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Notes -
Antihistamines. Do they reduce IQ?
Yes. The sad thing about the majority of pharmaceuticals in use today is that they're blunt instruments, hammers substituted for scalpels. Histamine, while we're mostly accustomed to encountering its effects from annoyances like hives or allergies, also functions as a neurotransmitter in the brain. It happens to modulate arousal and awakening in the brain, which is why sedation is/was a common side effect of antihistamines (more so in the older ones).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10856168/#:~:text=In%20a%20recent%20comparative%20trial,memory%2C%20vigilance%2C%20and%20speed.
The second-generation antihistamines are classified as "non-sedating", which is more or less correct, even if a few of them do have mild sedative effect, at least they're much better in that regard than the OGs. Keep in mind you're not thinking your best when you've got a reason to take them, such as during allergies or a cold.
I don't see any suggestion that the effect persists indefinitely, at least not for acute use at recommended doses, and you can avoid the worst of it by getting the better ones from the non-sedating class.
Related followup: what is the safest OTC sleep aid? Thoughts on doxylamine (unisom)?
You said safest, not the most effective, so I'm going to go with a glass of cold milk haha.
Truth be told, there isn't much in the way of good, almost perfectly safe choices, at least in OTC drugs that I'm aware of, and availability might well be in different in the States from what I'm used to. I could vaguely recommend l-theanine as a highly safe anxiolytic, even if it's not a sedative. Melatonin is highly dubious in terms of usefulness. But if you want to be knocked the fuck out, older antihistamines are your friend.
I don't have a particularly strong opinion on doxylamine beyond my theoretical knowledge, it's not the antihistamine used regularly where I hail from, but used in moderation? Doesn't seem all that bad. But it will almost certainly have the cognitive effects I mentioned above.
Fascinating that you say melatonin is dubious in usefulness. I swear by my 300 micrograms a day (dosage at Scott's recommendation).
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