A good over the counter sedative is Doxylamine which is also found in Unisom.
Diphenhydramine which is also found in Benadryl, Tylenol PM etc are also good over the counter sedatives.
I use Unisom to help me fall asleep and stay asleep and it works great.
The drug that is used as a fastest acting sedative is Midazolam which works to rapidly sedate people and keeps most people sedated for as long as 2 hours.
Haloperidol Promethazine mix will also tranquilize and sedate people but it has a slower onset of action than Midazolam does.
The drugs that they give mental patients to calm them down include Haloperidol as well as promethazine and midazolam.
Diazepam, lorazepam and olanzapine are also sometimes used in mental hospitals and hospitals to calm mental patients down.
The sedatives that hospitals use are Diazepam also known as Valium, Lorazepam also known as Ativan, Midazolam also known as Versed which are Benzodiazepines.
Other sedatives that hospitals use are Propofol which is a short acting anesthetic which induces a rapid and deep sleep.
And also opioids such as hydromorphone, morphine and fentanyl and Alpha 2 Agonists such as Dexmedetomidine "Precedex" and Clonidine.
Barbiturates are also used such as Pentobarbital "Nembutal", Thiopental "Pentothal" and Secobarbital "Seconal.
Other sedatives that are commonly used in hospitals include Ambien, Zolpidem, Chloral hydrate, Etomidate and Ketamine.
The deepest form of sedation is general anesthesia.
General anesthesia sedates a person so that they have a complete loss of consciousness and is commonly used in surgery.
General anesthesia is a drug induced state of unconsciousness in which people are not arousable, even from painful stimulation.
The person sedated under general anesthesia remains unconscious until the general anesthesia wears off and the person then wakes up.
Deep sedation can be very effective in certain procedures although it is not the same as general anesthesia.
Deep sedation involves a drug induced depression of consciousness, in which patients cannot be easily aroused but will respond purposely to any repeated or painful stimulation.
Moderate sedation involves a depressed level of consciousness in which patients can respond to verbal requests or react to touch, but breathing also remains intact and no support is required.
And minimal sedation also known as Anxiolysis is when the patient remains awake but relaxed and able to interact.
Dissociative sedation is another form of sedation and is a trance like state where the patient remains awake but also unaware of the pain and also retains no memory of the event happening.