How Mucinex Can Make You Sleepy

‍When it comes to fighting a cold and flu, you want to get back to feeling normal as quickly as possible. One way how is by taking medication that eases your symptoms and helps you feel better sooner. Many common over-the-counter medications for the flu and cold aim to reduce the duration of your illness with the help of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or other active ingredients. Cough and mucus-clearing drugs are not just for adults; kids need them too. While some children might hate taking these medicines, they’re helpful in reducing symptoms and allowing everyone to get back to their normal routine sooner. Mucus-clearing drugs help unblock nose passages so that you can breathe easier and sleep better at night.

How Mucinex Can Make You Sleepy?

There are a few ways that Mucinex can make you sleepy. The main ingredient, guaifenesin, is a cough suppressant that may cause drowsiness. Additionally, Mucinex contains dextromethorphan, which is a cough suppressant and also has mild sedative effects. Finally, many people find the act of taking medicine, in general, to be calming and relaxing, which can also lead to sleepiness.

How Does Mucinex Help You Sleep?

1. It is a decongestant. Ever feel like you have a head full of cotton? It’s because you have a stuffy nose or congestion, and Mucinex helps to unblock your nose passages so that you can breathe easier and sleep better at night.
2. It is an expectorant. Mucinex helps loosen mucus so that it comes out of your nose more easily, helping to clear up the stuffiness in your airways so that you can breathe easier at night.
3. It is an antihistamine. Histamine produces symptoms of a cold or flu such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and sore throat. Antihistamines help reduce these symptoms by blocking the action of histamine in the body, making them less intense and longer lasting.
4. It has expectorant properties too! Mucinex has both decongestant and expectorant properties in its ingredients, which means that it can help you get your stuffy nose and cough under control.
5. It is an anti-inflammatory. If you have a cold or flu, it can be painful and irritating to your skin and mucous membranes. Mucinex offers the same anti-inflammatory properties as ibuprofen, but without the side effects such as stomach upset, liver damage, or drowsiness that ibuprofen can cause when taken for prolonged periods of time.
6. It is a decongestant and expectorant in one pill! That’s great news! You don’t have to take both an antihistamine and an expectorant medication separately when you take Mucinex! Plus, with Mucinex’s dual decongestant-expectorant action, you get the best of both worlds by getting relief from your stuffy nose or congestion while also getting relief from your cough.
7. It is not habit-forming! Like any medication, Mucinex can have side effects when taken for prolonged periods of time. However, if you don’t take it for a couple of days, you’re unlikely to become addicted to it.
8. It has no side effects! Mucinex doesn’t cause nausea or upset stomachs like some decongestants or expectorants can do. It doesn’t cause drowsiness like some antihistamines and anti-inflammatories can do either. And unlike antihistamines and anti-inflammatories, Mucinex doesn’t cause weight gain or make you feel jittery and hyperactive either!

Why Can’t You Fall Asleep When You Take Mucinex?

1. It doesn’t always help you fall asleep. Even though Mucinex is an effective decongestant, expectorant, and antihistamine, it is not a sleep aid. If you need to fall asleep in order to get back to feeling better, you might want to try some other over-the-counter medications for the flu and cold that are designed for sleep and anxiety.
2. You might not be able to fall asleep right away. Mucinex may take some time before you start feeling its effects. Some people find that it takes a few hours before they start getting improved symptoms or feel more comfortable while they’re taking Mucinex.
3. You have other issues going on that are causing you problems sleeping at night. Some people who have sleeping problems often have other issues going on that cause them stress or depression in addition to their respiratory illnesses such as insomnia, anxiety attacks, depression, or insomnia caused by another condition such as an eating disorder. If you have these issues, you might want to talk to your doctor about other medication options that can help with your sleep problems.

Tips To Help You Sleep While Taking Mucinex

1. Take it at bedtime. If you can’t sleep, take a dose of Mucinex at bedtime.
2. Never take more than one dose in 24 hours. Never take more than one dose of any over-the-counter medicine in 24 hours. If you have any questions about the medicine you’re taking, talk to your healthcare provider before taking another dose.
3. Avoid alcohol and other medicines that cause drowsiness, such as pain medications or antihistamines for allergies, cold and flu medications for pain or fever, or other medicines that make you sleepy (such as sleeping pills). These medicines can interact with each other or with your sleep medicine and cause dangerous side effects.
4. Avoid strenuous activity for 2 hours after taking Mucinex to lessen the chance of side effects such as dizziness or lightheadedness from this product (see Side Effects section). Strenuous activities may include horseback riding; driving a car or motorcycle; playing racquetball, or using a trampoline.
5. Avoid alcohol, foods, drinks, and other products that contain caffeine (such as coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, and some medications). Caffeine increases the effects of acetaminophen and can cause serious side effects such as liver damage.
6. Avoid taking Mucinex and other medicines that contain acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) at the same time; this can cause serious liver damage. Do not use 2 or more Mucinex products at the same time.
7. Avoid taking Mucinex within 2 hours before or after taking the sleeping pill, “z” or “zolpidem” (Ambien, others). Taking these medicines together can cause side effects such as drowsiness and make you sleepy.
8. Avoid using more than one medicine to treat your symptoms because they can interact with each other and cause dangerous side effects. If you have any questions about this product, ask your healthcare provider.
9. Keep out of the reach of children, never share with others, and use only as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing a baby, or have high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, or kidney problems, talk to your healthcare provider before using this product (see warning section below). Ask a doctor before use if you have heart disease; liver disease; a blood disorder; or if you are taking a prescription monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) (certain drugs for depression, psychiatric, or emotional conditions). Ask a doctor or pharmacist before use if you are taking the blood thinning medicine warfarin.

Conclusion

Taking Mucinex can help you get better faster, so you can quickly return to your normal activities and sleep schedule. Some people experience rebound cough when they take murine-clearing drugs, so be sure to drink plenty of water while you’re sick to stay hydrated. Mucinex can be taken with other cough and cold medications, but it shouldn’t be taken with antihistamines, decongestants, anticholinergic drugs, or insulin. When used as directed, Mucinex can be helpful in reducing the duration of your illness and easing your symptoms.