Non-Melatonin natural sleep aids/Melatonin kill anyone else?

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Lately I have been having really severe insomnia. The past week has had me between 2 and 4 fitful, separated hours of sleep a night before waking up between three and five in the morning. I have some melatonin, theanine, b6 stuff, but I have never been able to take any melatonin of any strength without feeling it through half of the next day. I know that AS is associated with decreased melatonin production, but I've also heard that decreased absorption may be associated as well, causing the melatonin to stay in your system too long and keep you sleepy. Does anyone have more information about that? Anyone with similar experiences?

Also, what are some other effective, natural sleep aids that people have tried? I've also never found a real sleep medication that gave me restful sleep or that didn't stick with me all day, so natural things are probably my best bet until I can get on a serious anti-anxiety (hopefully soon).


I've been taking Hyland's Calms Forte before bed. It helps me get to sleep, and I can't recommend it enough for stress and anxiety, but it doesn't last through the night. I have some Hyland's Insomnia and Bach's Rescue Sleep in the mail. I really trust anything from Hyland's, but does anyone know anything about that rescue sleep stuff? I can report how well they work for me, if anyone is interested.

I've been drinking this herbal tea with valerian, passion flower, licorice root, spearmint, chamomile, skullcap, cardamom, cinnamon, st. john's wort, rose hip, and raspberry leaf. It doesn't knock me out like benedryl does, but it makes my relax to where I can fall asleep more easily than if my mind was racing like it usually is. That tea is a completely effective anti-anxiety for me. It's Yogi Bedtime tea if you're interested. I bought it in the natural food section of Kroger.

Edit: and I still feel calm and relaxed (not my natural state lol) when I wake up 8 hours later.

Magnesium supplements help me sleep better. (Don't take the oxide version.) There's a lot of information about it on the Web.

Recently started trying meditation to see if it did anything for me. Have found it helped me get to sleep and sleep better.

I've had sleeping problems my entire life. Valerian root smells and tastes horrid, but that cured my sleeping problems when I was on it. I woke up refreshed and in my normal happy mode. My mom gave me a teddy bear stuffed with lavender that helps too, and I used to have like three lavender pouches stuffed in my pillow. Then there's that Sleepy Time tea that's been super helpful. And working out during the day for just 20 minutes can help you sleep soundly.

And of course, a glass of milk never hurt.

My brother's on melatonin. He takes twice the recommended amount and is only 70 pounds (doctor approved) and he's wide awake during the day.

Melatonin works for me, and gives me very vivid dreams, but yes, it also lasts long into the next day and just isn't worth it overall. I also seem to develop very high tolerance very quickly.

Personally I find that not eating for a few hours before sleeping and being in a cold room help the most. If I've eaten within the last 2-3 hours, I won't be able to sleep. Hot rooms are harder but not impossible.

And of course the longer I stay up the more easily I fall asleep

I've never found any foreign substance particularly effective.. the strong ones work but linger too long, and the weak ones wear off too quickly and then I'm more awake than before. That said, I've never had what I would call insomnia, except when withdrawing from certain substances, but that's another story

I suggest avoiding food, even not eating anything after dinner, and trying a cold(er) room.

I've heard that a weighted blanket can drastically help with insomnia for people with ASDs.
I've not tried one yet - my materials for making one haven't arrived yet, but you might want to do research into deep pressure related sleep "aids" as well.

I've had problems not falling asleep at night, and have tried Bach's Rescue remedy and magnesium as well as tyrosine and theanine (or l-theanine) supplements.

One thing that helps ALOT for me is taking a hot bath or shower before I want to go to bed. I find it relaxing.

I would love to try the weighted blanket idea, I have always stacked blankets up for myself to sleep under, but the heat of 5 blankets in summer is impossible to deal with most of the time despite the benefits. Does anyone have a weighted blanket they recommend from a certain store or brand? I haven't researched this yet because I dont think I could afford it since I dont have a job really.

I tried 5-HTP capsules for a few weeks, I gave up as I was experiencing severe nightmares which were of the most depressing nature.
I also lacked energy the following day and found it hard to focus on anything other than the previous nights dreams.

I have returned to my faithful St. John's Wort and Ginko Biloba with the occasional Ginseng. I have a new sleep inducer being Badger Sleep Balm.

The combination of the Hyland's insomnia and Bach's is doing amazing things for me. The hyland's puts my mind to sleep and the Bach's puts my body to sleep. Together, they have changed my life. Between the two of those, I can reliably sleep through the night for the first time in years. I've only had one or two nights of repeated or prolonged awakenings while using them at least every night before work. Neither on its own is quite enough, though.

Melatonin never worked for me. At least not by itself.

1/2 tsp powdered ginger in warm sweetened milk helps me.