RResidents in Japan

Trouble sleeping

I have trouble sleeping at night and when I finally do I always wake up mid-sleep and I find it hard for me to fall back to sleep again.
Has anyone tried otc drugs in Japan? And what are the best brands to look for? I tried looking for melatonin on Amazon but I couldn’t find any.

24 comments

  5. My secret drug for sleeping is Gaba chocolate. They are non addictive, natural, cheap.You can find them on grocery store.

    3 types of Gaba chocolate.There’s one called Gaba for sleeping in a blue box and cost around 178~( Most powerful one)

    One in a small red bag written “GABA” in front and cost around 148~And another one in a box written “OFF” on the front and cost around 148~

    All of them can be found in the sweets & snack section.
    can be bought in konbini too if you dont mind paying more

    Some will say it’s just placebo effect, but everytime I take those with my Chamomile tea I start feeling sleepy and really tired in just a few minutes.

  6. A couple fingers of scotch before bed works for me! Even better if it’s followed by a NyQuil chaser.

  8. A hot milk toddy with a dollop of honey before bed.

    Cut down on the caffeine and alcohol in your diet.

  9. Had this problem for many years. I would say buy melatonin on iHerb. There’s a limit for Japan (I think 60 capsules per order? Per Japan import limit?), but I hope that helps you get a better sleep schedule. Bad sleep really takes a toll over time

  11. I had the same issue intermittently for years. Started taking a few grams of magnesium glycinate and a heaped teaspoon of glycine about an hour before bed. Haven’t had a problem since (touch wood). I’d avoid messing with melatonin or OTC medications unless necessary. I forget the exact number but I think about 90% of people are magnesium deficient which can cause sleep problems. Try it for a week and see how you feel.

  13. I’d caution against melatonin. It’s a hormone (and should be treated as such) and it’s sold as a supplement with dosages wildly greater than what your body produces on its own. It also might put you to sleep, but doesn’t necessarily lead to a restful sleep.

    As an alternative form of supplementation, I’d recommend – a) ZMA b) Inositol (cheap and effective) c) Magnesium Threonate (highly bioavailable form of Mg that renders it more effective than other forms). Each of these I cycle through and get off of iherb

    I’m too tired to reference my words, but searching these ingredients up on *examine.com* will offer unbiased, comprehensive information. Also, searching *Andrew Huberman* on YT for sleep yields plenty of related info.

  14. There’s a OTC medicine in a box with a cat in a bed on it. You can buy it at Matsu Kiyo and Welcia, probably other drugstores too but I bought it there. Sorry I don’t know the name of it as I haven’t used it in a while.
    It makes you super drowsy and weakens your muscles (in my case). It usually helps me to sleep well though one time I felt the fysical effects of it but my mind was super awake and this was very annoying. What helps me too is listening to sleep meditations on YouTube and an old fashioned cup of camomile tea often works too. Good luck, insomnia is a bish.

  16. Tried exercising at night?

    Audio books and a walk are great.

    Also, I wouldn’t know anything about this. But apparently cleaning the pipes / polishing the pearl are great for insomnia. Or so I hear. Dunno because I don’t know anything at all about it.

  18. For the last few years I’ve been sleeping better than ever before.

    Exercise and diet play in to it, but have already been covered here, so I’ll give them one big thing that hasn’t.

    I plug a Bluetooth earpiece in to just one ear, and listen to a podcast I’m familiar with on quite low volume. Something without much music or raucous laughter- mostly just talk. And I just focus on listening to it, not letting other thoughts in to my head. I’m usually out within a couple minutes, and then do the same to get back to sleep after inevitable toilet trips.

    Only downside is that I find it difficult to sleep now when I’m not at home with my ideal setup

  20. One thing I’ve noticed is Japanese homes tend to use a lot of daylight spectrum way too bright lighting. That really messes with your internal clock. If you have that, you need to add a few warm spectrum and less bright lamps to switch to in the evening hours. It will help you wind down.

  21. I had similar problem before. Hard to get sleep , and even though I take a nap, it was just for a quick 2 hrs and so. And stay awake whole night.

    I tried the following ways and it dramatically improved my sleeping.

    -Dont use cell phones at night. Just keep it away in dnd mode with alarm for morning.
    -Reduce your caffeine take.
    -I dont go gym and all. But after work(wfh), I take a good walk nearby for 45min-1hr. In this time, I buy grocery and stuff.
    -eat meals 2 hrs before your sleeping time and try to reduce the potions but increase the varieties instead.
    -make sure to keep your room dark, cover up the small possible lights coming from charger or plug.
    -before taking a nap. Wash your feet with cold water thoroughly for a min or two.

    Its difficult to say but try not to overthink. You can also add reading books after last above step which will make your eyes tired and helps you fall asleep.

  22. Seeing as it’s Japan, you could try what Japanese people do: take a short walk about two hours before bed, take a hot bath one hour before bed. After-bath beer optional.

  23. It’s prescription, but I’ve had good results with Ambien (sold in Japan as マイスリー), especially for jetlag or occasionally when I just can’t get my brain to turn off. If the problem is waking up at 2am and not being able to get back to sleep, take a small amount (5gm) then. It helps you get to sleep, but if you fight it you won’t feel a thing. So take it when you’re ready to try to sleep, and just try to relax. I’ve had very good results with it for 20+ years. It’s very cheep… just ask any doc.

  24. There is a new very effective drug called ディエゴ　　its not OTC but it works well and has none of the benzo (Ambien マイスリー）side effects and addiction. If you have JP insurance its going to be much cheaper than any of the drugstore weak and expensive crap, and online marked-up imports.

    Costs about 1700Y for 30 pills, one pill per night on the 30% plan

    Its effect lasts longer than Ambien, if you wake up once can sleep back no problem.

    As for melatonin, yes it works but only for a short time since the body makes its own melatonin it will just end up making less to adjust to the new levels

    I tried all of these above and only use　ディエゴ　from time to time now

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