BATON ROUGE — Essential oils, melatonin and sound machines are some of the products that claim to help you sleep.

A sleep psychologist talks about whether any of them work.

"At the very best of what they do is they create good wind down routines. so, that is a key to falling asleep quickly, staying asleep, having a good restful night of sleep,” Alicia Roth, a sleep psychologist, said.

Experts say there's nothing wrong with trying different sleep products, but it's important to understand there's no perfect recipe.

The more effort you put into finding the right sleep products, the more stress you may put on yourself. Instead, doctors recommend creating a wind-down routine, which starts about an hour before bed and helps relax your body and mind. That could be reading or watching an old TV show, but nothing stimulating. You can also consider cognitive behavioral therapy.

“The scientifically proven treatment for insomnia is called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and we call it CBTI for short. and for decades, CBTI has been run through clinical trials. it's found to be more effective above and beyond sleep medications, across people of different ages with different illnesses and different circumstances in their life," Roth said.

Regarding sleep supplements, like melatonin, it is best to consult your doctor first.
You want to ensure they can't interfere with any medical condition you may have or other prescribed medications.