Sleep remedies have a calming effect that helps to relax the body and mind, and are widely used to improve the quality of sleep of people who have difficulty sleeping or cannot sleep through the night.
However, many of these drugs can have an addictive effect and, therefore, their action may decrease over time, as the body gets used to it, especially when the doses are very high. So, to try to reduce the necessary dose, there are some tips that can help to improve the effect of these medicines naturally, such as:
- Take the medicine 30 minutes before bedtime : this is usually the time these medicines take to have the desired effect;
- Avoid heavy meals in the 3 hours before bed : do not eat too much before bed and avoid foods with a lot of fat or protein, as they make digestion difficult, causing increased activity in the body and making sleep difficult;
- Avoid drinking tea, coffee and other caffeinated drinks in the 5 hours before bed: this type of drink is a brain stimulant and, therefore, can cause difficulty falling asleep;
- Prepare the bedroom for sleep : not having light or noise that could cause distraction and wake up from sleep;
- Bathing before bed : a hot bath makes the muscles relax;
- Not using a cell phone, computer or watching television an hour before bed: they stimulate the brain and make the person not relax properly;
- Have a hot drink like tea without caffeine or hot chocolate before bed: hot drinks, without caffeine, or other types of stimulants, have a calming and relaxing effect;
- Do not stay in bed awake : if you stay awake, you must get out of bed so as not to cause muscle discomfort and anxiety because you cannot sleep;
- Avoid taking naps during the day : sleeping in the afternoon alters the sleep cycle;
- Create a regular sleep schedule : going to bed and waking up at the same time always helps the body to create sleep rhythms and thus improve the quality of rest.
For simpler cases, an option to the use of pharmacy medication is to use natural remedies based on plant extracts, with a calming action, or melatonin, a hormone naturally produced in the body that causes sleep. For example, Circadin for adults or Melamil for children and babies.
Some medicines such as Valium, Xanax or Lexotan contain tranquilizing and sleep-inducing substances that cause addiction. For this reason, they should only be used on the doctor’s advice and in more complicated situations.