Adding dietary supplements can add a lot to the body that you don't have. You could be experiencing insomnia because you're just not getting enough of a certain vitamin or hormone and these supplements can actually help you get back to the norm.
Melatonin
This is probably one of the most studied methods for treating insomnia in the stages of trying to fall asleep. Your body produces this hormone at night to help you fall asleep. It keeps your internal clock accurate and it is important in controlling when you fall asleep. Obviously, if you're not getting enough of this, you'll have insomnia issues.
The main key to stimulating melatonin is darkness. It's the way things would work in a natural environment for human beings. Light suppresses melatonin and dark releases melatonin. The fact though is that your melatonin production actually reduces with time, so you will start to experience these sleep issues.
You can purchase melatonin at a health food/drug store without a prescription in the United States. It comes in much different strength that may interest you. The reason you don't need a doctors approval is due to the fact that it can be found naturally in food. It hasn't been approved by the FDA, so there is no guarantees on the purity and effectiveness.
Since there is a variety of choice to how much you can take, you should always take the smallest dosage first, just to see what happens. You can always add a little more if you're not getting any results.
You'll only want to take melatonin supplements at the nighttime. Don't ever take it during the day. 30 minutes before you go to bed is the best time.
If this is a root you're planning on taking, I advise you to talk to your doctor first. It's best to run this sort of thing in front of them first to see what they think.
Calcium
If you're experiencing deficiencies of calcium in your body, it can cause you to experience wakefulness. When you take calcium it will work to sedate your body. It's best to take calcium with other food.
Magnesium
You should take a magnesium supplement each day. A good amount is 250g. When you are lacking this supplement, it can actually cause you to have nervous behavior that will make it much harder to get sleep. Studies have shown that the quality of your sleep goes down and it's much more shallow.
It's best to eat this supplement, which you get from wheat bran, cashews, molasses, etc.
Vitamin B6
You need around 50-100mg of vitamin B6 everyday. It helps you produce specific hormones that help you trigger your sleeping hormones.
Vitamin B12
This is actually the memory vitamin. If you're lacking this one you might experience memory loss and confusion. Getting around 25mg of this is all that is needed.
Vitamin B5
This is a specific vitamin that relieves stress and anxiety, which will improve the quality of your sleep. You'll need around 100mg.
Folic Acid
A deficiency of this can cause you to suffer from sleeplessness. You need around 400 micrograms a day and you can typically get this from orange juice, beans, etc.