The 5 Best Over The Counter Sleep Aids That Work In 2023

A good night’s sleep is essential for recharging our bodies.

But do you have trouble sleeping at night?

If your sleep schedule is not maintained properly, your health will deteriorate with poor sleep quality.

A healthy individual needs seven to nine hours of sleep at night to remain healthy. Millions of people around the globe seek treatment for sleep disorders as they cannot fall asleep, or have other sleep problems.

Those who do not get a good night's sleep often face other issues like daytime drowsiness, which often hinders their daily lifestyle.

The circadian rhythm or sleep-wake cycle regulates and preps the body for changes throughout the 24 hours as the day and night occur.

It is a bio-mechanism that decides when you remain awake and fall asleep.

But, if your body develops certain circadian rhythm sleep disorders, the whole cycle is disrupted, and you may struggle to get normal sleep at night.

If you are facing problems falling asleep and face issues like
Laying awake for a long time at night
Waking up frequently from sleep during the night
Grogginess and drowsiness in the morning
Unable to sleep even after being tired
Other factors lead to insomnia. It can happen due to factors like-
Stress or anxiety or work stress
Depression or other mental disorders
Poor sleep hygiene, including a nosy sleeping environment, an uncomfortable bed, or a suffocated place
Lifestyle issues like excessive consumption of alcohol or caffeine
Late night work schedule or irregular work shifts and jet lag
Other Medications like Antidepressants, steroids, etc.

It is time to get some effective sleep aid.

Thankfully many OTC sleep aids on the market can help you fight poor sleep and chronic insomnia and will help to promote sleep with positive results.

Here you will get details about the best over the counter sleep aid and OTC sleeping pills that are essential and helpful to counter sleep disorders.

Let's learn about the five best over the counter sleep aids that are available in the market this year.

Top 3 Over The Counter Nighttime Sleep Aids At A Glance

Best Overall: Noocube Sleep Upgrade
Best Runnerup: Natrol Melatonin Fast Tablets
Best Gummies: Vitafusion SleepWell Melatonin Gummies

The Best OTC Sleeping Pills

As a person who suffers from a sleep disorder, my journey to find the best over the counter sleep aid was quite difficult.

I tried different techniques, including relaxation techniques and other lifestyle changes alongside the sleeping pills, to get the best effect. Here are the five best over the counter sleep aid for you-

Best Overall: Noocube Sleep Upgrade

Noocube Sleep Upgrade

If you suffer from occasional sleeplessness or occasional insomnia or are starting your journey with sleep medicines, Noocube Sleep Upgrade can be a great choice. The manufacturing company Wolfson has designed this sleep aid with research and natural ingredients that medical professionals and athletes approve.

It contains beneficial active ingredients, including Bacopa Moringa, L-tyrosine, Cat's claw extract, Oat straw, marigold extract, Alpha GPC, L-Theanine, etc. Noocube OTC sleep aids are caffeine free and can be taken like other dietary supplements.

The medicine worked well for me and did not have a drastic hangover or adverse effects. The prescribed dose for this otc sleep medication is two pills in the morning with water.

Since I did not find any improvement, I increased the dose to four pills per day. I slowly started to notice that I slept better at night and felt more energetic during the daytime.

The Noocube Sleep upgrade improved my ability to stay asleep and fall asleep faster and boosted my natural hormone levels, resulting in better health.

Pros

It is a caffeine-free otc medication and also does not contain any melatonin.
Noocube Sleep upgrade boosts the natural hormone level produced and allows you to maintain a regular sleep schedule.
One of the pure herbal supplements, it has no side effects with the Noocube over-the-counter sleeping medication.
Sleeping pills decrease stress and anxiety, which positively impacts curing insomnia. I felt that I was less stressed and anxious as I started to take the sleep said regularly.
Noocube sleep aid improves your concentration level and lets you focus better, improving your overall lifestyle. I felt that my chronic insomnia was getting better with the improved focus each day.
Great for older adults who are 55 years or older.

