If it is already way past your bedtime and still, you lie in your bed wide-awake, then there is a possibility that you have insomnia. The same goes if you have problems in achieving sound and deep sleep. It can be quite troublesome and its daytime effects are very undesirable. You might immediately think and find ways in order to immediately resolve your sleeping problem and therefore, be able to fall and stay asleep and achieve a long, deep and refreshing sleep.

Your search for a solution that has immediate effects may lead you to try out over-the-counter sleep medications that are available on drugstores all over. While these drugs can give you the immediate solution to your insomnia and help you to fall asleep quickly, it is best to be cautious about using them.

Insomnia is quite a complex condition and a variety of medical conditions and situations could be its underlying cause. Identifying and determining the root cause of your insomnia is the only way for you to be rid of your sleeping problem, eventually.

For those who have short-term or transient insomnia, the best way to get over it is to establish healthy sleeping habits and sleep/wake cycles to condition the body's circadian rhythms. For long-term insomnia, it is best to consult with the specialist doctor on the underlying medical condition for proper treatment.

Over-the-counter sleeping medications, even if they indeed have quick effects does not target, whatever is the root cause of your sleeping problem. You can rely on them as one would rely on crutches to support a broken bone, but they are not the cure. They are actually meant only to provide provisional relief from the symptoms of insomnia.

If you need to use such drugs especially if you cannot survive the daytime effects of insomnia, you must first research and know about them. Familiarization with the varied array of over-the-counter sleep aids is the key to make a good, if not best, decision on what type of drugs is suitable for your particular kind of sleeping problem.

The safety of an individual in his or her prolonged use of sleeping pills has not been proven nor established. It is better to establish healthy sleeping habits and great sleep environment, together with undergoing behavioral therapy sessions as natural insomnia remedies, rather than relying on too many over-the-counter drugs.

If you still decide to try out some OTC sleep aids, then it is best to follow these tips in using them:

- Consult your doctor and ask if it is safe for you to try an OTC sleep aids. Make sure that you remember his/her recommendations concerning your decision.

- Follow the directions of use and indications given. You may have to start with relatively small doses and increase them gradually.

- Make sure that you consider the other medications that you are constantly taking. Some over-the-counter sleeping pills may have adverse effects if it has interactions with other medications / chemicals that are taken into the body. Upon consultation with your sleep doctor, make it a point to inform him or her about the other medications you are taking for treatment of some other health condition.

- Remember that your actions and emotions indicate if your medication has side effects.

- Using over-the-counter sleeping drugs must be made sporadically and not regularly or on a nightly basis so that the harmful effects would also be decreased and its effectiveness would increase a bit every time you use them.

- Avoid taking other non-prescription or over-the-counter drugs and substances that may make your sleeping problems worse than it already is.

- If you are just starting on a new OTC sleep aid, you still may not be aware of how it can affect you so do not attempt to drive any vehicle or operate heavy machinery right after taking them.

- Maintain your occasional visits to the doctor.