I suffer from insomnia as well.
Good sleep hygiene every night! That means no lights on an hour before bed, so your evening ritual (brush your teeth, wash your face, etc...). Always start at the same time EVERY night. Take some your medications and head to sleep.
Set an alarm every night for when to begin your nightly ritual. No matter if you are tired or not, you always keep it the same.
Some people like to journal before bed and empty their minds of all the anxious/intrusive thoughts.
Personally, I like listening to Michael Seally on YouTube. He had tons of guided meditation videos on YouTube with over a million views. Some people use the calm app. Another great app is insight timer, it’s free and has 1,000’s of meditations.
Keep your bedroom very dark and cool. Use a blue light filter 2hrs before bed and try not to use electronics 1hr before bed. Wear a cheap eye mask to block out the light. Use a fan or white noise filter. Try a weighted blanket. Turn your phone to do not disturb mode. Set an alarm for the morning and get up at that time regardless of how you slept the night before.
Definitely try to get outside for 15-30 min right after you wake up. Or buy a cheap light therapy lamp on amazon for like $30 (It is the same concept as to going outside). Use that in the morning for 30-45 min every day. It helps reset your circadian rhythm. You don’t look directly at the lamp, you just have it facing you about 18” away from it and you can spend the time eating, reading or sit on your phone and play games, etc..
Also, no caffeine after 3pm every day. Some coffee or preworkout is okay to use, so long as you take it before 3pm.
Try to workout everyday even if it’s just yoga, a walk or even plain old stretching.
My other advice would be to see your general practitioner and describe to them your insomnia. Especially if it gets to the point where it effects your quality of life. If that doesn’t work you should see a neurologist or psychiatrist (they are more specialized in terms of mental disorders). Also, see a therapist. Preferably a sleep focused psychologist. Then are trained specifically on sleep disorders, such as insomnia. Definitely get an overnight sleep study with EEG testing to rule out sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome.
Sleep help: Melatonin, ZMA, magnesium glycicnate, CBD oil, or Phenibut are all over the counter and proven to help with sleep.
Do NOT rely on marijuana or alcohol for sleep. Yes, they will make you drowsy. But there is plenty of scientific research that states that smoking and alcohol use before bed does not allow you to enter into the deeper stages of sleep/
Plenty of good RX sleep meds out there, just have to find the one that works for you. Benadryl has a known history of putting people to sleep via the anti-histamine pathway.
Like for me I rotate between 8 medications for sleep, never taking the same thing two nights in a row.
Try RX’s like Ambien, lunesta, Seroquel, temazapam, clonazepam (or other benzodiazepines), Hydroxyzine, ziprasidone, olanzapine, mirtazipine, nortryptiline, amitriptyline, trazodone, sonata, Belsomra, Ramelteon, doxepine, Dayvego (brand new FDA approves, may not be covered by insurance).
If you have any questions just ask, I have loads of information on this stuff and have gone through some pretty rigorous testing for my severe insomnia.