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Over-the-Counter Sleep Medication: What Are the Active Ingredients?
Despite endless shelves of options, OTC sleep aids tend to involve one of two active ingredients.
Written by Lauren Smith, MA | Reviewed by Alexandra Schwarz, MD
Published on September 21, 2023At the pharmacy, you can find endless shelves of medications that aim to support sleep. It may surprise you that most of these medications are just different versions of the same two ingredients: doxylamine and diphenhydramine.
In this video, learn how these sleep-promoting ingredients work and how to pick an over-the-counter sleep medication, according to Stacia Woodcock, PharmD, Pharmacy Editor at GoodRx.
Additional Medical Contributors
- Stacia Woodcock, PharmDStacia Woodcock, PharmD, is a pharmacy editor for GoodRx. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Kentucky and is licensed in New York and Massachusetts.
View All References (4)
DailyMed. (n.d.). ZzzQuil.
Food and Drug Administration. (2015). OTC drug facts label.
Sicari, V., et al. (2022). Diphenhydramine. StatPearls.
The Procter & Gamble Manufacturing Company. (2023). ZzzQuil Nighttime Sleep-Aid- diphenhydramine hydrochloride capsule, gelatin coated [package insert]. DailyMed.
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