Is benadryl really a good sleep aid? if so is it habit forming?

It puts you to sleep for sure, but it (IMHO) think it is not a good sleep. I have used it for poison ivy and seperately as a sleep aid many times and always wake feeling tired and listless after using it.
I realized REAL quick that the whole pill (I assume you have the little red oval pills?) are WAY too much for me - I just nibble about 1/8 of it to get to sleep (as needed to get past poison ivy) and I still wake up feeling like crap in the morn due to it.
I personally have never found it habit forming and used it a lot in the past (ex-army infantry - had to low crawl through poison ivy at night WAY too often ;)
I rarely use it now that I have a geek job... and no poison ivy.

Benadryl is an antihistamine, which does make you sleepy. You do want to be careful as far as what other meds you may be on, but it is said to be not habit-forming.
Of course, as with anything, the more you use it and rely on, the more you will "need" to use it. So if you want to use it as a sleep aid, use it only when you really need it. If you have a long-standing sleep problem, discuss it with your doctor.

Good luck!

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