not sleeping

Does anyone have any good things that work for sleep? I'm not sleeping very well at all....I'll fall asleep ok but then in a couple hours I'm up, fall back to sleep for a few minutes, up again...etc. I'm going back to work tomorrow and so I'm nervous that I won't be able to sleep. I'm a nurse and desperately need some sleep as I work 12 hour days and deal with people's lives. I've heard Melatonin works, does anyone have any experience with that?

[cnote]

Maybe an over the counter sleep aid? Just try it for a little while, but not prolong use. Do you know what's causing you to not sleep well? Anxiety maybe? Your job?

[msaddie7]

Melatonin is not strong enough for me personally but there is an over-the-counter med called Alteril which has various ingredients (including melatonin) that seems to work well.  I would recommend that.

[smartypants40]

hi there how are you, there is nothing worse than not being able to sleep, i am on a tablet called serquel (that is the street name) and it helps the anxious thoughts and slows the brain down. enough to sleep and controll my day , i have not not heard of the drug you are taking. hope this helps i am here if you need to chat. in new zealand lol.

[Paxiled]

Melatonin works for some, not for others.  Part of the problem is dosage; it actually works better in smaller dosages than larger for most people.  For women, start with .5mg, for a man1mg (as you'll see in the health food stores, most are 2.5mg or higher).  You can also try homeopathic remedies for sleep, such as Calm's Forte.  Sometimes these work.  The most important thing is to figure out why you're not sleeping, of course, if that's possible, and work on it so you don't need to take anything.

[nputte]

I think the reason I'm not sleeping is anxiety mostly. I'm anxious because of my job....but I know it's generalized anxiety when I can't sleep even on the nights I don't have to work. I'm working on trying to find a less stressful job.