Benadryl for sleep?

[ithryn]

I sometimes toss down a benadryl or two before bed to help me sleep, a habit I got when working night shift. Any problems with that? I didn't know if the antihistamine was blocking my gainz or if produces less effective sleep like alcohol seems to.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Yea there's actually not much (if any) data showing that benadryl actually works for insomnia. Coupled with it's long half life, it's potential to make you groggy the next day is pretty high. As far as gainzZz inhibition- I haven't seen much on that tbh. I'd probably work on sleep hygiene first and then revisit pharmacological interventions if needed after that.

[ithryn]

That makes sense. I'll have to work on that, thanks.

[Travis Rask]

RE: Sleep Hygiene - I'd start with some blackout curtains.

These ones are outstanding.

I liked them so much, I ended up hanging a rail over my door and getting another set to wipe out all light.

[gatorinexile]

I take TylenolPM on occasion if I feel the need for a big night sleep. I take it 12 hours before I need to be alert - so usually no later than 6:30 pm or so. If I do that, I'm pretty tired by 8:30 and log a good 10-11 hours and wake up feeling great and rested. If anything - I felt better for training sessions.

I have definitely noticed that this wears off if I try it for more than 2-3 nights in a row. Seems to lose potency.

I probably use it 4-5 times/year now.

[vanslix]

I take TylenolPM on occasion if I feel the need for a big night sleep. I take it 12 hours before I need to be alert - so usually no later than 6:30 pm or so. If I do that, I'm pretty tired by 8:30 and log a good 10-11 hours and wake up feeling great and rested. If anything - I felt better for training sessions.

I have definitely noticed that this wears off if I try it for more than 2-3 nights in a row. Seems to lose potency.

I probably use it 4-5 times/year now.

If you search Jordan's forum, there's a post where he, Paul and I had a big debate over the medications. But we all agreed sleep hygiene is the best and first option.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

It's really amazing what sleep hygiene will do for a person, really.

[ColoWayno]

Tylenol PM, Advil PM and Unisom are all basically... Wait for it... Benadryl. I buy the cheapest form of diphenhydramine I can find and use it regularly. It's probably not the best idea though I think the hangover effects wear off. Since it is a deliriant and my main problem is an overactive brain (yea, not solving fusion or anything over here) it works pretty well for me. I think there is a slight rebound effect as when I skip it for a night I get very vivid dreams.
I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but there it is.

[Travis Rask]

@OP

Have you considered other products such as ZMA, Natural Calm, Melatonin?

[Barry Charles]

I just ordered an OASIS 5000, top of the line sleep/sound/noise generator thing.

In addition to white noise, there are 24 theme sounds and 5 add ons that can be mixed in individually or all together.

The main themes are like stream, ocean, etc. and the add ons are thunder, seagulls , etc. The cool thing is that the digitized recordings can be programmed to slow down, e.g. Waves roll in slower, and slower. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Two questions, in percentage what will my gains be? And, what would be the best theme and add ons the night before bench press?

http://www.soundoasis.com/products/s...apy-system/#cs