5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking Nonprescription Sleep Medicine

Why this is important: Over-the-counter sleep aids are recommended for only short-term or occasional use. If you find that you're taking one every night for an extended time, however, you should talk to your doctor about prescription medication or another long-term solution.

Why this is important: It's possible to build up a tolerance to over-the-counter medications—such as antihistamine sleep aids—in just a few days or weeks of regular usage. But too much medication can leave you groggy the next day, or far worse, it could even put you in a coma. If you need to take more than the recommended dosage to get the desired effect, that's a sign you should consider different treatment options with your doctor.

Why this is important: Just because a product is sold over-the-counter doesn't mean it's without risks and side effects. A health condition or other medications you take regularly could affect how your body handles a sleep aid, no matter how safe it seems. Make sure your doctor knows about any drugs or supplements you take, even occasionally.

Why this is important: Most nonprescription sleep aids are a blend of several ingredients: Supplements may contain many different herbs, while traditional medications may contain antihistamines, painkillers, decongestants, and even alcohol. With ingredients such as acetaminophen, which appears in many OTC and prescription drugs, it can be easy to exceed the recommended daily limit without realizing it. Make sure you know exactly what you're taking and that you've ruled out potentially dangerous interactions or overdoses.

Why this is important: Nonprescription sleep remedies can be a great help when you're going through a period of stress or illness, or when there's some other tangible reason why you can't get rest on your own. But if your sleep problem appears with no obvious reason—or if it lasts well beyond the initial cause of disruption—it's important to figure out, with the help of a doctor, what's really going on. Insomnia is often a symptom of a more serious health condition (such as depression or sleep apnea), and taking an OTC sleep aid may simply mask the problem.