What Should I Know About Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids?

What Should I Know About Over-the-Counter Sleep Aids? (0:59)

Doctors can control the dosage for a prescribed sleep aid, but with over-the-counter sleep aids, the patient is solely responsible for what they are taking. Watch as Nina Singh Radcliff, MD, explains the ingredients and warnings for OTC sleep aids.

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One of the big things is doctors can control what is in a prescription sleeping medication. They can control the dosage. They can control the release time, they can control the refills but they cannot over the counter sleeping aids. So you will be completely responsible for what you are taking.

That's a difficult decision to make. Sleeping medications, over the counter, can appropriate in certain circumstances. For example, people who are having pain that's preventing them from getting a good night's rest, it can be very appropriate in this situation. Many of these over the counter sleeping medications have a combination of a pain and inflammation reliever combined with what they call an antihistamine that makes you drowsy.

This is a great combination that can get you off to sleep. As with prescription sleeping medications, over the counter medication should also be understood that it should be taken for a short period of time. These are not something that you should be taking every single day and eating in order to go to sleep.