Counting sheep. Taking pills. Changing your diet. There are as many treatments for insomnia as there are causes.

To gauge the effectiveness of the most commonly used tactics, we analyzed the experiences of 2,021 problem sleepers and confirmed insomniacs, who used a specific approach for at least eight days in the month before they were surveyed.

Three-quarters of respondents found prescription medications worked most of the time, but there are downsides to their continued use, including dependency, rebound insomnia, and behaviors such as sleep driving, as well as diminished effectiveness of the drugs. Nondrug options are a more ­sensible first approach, and sound machines proved almost as effective as pills for many.

For the most severe cases, two-thirds of the panel said they were helped by prescription drugs on most nights, while just over half said sound machines helped them most nights.


Percentages don’t total 100 because the chart does not include responses to techniques that helped about half the time.