#BEST OTC SLEEP AID FOR SENIORS FULL#
#BEST OTC SLEEP AID FOR SENIORS PROFESSIONAL#

Medications containing diphenhydramine should only be taken at night when you can dedicate several hours to sleep.įound in popular sleep aids like SleepMetls and Unisom, doxylamine is another sedating antihistamine that offers the same benefits and side effects as diphenhydramine. These side effects can be especially bothersome for many elderly patients. Potential side effects include dry mouth, constipation, urinary retention, blurred vision, and daytime drowsiness. Known for its sedative properties, diphenhydramine is a mild, yet effective sleep aid for short-term use.

By blocking these chemicals, antihistamines induce drowsiness. Antihistamines work to block chemicals in the central nervous system known as histamines which promote wakefulness. Diphenhydramineĭiphenhydramine is one of the most popular antihistamines used to treat myriad allergies and is found in some of the most popular medications including Benadryl, Aleve PM, and other nighttime drugs designed to help you sleep.

#BEST OTC SLEEP AID FOR SENIORS FULL#

Be sure to present them with a full list of your current medications, plus an extensive medical background history and any other concerns you might have.

#BEST OTC SLEEP AID FOR SENIORS PROFESSIONAL#

These drugs can be purchased OTC without a prescription, however, you should still speak with your primary care physician or another medical professional before taking any new medication. Before choosing a sleep aid, it’s important to make sure that the medications you’re currently taking aren’t the underlying cause of your sleep trouble. Although menopause usually sets in long before the age of 65, hot flashes and night sweats can persist for several years, disrupting sleep for many women.Ĭertain antidepressants and blood pressure medications are also known to cause insomnia in older patients. Another common cause of insomnia in older women is hot flashes caused by menopause. Chronic pain is a common cause of insomnia in all age groups but is especially prevalent in the geriatric community. This disrupts your sleep-wake cycle and natural sleep patterns, creating a vicious cycle of being too awake to sleep at night and too tired to stay awake during the day, increasing the desire to nap.Īrthritis pain affects over 50% of all seniors, making it difficult to find a comfortable sleep position. While certain naps can be beneficial, sleeping too much or too often during the daytime can make it increasingly difficult to fall asleep at night. For this reason, they tend to nap more frequently throughout the day.

Choosing the right sleep aid comes down to how it interacts with other medications you’re taking, its efficacy, and if the risks and side effects outweigh the negative impact sleep deprivation is having on your life.įor starters, many elderly individuals lack the energy and stamina they once had. There’s no way to label a single medication as the “best” for elderly patients, however, you can take each patient’s unique needs and medical conditions into account. As with any drug – over-the-counter or prescription – there are potential risk factors and side effects. The wrong combination of medications could have serious, long-lasting, or even fatal side effects. That’s why choosing the most effective and safest sleep aid for the elderly is so important. These medications plus the medical conditions themselves could interfere with or interact poorly with certain sleep aids. Because of this, many seniors are on myriad medications to treat any number of conditions from heart disease and high blood pressure to arthritis, respiratory disease, and diabetes. Nearly 95% of the senior citizen population has at least one chronic condition, with 80% having two or more.

Best otc sleep aid for seniors