Insomnia aides?

So I get bouts of insomnia.  I have for years.  It sucks.  I have tried almost everything to remedy it and had a little success, but not much.  The thing with me and insomnia is that though it sucks to not be able to sleep, it sucks worse if I don't get enough sleep because it triggers migraines.  So when I finally get to sleep, I need to actually sleep for at least 6 hours.  I did the whole never get to sleep for more than 4 hours at a time, and I did not do well with that at all.  Needless to say, it is important to me to be able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Until recently, the best success I had had was with a Yogi tea with Kava in it.  It worked pretty good for a while, then I had a really bad day not too long ago. I tried everything I could think of.  I tried a hot bath, double strength cup of kava tea, a shot of whiskey, sex, and anti-anxiety meds.  Hell, I may have tried something else, but I can't remember it at this point.  I should also point out that I can't use Valerian.  It gives me nightmares.

I had asked Raven if there was anything that he could think of that I hadn't tried yet.  He really hadn't come up with too much.  Then the other day we browsed through Earth Fare and I thought that might be a good place to find something that could help.  Let me add in here that I have tried pharmaceutical sleep remedies and I hate them, I would much rather go natural.  So, at the Earth Fare, we found some plain herbal extracts.  According to my reading, kava works best when it is paired with St. John's Wort which regulates sleep cycles.  I made the plunge.  I got a 2 ounce bottle of extract, half kava and half St. John's Wort.

I got home and smelled my little brew, and oh mah gawd, it smelled awful.  I approached it like I would approach liquor.  Ie: I don't want to ruin a whole drink with the taste of it.  So I had Raven drop it into my mouth, towards the back.  I cannot tell you how gross it was.  Like medicinal whiskey or something.  So that was approximately one dropper full.   We went to bed.  I dozed off while watching a movie, but I had to get up and move around to go pee and find the tv remote or I could have just went back to sleep.  As it was, I had a hell of a time getting back to sleep, even with another dose of extract.  So that was my first night and experience with it.  I got about 4 hours of sleep because I had to get up and deal with the landlord and I made myself stay up.

Last night, I took 2 dropperfuls diluted with a little water.  It totally kicked my ass.  I was asleep quickly after going to bed, and once there, I slept for like 14 hours.  It was a nice sleep too.  So, now I have to find the happy medium because I can't sleep for 14 hours every time I go to bed, LOL. 

I wonder if the thing that made the difference was the water...  I have yet to decide what I am going to do tonight, but if this helps me get to sleep.  It's the best thing ever!  That's my worst problem, getting to sleep.