Sick and tired of counting sheep? Try one of these simple solutions and get an excellent night`s sleep.

- Aromatherapy
When to Use: Whenever you`re drowsy yet somewhat tense.

How to Use: Massage a dab of aromatherapeutic balm or oil into the backside of your neck and shoulders and breathe in deeply prior to hit the sack. Certain fragrances, such as lavender and lemon balm, encourage snooze-inducing rest, claims Rubin Naiman, PhD, a sleep specialist at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, located in Tucson.

Helpful Tip: You don`t need to adhere to traditional aromatherapeutic scents, any smell that helps make you feel fine can be soothing, claims Phyllis Zee, MD, a teacher of neurology at Northwestern University in Chicago.

- GABA Boosted Drink
When to Use: When your head is racing with anxieties.

How to Use: Drink a shot of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) immediately just before bedtime. GABA, an amino acid located in the human body, has been demonstrated to quiet the mind if taken orally.

Helpful Tip: Selected food items, which include brown rice, bananas, and certain fish, have GABA. Ingesting these throughout the day can help you sleep much better at night.

- Melatonin Supplement
When to Use: In the event you don`t feel tired until way beyond bedtime.

How to Use: Take a 3-milligram capsule 15-20 mins just before bed. The brain helps make this specific neurohormone naturally to tell the body that it`s time for rest. But many people have suppressed melatonin creation since they`re overexposed to light in the evening.

Helpful Tip: Talk to your physician before using melatonin. It is not encouraged for pregnant females, women attempting to get pregnant, children, and adolescent boys (it can affect testosterone levels in maturing males).

- Over-the-Counter Sleeping Pill
When to Use: Whenever you`re dealing with a brief interval of sleeplessness, such as during a nerve-racking time in the office.

How to use it: At bedtime, take a couple capsules which contain diphenhydramine, an antihistamine which helps make you feel sleepy (research indicates that an excess of histamine inside the body could potentially cause insomnia). The less often you take these types of tablets, the better. You can build up a tolerance, after which they won`t do the job as well. Note: Under no circumstances combine alcoholic beverages and sleeping pills.

Good to know: "The older you are, the slower people metabolize this type of drug. Meaning you may experience residual sleepiness the next day.

- Prescription Medication

Try it: Any time insomnia turns into a persistent problem.

How to use it: Talk with your doctor to determine which medication is best for you. A favorite is Rozerem. It acts on the melatonin receptors in the brain that enable you to fall and remain asleep (other drugs act only as a sedative). Have a pill about 30 minutes before bed.

Good to know: Discovering the right medication may require trial and error: Several might make you a lot more wired and awake. Unwanted side effects tend to be typical, and vary from the bothersome (headaches, grogginess) to the severe, such as unconscious nighttime uncontrolled eating and driving. Expectant women might want to keep away from these aids, despite the fact that they have not been shown to be unsafe.