You made no mention of depression (aside from the obvious bout that comes to all of us when we can't sleep!) or anxiety problems in your life. If these are not factors in your life preventing you from getting a good nights sleep, then, as has been mentioned, talking with your doctor to rule out a physical cause would be your first step. He/she may try you on a sleep medication to see if that breaks the insomnia cycle, but bear in mind, those are for short term use and if used daily will lose their efficacy. If that doesn't work, they may next suggest you try a Sleep Disorder Unit at your local hospital which will give them much information about why your brain is not allowing you to "shut down" at night. I know some people that have found their occassional bout of insomnia is helped by taking 25mg of OTC Benadryl. Might be worth a try, but again, it's not meant for long term use. Your best bet? Your doctor.
Peace
Greenlydia
have you tried meds? there are quite a few out now that aren't nearly as addicting as sleeping pills used to be. i would talk to a doctor. there really isn't much you can do on your own. one thing that has helped me was to take 75mg of imipramine 1 hour before bed. it is an anti-depressant that also helps with anxiety...though not quite as efficient as some of the newer meds. it makes me tired. the thing with anti-depressents is that they don't FORCE you to sleep...you fall asleep more naturally so there isn't a groggy feeling in the morning. if you already have anxiety issues, it may be worth talking to your doctor about. outside of meds, i haven't found anything to help me sleep other than laying on the couch with the tv on. thats the only thing that helps me, and i don't know why.