What's the best over the counter medicine/aid to take for sleeping?!

What's the best over the counter medicine/aid to take for sleeping?

I really have trouble sleeping, mostly because I always have the tendency to stay up late (regardless of how early I wake up...I think it's a psychological issue with time) and it's very hard for me to wake up early.

So, there are of course times when I need to wake up early, like 7 or 8, when I've been used to going to sleep at 3 or 4 and waking up at 12 or 1. When these times come, I always end up trying to sleep early but can't fall asleep for hours, and I wake up with 3-4 hours sleep and feel horrible the rest of the day. I then struggle to fall asleep early that night too.

I'm looking for a good OTC medicine or sleep aid for this problem. I want something POWERFUL, I'm not afraid of it being addictive because I'll be using it once a week at most. I have this herbal stuff, Valerian Extract, it makes me feel sleepy after about 20 minutes, but it doesn't last long and goes away in about 10 minutes, so if I don't fall asleep in that little time window, I'm screwed.

3 weeks ago
To repeat, I'm looking for the most powerful medicine/sleep aid to make me fall asleep. I've used Nyquil but I don't like it because of the alcohol and drowsiness in the morning, it works well otherwise. And I've used Unisom too, it works pretty well.

I've heard that the new Alka-Seltzer Liquid Cold PM really knocks you out. And if you know of anything better, please let me know!

3 weeks ago
Yes, I've also used Melatonin, forgot to mention it. I stopped using it when a friend of mine told me that his psychologist informed him that melatonin causes dysphoria - it blocks the production of serotonin, the compound that basically creates the sense of hapiness and well being in the brain.

Maybe taking it once a week isn't bad, but that just scared me away from it.

I like Tylenol PM and Advil PM - it's not necessarily POWERFUL but it will help you get tired and get to sleep. I find that I need to take it about an hour before I need to be sleeping, and I can't get involved in something fun (like a good computer game) because it ruins the assistance of the meds.

The sleepiness, however, lasts about 4 hours - not 10 minutes. It won't put you to sleep at 8pm when you slept until 1pm, though - it needs some natural sleepiness to work properly. I'd guess that you'd do fine if you've been awake for 12 hours before you try sleeping again.... so if you slept til noon, you can take it at 11 and be asleep by midnight.