Slughorn.