Every autumn we hear the same thing: "I was sleeping fine in July." Less daylight shifts the body clock, and the return to routines, commutes and screens after summer does the rest. Most of it is fixable without a tablet - and when a tablet is sensible, it should be a short-term thing.
Start here (it works more often than people expect)
- Morning light. Ten to twenty minutes outside soon after waking anchors the body clock better than anything you can buy.
- Same wake time every day, weekends included. Bedtime follows once you are consistently tired.
- Caffeine before 2pm only, and watch the alcohol - it gets you off to sleep, then wakes you at 3am.
- Screens off an hour before bed, room cool and dark.
- If you cannot sleep after 20 minutes, get up. Read something dull in dim light and go back when sleepy. Lying there teaches the brain that bed means worry.
Herbal options
Kalms Night and similar valerian-based tablets are traditional herbal remedies. Evidence is modest, they are not sedating in the way an antihistamine is, and some people find them useful for the wind-down. They sit on the shelf with no questions asked.
Nytol and other one-night sleep aids
Nytol One-A-Night (diphenhydramine 50mg) and Nytol Original (25mg) are sedating antihistamines. They help you fall asleep and are intended for short-term use - a few nights, not weeks. Tolerance builds quickly, next-day drowsiness is common, and they are not suitable for everyone: over-65s, anyone with glaucoma, prostate problems or certain other conditions, and people taking other sedating medicines should talk to a pharmacist first. That is why they are pharmacy medicines. On our site the sleep consultation takes about three minutes and a pharmacist reviews your answers before we send anything; one pack per order.
Nytol Herbal is a different product (hops, valerian, passionflower) and is not a sedating antihistamine.
Things that quietly wreck sleep
- Decongestant tablets taken late in the day (pseudoephedrine is a stimulant)
- Some antidepressants, steroids and beta-blockers - never stop these, but do mention sleep to your GP
- Pain, heartburn and needing the loo at night: treat the cause, not the sleep
- Untreated snoring with daytime tiredness may be sleep apnoea and needs a GP
When to see a GP
Poor sleep most nights for more than four weeks, low mood or anxiety alongside it, or sleepiness that affects driving or work. The NHS offers CBT for insomnia, which works better than any tablet in the long run.
Not sure what to try? Call 0151 263 3631 or ask at 140 Oakfield Road. Always read the label. General information, not a diagnosis.
