As a PharmD, I can tell you this is not true. Unless you're taking well over 4 grams of acetaminophen in a day (bad for the liver), it is a nearly benign substance. Ibuprofen, along with all the other non-steroidal antiinflammatories like Aleve (naproxen), is much tougher on the stomach and kidneys (in big doses). Tylenol is usually the first thing recommended, and is the only thing routinely recommended in the elderly. Anything containing diphenhydramine (Benadryl) usually gets the job done. Ambien is the top-of-line sleep aid, but it's prescription only and is a federally controlled substance (in the same class as Xanax, Valium, etc). Also, it's expensive. I would never recommend relying on a sleep aid night after night, but if it were a one-night thing, I would go with diphenhydramine (a generic brand Benadryl) before I would buy some name brand "PM" product with 8 different things in it.