Cons

Even though Noocube is a great medicine for getting better sleep, It is quite expensive. If you need to take four pills per day, the overall cost of the medicine becomes higher, which may be an issue for some users
Noocube is a natural sleep aid that is not easily available. Hence, finding medicine can be harder in some countries.

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Natrol Melatonin Fast Tablets

Natrol melatonin tablets are fast-dissolving, over-the-counter sleep supplements, one of the strongest sleeping aids available on the market.

It can boost low melatonin levels and treat moderate to severe sleep disorders like rebound insomnia.

If you have been talking about melatonin OTC sleep aids of lower dosage, this Natrol sleep aid can be a great choice for you. The Natrol fast dissolves over-the-counter sleep supplement contains 3 mg of active melatonin and comes in different flavors.

My friend who suffers from sleep disorders tried these melatonin supplements and experienced great results. This counter sleep aid comes in small tablets and dissolves quickly with a sweet aftertaste.

My friend travels frequently, suffers from recurring jet lag and experienced less trouble falling asleep with regular Natrol consumption. It also improved their overall sleep quality and sleep schedule greatly.

Pros

The great aftertaste and fast-dissolving sleep medication
100% drug-free natural sleep aid
Good sleep medicine for jet lags. It also helps to regulate the sleep cycle after a long flight.
Does not cause drowsiness or grogginess the next morning
You can break the sleeping pill if you want to consume less amount of melatonin
No side effects and does not interact with any other medication you are taking
Improves natural melatonin level and promote sleep

Cons

It contains wheat extracts that can cause allergic reactions in some people, especially those who suffer from celiac or gluten intolerance.
If you have severe insomnia, this otc sleeping aid may not work for you
Some people complained about mild drowsiness

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Vitafusion SleepWell Melatonin Gummies

If you find the regular tablet-shaped otc sleeping aids difficult to swallow, try the Vitafusion sleep well melatonin gummies.

It is a sugar-free sleep aid that offers effective insomnia treatment.

Vitafusion has active ingredients like passion flower extracts, chamomile, lemon balm leaf, maltitol, and lactic acid alongside active melatonin 3mg.

Since the medicine comes in the gummy form, it is ideal for even children or young adults who hesitate to take melatonin prescription sleep aids like pills.

The advised dosage is two gummy sleeping aids before ten to fifteen minutes of sleep. I tried this over-the-counter sleep gummy as I was looking for alternatives to conventional otc sleep aids.

After taking the medicine, I realized its sound sedative effects and fell asleep within half an hour. I had been in a deep sleep for nearly seven hours.

I also continued using these counter sleep aids for a few days and found that I could maintain a regular sleep schedule with them.

I also realized that if I took medicine earlier than my usual routine, I could fall asleep easily and could get a good sleep without any issues despite the advanced schedule.

The gummies tasted sweet, and I was impressed with the flavors.

Pros

A great over-the-counter sleep medication for children and those who do not like to swallow pills
Great taste and sugar-free melatonin supplements
Contains many beneficial medicinal herbs as well
Great for severe to moderate insomnia
Offers uninterrupted sleep for six to seven hours at night
You can easily take these while taking any other dietary supplement

Cons

Since these sleep aids come in gummy form, you may consume more than the prescribed dose.
You may feel drowsiness(mild) after waking up
Some people experience an upset stomach
A section of people experienced vivid dreams and nightmares after consuming the gummies.

ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs

ZzzQuill Pure Zzzs is another melatonin-rich gummy in this list of strongest sleep aid.

This sleep medication contains melatonin as an active ingredient and other beneficial ingredients like valerian root, chamomile, lemon balm, lavender extract, etc. On top of that, this natural sleep aid also contains Vitamin B6 so that there is no morning grogginess.

ZzzQuill Pure is designed for adults who may be unable to stay asleep for a long time or faster at night.

