My doctor did say to take with food, but I don't in the morning because it knocks me out, even at 60mg. I can't take it just once a day because it doesn't last long enough in my system. I think it has a half life of about 10-12 hours. I wish I could take it just once at night. I usually wait about 3 hours after taking it before I eat something, which my doctor doesn't really like. But even when I take it at night, it still takes about 3 1/2 hours for me to feel tired.