melatonin?

I can see your concern. Have you tried taking magnesium (magnesium glycinate particularly)? That helps me a lot. It might take a few days to notice a difference but most people are deficient in it anyway.

Melatonin won’t get you to sleep, it’s just create the opportunity to get into a sleeping state. It supposed to replicate the hormone release your brain goes through before falling asleep. You’ll definitely feel drowsy from using it but how it’ll affect your sleep will depend on how sensitive you are to it.
A few things you can try instead include: taking magnesium before bedtime (you can find gummies on Amazon), stretch and do some breathing exercises before getting to bed, dimming the light, aroma therapy and avoiding any screen times before bed can help too.
Reducing caffeine and sugar intake especially in the PM can help your hormones adjust enough to help with sleep quality.

i have a bottle of magnesium pills in my cabinet, would those work?

Check the back to see what the exact form is. Most in the store are magnesium oxide which is basically a laxative and the absorption rate is only about 4-5%.

I second magnesium glycinate. I take it at night. It helps me keep from waking up as much throughout the night