Buyer's Guide To
Sleep Supplements
What Everyone Needs to Know About Sleep Health

Unisom

Rating: C
Company: Company Name

Specs: Lab Report
Site: www.unisom.com

What is it?

Unisom is a popular prescription sleep aid sold by Chattem, a worldwide distributor of healthcare and dietary supplements. It claims to help people fall asleep faster and stay asleep. Although its mechanics are similar to Sominex, another popular prescription sleep aid, it does not contain the same active ingredients, such as diphenhydramine or diphenhydramine hydrochloride. Instead, Unisom contains a similar constituent called doxylamine succinate, a type of antihistamine. Like diphenhydramine, doxylamine succinate sedates the body by blocking histamine receptors, which reportedly causes feelings of drowsiness and fatigue.

Though doxylamine succinate is also FDA approved for treating occasional sleeplessness, its effectiveness--and safety--as a sleep aid is widely debated.

What ingredients does Unisom contain?

Unisom contains doxylamine succinate, an antihistamine.

Do the ingredients in Unisom help promote sleep?

It may help induce the sleeping process, but rarely improves the quality or length of sleep. According to WebMD.com, doxylamine succinate, its main ingredient, has been shown to cause drowsiness by blocking the production of histamine--in fact, it's considered one of the most effective histamine blockers available. According to the St. John Providence Health System, however, its sedative effects also come with other more severe side effects, affecting a person's vision, mental state and even cause them to feel lightheaded. Its effects are very similar to alcohol.

Is Unisom safe?

No. Regular use may cause changes in vision, confusion, agitation, increased nervousness, changes in heartbeat, a “lightheaded” feeling, muscle twitching and dry mouth. It can also cause extreme dizziness and drowsiness.

Verdict:

As an antihistamine, Unisom is considered extremely effective--but its effectiveness as a sleep aid are highly questionable.