This depends from person to person.  If you find that you just can't get to sleep at night, and when you do, it isn't so good, and then you may need help.  There are plenty of sleep aid medications out there that can help you even over the counter.

If your insomnia, a condition characterized as a severe lack of sleep, is easily managed, you may not need medication at all.  There are natural sleep aids to get to sleep faster.  For example, there are certain foods, such as turkey, that have Tryptophan in it.  This is a natural hormone is some foods that helps you get to sleep faster.  To make things better for you, you may want to add more turkey to your diet.

Milk has a similar effect on people.  This is especially the case with warm milk.  Just pop a glass of this into the microwave and zap it for about one minute.  For added sleep-inducing benefit, you can add a tablespoon of honey to the mixture as well.  Drink this about a half an hour before bed in order to reap the rewards.

Some sleep problems can't be remedied by a simple diet change.  Instead, there are other natural sleep aids that may help as well.  Have a look at the vitamin isle of your local drug store.  They usually carry many different natural herbal pills that help with sleep problems.  

If the herbal supplements don't work, you can always get over the counter sleep medication.  Keep in mind that these pills are much stronger than anything you will get from food or vitamins.  Because of this, they will have side effects that may scare you off initially.  Some of these pills will cause you to stay drowsy during the day after you take a sleeping pill.  It's a good idea to test different over the counter medications to find out what works for you.  

Since these medications can be very strong, it's a good idea to do research ahead of time.  This way, you can find out if the pill will have any adverse reactions with other medications or health problems that you may have.  You will also be able to learn about other customer opinions about the product as well.

You may want to forego all of this work and visit your physician instead, they will have a good idea of what prescription sleep aids are best for you.  Don't forget to tell them about any health problems that you have or have had in the past.  Some prescription sleep aids can harm people with heart disease or diabetes, so keep this in mind.  

Prescription sleeping pills are the most potent of all of these methods.  Because of this, they are often very addictive.  People have a hard time stopping once they start using them.  If you have a very addictive personality or if addiction runs in your family, you may want to find another method.

Lack of sleep can cause a lot of problems in your life.  If you don't watch out, you could find that your quality of living is drastically reduced.  Be sure to work on getting as much sleep as you can.  Not only that, but make sure that you don't wake up frequently during the night.  The right sleep aid medication or natural sleep aids can help you with these annoying and unhealthy problems.