Hi Shark. I don't know how bad your insomnia is. I'd probably recommend trying something mild first, like the supplement combo Webber Sleep Calm/Super Sleep. It's a combination of melatonin, 5-HTP, and L-theanine.

Another possibility to use is magnesium glycinate.

A routine before bedtime, aka good "sleep hygiene" can help.

It's good to consider if you have a medical condition that causes insomnia (or includes insomnia as a symptom. Depression, fibromyalgia, or perimenopause are a few. Perimenopause is not technically a "medical condition", but it's definitely a cause of insomnia in many people. If you're not the right sex or age to have this, disregard!

If you need a prescription medication, doctors are more likely to prescribe an antidepressant. Trazodone is very popularly used to help sleep. Mirtazapine in low doses (3.75-15 mg) is also very effective. It usually causes food cravings, though.

The "z-drugs" are specifically created to treat insomnia. Ambien/zolpidem, Lunesta, & Sonata. There's a new sleep med called Belsomra that has a different mechanism of action.

I have fibromyalgia and have been taking some type of prescription sleep med for years. I have also done the supplement and sleep hygiene thing. My opinion is that, unless you have super-severe insomnia, it's worth trying supplements and practicing good sleep hygiene before you go the prescription meds route. I have never found one that did not have unpleasant side effects.

With Ambien, I would wake up feeling great, but I would not be able to remember anything that happened between the time I took the pill the night before and waking up.

Good luck trying to straighten out your sleep. It's very important to get enough.

Oh - another thing I would recommend is if you have a smartphone or other device that uses apps, is to download a sleep monitoring app like SleepBot and record your sleep for 2-3 nights. You can find out if you have sleep apnea or if there's some specific noise causing you to wake up.