Further consolidate your sleep if you are waking up early after falling asleep. You have a sleep maintenance issue that can be corrected with delaying your time to bed. Attempt to go to bed a little later (be "active" like go for a walk) for the extra hour or so. Consider doing something productive as well.
Our bodies never fully adjust to night work so consider a sedating antidepressant if the controlled meds (Lunesta, ambien, etc) are ineffective. Most OTC formulations aren't well studied or researched and thus, not brought to market. Might they work? Sure, for some. But even with research meds, people often have sleep misperceptions and grossly underestimate how much they sleep and overestimate the time they are awake. Try a sleep log to better see your patterns. Some researchers have found people who take sleep meds actually fall asleep well before the meds began to work.
Anxiety has a huge impact on sleep as well as depression. If your find you are experiencing a lot of "cognitive arousal" during the pre-sleep period (replaying the day, planning for tomorrow), find some alternate behaviors and incorporate a relaxing bedtime routine. Consider the meds to help address both even if it is situational- they can really help restore sleep especially if depression is active but ignored or dismissed. Plus, sleep apnea (undiagnosed) can also dramatically effect sleep and make daytime napping very difficult to resist.
Have an established bedtime routine that helps entrain a sense of sleepiness, not tiredness. Tiredness reflects energy levels and not the true eye closing sleepiness you want. Expect to sleep suboptimally 3-4 nights per week but guess what...you will function just fine objectively and perform your work without any noticeable issues. The vast majority can function exceptionally well on 5.5 to 6 hours. We all have individual sleep needs and although the perspetuatdd myth of 8 hours is nice, it's very unrealistic. Some people are consider short sleepers and others long sleepers. Oh yeah, the extra time we all wish we could sleep like those extra 15 min or 2 hours...really don't matter. Start your day (everyday) at the same time regardless of how sleepy or tired your are. Granted, if you can't keep your eyes open before driving, don't drive.
Some others posted taking a cold shower...give it a shot. It will lower your body temperature which is a physiological necessity for sleep. Make sure your bedroom is quiet, cold, and dark since your are fighting the natural circadian rhythm. And refrain from catastrophizing the amount of sleep you get or don't get. Trust me, you need to accumulate a significant sleep debt before seeing major deficits. Unless you are a surgeon, pilot, or nuclear engineer...I wouldnt worry to much.
Worst case. Try meds short term and incorporate sleep scheduling/hygiene to establish a routine.
I would caution using other methods that haven't been well researched, empirically supported, or validated. Citing an outdated study using 10 participants (probably rats) isn't the gold standard.
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