Several Insomnia patients try various sleep aids, starting from cannabis to Benadryl. Sometimes they try a combination of multiple products together to get better sleep. Combining melatonin and Benadryl is one such common practice among people who struggle to get rest. Doctors usually recommend against this practice fearing it might cause dangerous interactions.
One question that often comes up is can you take Benadryl and melatonin together? Here we explain.
What is Benadryl?
Benadryl is the most common and well-known cough syrup given to both children and adults. It helps people get instant relief from cough and cold. Benadryl’s mild sedative nature also helps people sleep peacefully without being tortured by a running nose and continuous coughs.
Benadryl is classified as an antihistamine and is also used to battle various allergies and sneezing caused due to dust and climate. It helps to cure sore throat, irritating eyes, nose, and battle all common cold symptoms. Benadryl is readily available, affordable, and bought as an over-the-counter drug, too, in some places.
Benadryl can aid sleep but you should also look at other solutions that will help you get a better night. Wear loose clothing that is cotton or silk. Make sure you change your bedding regularly and even the type of mattress can help – check out this guide on mattress sizes for more information.
Benadryl is usually known to cause various allergies if taken alongside other antihistamines or antidepressants without the doctor’s advice. Benadryl allergies are common if you take them along with ulcer medicine without checking them with the doctors.
Only certain ulcer medicines and sedatives work well with Diphenhydramine, the most common component in Benadryl. But melatonin is a relatively harmless natural hormone that secretes inside our brain from the pineal gland. It doesn’t cause drastic interactions with other drugs. There isn’t any study reporting such interactions between melatonin and Benadryl so far.
What is Melatonin?
Melatonin is the natural sleep hormone of the human body with high regenerative properties. Melatonin helps maintain the natural sleep cycle of the body as we start feeling sleepy when the melatonin secretes at night when the atmosphere is dark.
Our body’s circadian rhythm, which acts as a biological clock in every human, making us stay awake in bright sunlight and fall asleep naturally when it gets dark, is usually triggered through melatonin. Our body has natural melanin receptors that detect the lighting and start initiating the secretion of the hormone, which induces sleep every night.
Some patients cannot sleep properly if they do not have proper melatonin secretion in their bodies. Melatonin deficiency also leads to various types of skin diseases and heightened cell damage in the body. Hence, Melatonin supplements get prescribed to people who do not have enough natural melatonin in the body.
The dosages of suggested melatonin are extremely low and range from .1mg to .5mg maximum. Melatonin users take it in the form of supplements, pills, and creams. Some types of gummies and vape melatonin are also available to induce easy sleep in insomnia patients.
Is there proof for Benadryl and Melatonin interaction?
Scientists haven’t proved there is a dangerous interaction between Benadryl and melatonin. There are no conclusive studies stating people with Benadryl allergy will suffer if they take melatonin. But the researchers strictly advise against using both simultaneously because it might cause drowsiness. This alone should help answer the question can you take benadryl and melatonin together?
The effects might vary from nausea to oversleep and extreme drowsiness that might last for a total of 24 hours or more. The most common component of Benadryl, Diphenhydramine, is found in many other sleep-inducing and pain-controlling drugs. It is relatively safe to use even on kids and pregnant women.
Melatonin is a natural chemical secreted by the brain to induce sleep. Tweaking it a little bit using melatonin supplements is more than enough to get a good night’s sleep. There is no need to take extra sedatives or sleep aids like Benadryl containing Diphenhydramine along with melatonin.
Patients with insomnia must try Melatonin and Benadryl separately and experiment with various dosages. If required, they can consume a slightly higher dosage of one drug to get better sleep instead of combining them to avoid unknown reactions.
Feared side effects
The most common myth is that taking Benadryl and melatonin together will cause breathing issues or might cause severe heart problems. But it isn’t true as doctors sometimes suggest a mild combination of both even for children.
Taking too much Benadryl as a sleep aid must be avoided strictly as it will cause long-term side effects and make a person addicted to the drug. Insomnia patients should use the approved sleep aids or use natural methods to sleep better instead of using wired combination formulas on their own. It is always better to use a particular drug only for its intended purpose rather than other purposes like getting better sleep.
The other commonly feared side effects of Benadryl and melatonin taken together are slow reflexes which is why people ask can you take benadryl with melatonin. People taking them regularly are unfit to drive in some cases and have lower cognitive abilities for 36 to 48 hours after taking the drugs.
It is much milder than taking alcohol, but still, the effects take a long time to wear off, and excessive drowsiness might make them commit some blunders in their work or daily life. For more on better sleeping read Why are You Struggling to Sleep at Night? and How Much Sleep Do Teenagers Need? 6 Tips to Manage Insomnia in Teens.
