“If you need to take something more than twice a week and the problem has gone on for more than three months, then you need to see someone,” Dr. While it’s normal to have short periods of time where you can’t sleep well (during a hugely stressful week at work, for instance), regularly having trouble falling or staying asleep is a sign that something deeper is going on. However, if you feel the need to turn to a sleep aid every night, you should seek treatment to address the underlying cause of your insomnia. In general, using a DPH product to help you fall asleep occasionally is fine, but it shouldn’t become a habit.Īs long as you don’t mind the potential next-day drowsiness, then sporadic use of the recommended daily dose of these drugs typically won’t have serious medical repercussions for a healthy adult, Dr. This can lead to someone having a preference of Benadryl over ZzzQuil, or vice versa, even though they essentially work the same way. But they may affect the taste, color, ease of active ingredient delivery, and other factors of a drug. Inactive ingredients don’t bring about the indicated effects of a medicine, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It’s easy to think an inactive ingredient doesn’t do anything, but that’s not true. Pelayo points out, different drugs contain additional ingredients that are listed as inactive. What’s more, “some people trust certain brands more or have preferences on how things taste or are formulated,” he says.Īlso, as Dr. Some people may feel more confident that a medication marketed to help them fall asleep will do so than a medication used off-label. “Yes, it is the same compound, but … for a person to sleep well with any product, they have to have a certain amount of trust in the product,” Dr. Still, if you're taking 50mg of DPH, it's probably going to work the same way, regardless of the marketing. As long as a medication conforms to one of these monographs, it can be marketed as either one. In this case, DPH has two monographs, one stating that it can be taken at 25mg or 50mg for allergies, and one stating that it can be taken at 50mg as a sleep aid. The FDA reviews OTC drugs through drug monographs, which are statements about the acceptable ingredients, dosage, and usage of a certain drug. So, why is one drug marketed as an antihistamine and one marketed as a sleep aid? It comes down to how over-the-counter drugs are regulated by the FDA. They recommend you only take ZzzQuil if you know you’ll have enough time to get a full night’s rest, however much that usually is for you. ![]() On the ZzzQuil site, the manufacturers note that there are “many factors” that could influence how well rested you feel the next morning, including the time you take ZzzQuil. Benadryl doesn’t contain any such warning, even though experts agree that it’s not good to take it over the long term.īut taking ZzzQuil to help you sleep could, theoretically, come with the same potential side effects of taking Benadryl, like next-day sleepiness. When reached for comment, Procter & Gamble, the makers of ZzzQuil, emphasized these instructions. ZzzQuil is indicated for “the relief of occasional sleeplessness,” and the warning label advises consumers to stop use and consult a doctor if they’re still having trouble sleeping after two weeks. (Except for one that only has the active ingredient melatonin.) Therefore, these ZzzQuil products essentially work in the same way as Benadryl, but they’re marketed specifically to help you get sleep-in the short-term, that is. ZzzQuil products, on the other hand, have the exact same active ingredient. In fact, Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Benadryl, declined to comment on this subject as it discusses an off-label use. ![]() But only one is indicated for helping you fall asleep.Īlthough Benadryl lists “marked drowsiness” as a potential side effect, it is not indicated for sleep on its packaging. Here’s something you may not know: DPH is the sole active ingredient in both Benadryl and ZzzQuil. If you take a medication with DPH for extended periods, you might get into a vicious cycle of needing more yet feeling even sleepier throughout the day. ![]() ![]() Higher doses mean a greater risk of side effects, like next-morning sleepiness. This means you will need to take an increasingly higher dose to achieve the same effect. “The body adapts to them.” With daily use, you may build up a tolerance in about two weeks, he says, though the specific timeline here can vary from person to person. You can also build up a tolerance to DPH fairly quickly.
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