The advised dose of the medication is one to two gummies half an hour before going to sleep. I decided to go for thorough research and asked many people how this sleep medicine helped them to treat insomnia.

Surprisingly, all of them said that this sleep medication had a great ability to induce sleep. Most users fell asleep within half an hour after taking the sleep supplements.

On top of that, they also did not face any side effects like the next day hangover effect, dry mouth, etc.

Some users also expressed that their sleep health improved after taking the sleep medication regularly.

Pros

Comes in gummy form and is easy to chew and swallow
Great test
Promotes quality sleep and has good sedative effects. Those who took this medicine had uninterrupted sleep.
It can be taken with any other dietary supplement and does not cause side effects.

Cons

Some users experienced weird dreams or even nightmares while taking the gummies. Some people also exclaimed that their dreams became more vivid.
Not ideal for severe insomnia patients
It can cause an upset stomach for some people.
Since these taste great, you may end up consuming extra gummies.

Kirkland Signature Sleep Aid

The Kirkland Sleep Aid is an over-the-counter sleep aid targeted at individuals over 12 years of age.

It contains doxylamine succinate, which is a type of sedating antihistamines that can also be used to treat allergies.

Besides active sedating antihistamines, it contains other ingredients like Tylenol pm, etc., and can promote better sleep health.

During the research, I found that many people developed better sleep health after taking sleeping pills.

Doxylamine succinate has quite strong sedative effects and helps mild insomnia patients. The tablets are quite small and can be swallowed easily.

One Kirkland signature sleeping pill should be taken at least half an hour before you go to bed.

I talked with a few parents who had trouble sleeping due to minor and recurring cold symptoms.

They said that their dust allergies or other symptoms decreased slightly after taking medicine regularly. Those who suffer from a stuffy nose also got some relief after taking sleeping pills from Kirkland.

Most of them had a sound sleep of six to seven hours without waking up in the middle of the night.

While much-experienced drowsiness for the first few days, it gradually waned off.

Pros

Contains doxylamine succinate, a type of antihistamine that can treat allergies, mild cold symptoms, and stuffy nose. If you have any of these symptoms and cannot sleep at night because of these symptoms, this medicine will help you.
Offer uninterrupted sleep
It can help to relieve minor allergy symptoms

Cons

Dry mouth
Stomach ache
It can cause morning hangovers. But, the drowsiness slowly goes away as you continue the medication.
Constipation or mild difficulty in urinating in the morning.

Conclusion

Sleeplessness or interrupted sleep can be a difficult lifestyle issue for anyone.

While adult people have a higher risk of insomnia, it can also affect some children or young adults.

If insomnia is not treated on time, there can be an increased risk of other health issues. Many otc sleep aids can help you.

These medicines are easily available on the internet, in your nearby drugstore, or even shopping market.

Most of these otc sleep aid contains melatonin, herbal supplements, or sedating antihistamines like doxylamine succinate.

If someone does not like the tablets, they can also choose gummies or effervescent tablets.

You also need to maintain proper sleep hygiene with a safe, calm bedroom that creates a soothing environment alongside the OTC sleep aid to help you to fall asleep faster.

You must also change your lifestyle and limit your alcohol or caffeine consumption.

Ensure to maintain a proper sleep routine and limit electronic screen exposure before bedtime to get better results.

Frequently Asked Questions About OTC Sleeping Tablets

Are Over the counter sleep aids safe?

Yes, all the over the counter sleep aids are safe and approved by authorities. These are created after thorough research and analysis. Hence, you can consume them safely.

How long does an OTC sleep aid take to work?

An otc sleep aid will take half to one-hour maximum to start working. Most medicines start working after twenty to thirty minutes. So, it is better to take these just before you go to bed.

Are melatonin over the counter sleep aids effective?

Yes, melatonin over the counter sleep aids are excellent options to treat insomnia. Such medicines boost natural melatonin levels inside the body and regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

The above is a sponsored post, the views expressed are those of the sponsor/author and do not represent the stand and views of Outlook Editorial.