Unisom is a single ingredient sleep aid, designed to help those suffering from occasional sleeplessness or insomnia get to sleep faster and sleep sounder throughout the night. Unisom comes in four forms. Sleep Tabs may help you fall asleep an average of 23 minutes faster then other sleep aids. Sleep Gels are easier to swallow for those that have a hard time taking pills. Sleep Melts melt in your mouth so you don’t need to get up for a glass of water before taking them. Finally, PM Pain Sleep Caps are designed to relieve minor aches and pains, while helping you get a restful sleep.
How Does Unisom Work?
Unisom contains the active ingredient diphenhydramine. Diphenhydramine is an anti-histamine, commonly used in over the counter allergy medications like Benadryl to relieve symptoms like runny, stuffy noses, watery eyes, and sore throats. One of the side effects of diphenhydramine is that it makes you drowsy and sleepy, for this reason it is found in several over the counter sleep aids. The Unisom PM Pain Sleep Caps contains acetaminophen in addition to diphenhydramine, to treat any aches and pains you may feel when trying to sleep.
Is Unisom an Effective Sleep Aid?
Unisom has been a well known brand of sleep aids for more then 30 years and the different forms of Unisom have been shown to be effective sleep aids, helping people fall asleep quickly and sleep throughout the night. Studies and clinical trials have been preformed to show the effectiveness of this sleep aid, and those studies have been evaluated by the FDA.
Side Effects of Unisom
Although Unisom reports that these side effects are rare, consumers may experience some of the following while taking this sleep aid:
- Constipation
- Dry Throat
- Blurred Vision
- Ringing in the ears
- Dry Mouth
Some people who have used Unisom also report that they felt a little groggy the following morning, and wanted to take a nap midway through the day.
Final Word on Unisom
Unisom has been shown to be effective at helping those that are dealing with insomnia or occasional sleeplessness, fall asleep quickly and sleep throughout the night. This sleep aid has been known to cause daytime drowsiness in some, however. Unisom should only be taken for a maximum of 10 days in a row when treating the symptoms of insomnia, to help prevent dependence or addiction from occurring. For some, you may find that after taking this sleep aid over an extended period of time, you are unable to sleep, or have a hard time sleeping without it.
Overall obviously Unisom works, but is an anti-histamine really the most safe and effective way to achieve and maintain healthy sleep? Drowsiness and sleepiness are only side effects of anti-histamines, not the main purpose of them. There are many over the counter sleep aids that contain ingredients specifically made and formulated for the treatment of insomnia, that are just as or more effective at helping you to achieve deep restful sleep, and have little or no risk of addiction or dependence.
