I have had severe insomnia since early childhood. Most sleeping meds will put me to sleep; however I found out I have sleep apnea which is made worse by sleeping meds. This is one reason why I am discontinuing Seroquel; I stop breathing. And I need to avoid these meds now.
You probably know of lifestyle changes; like no caffeine or excess sugar, etc.
I found counting while visualizing numbers in different colors and shapes makes me sleepy. Reading something very boring helps to make me drowsy. This does not put me to sleep though. I put the tv on turn off the picture so the room is dark and close my eyes and visualize what is happening (that sometimes help put me to sleep).
I tried Melatonin and it dried my mouth out; but worked only at high doses.
Tryptophan or Valerian Root will make people sleepy.
Warm milk and graham crackers were used when I worked in a nursing home, to help people go to sleep.
Do you have a white noise machine? Or a favorite relaxing youtube music video? I have this one:
I also wear silicone ear plugs, the ones that can mold into the ear. The foam ones hurt my ears. Also I cover my head (leaving my nose and mouth exposed) with a heavy corn filled bag or a filled towel; it does something to comfort me and block out light and noise. Hope this helps! Good luck.