Sleepless in Green Bay

Sleep is so elusive these days.  My older son, Israel, is having so much trouble getting to bed at night.  If it's not being scared of spiders, it is an odd noise.  His ears seem to be hyper-sensitive to the point that he can hear the motors of electronic devices that I cannot.  It drives him insane and keeps him from sleep, despite having a turbo fan blasting white noise that can be heard throughout the entire house.  Friday night, he had a Bob Marley drink, Mellow Mood, and it was so effective, that he fell asleep on the couch well before his bedtime, and woke some thirteen hours later.  Then the weekend was normal, taking anywhere from about a half to full hour for him to drift off to sleep.  I consider those the "easy" days.  Last night was one of the "bad" nights. 
It begins when I announce it is time for bed.  He immediately protests, whines, sometimes even throws himself to the floor.  This is where I know I am in for a battle.  All yesterday he spent instigating/irritating his brother, who is younger but much stronger than him.  So right before bedtime, when I found Israel running away with his brother's treasured toy, I knew it was going to be a long, drawn-out bedtime.  I dream of a day when we can afford a bigger living space so my kids can have their own rooms.  Zach usually falls asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the pillow, and sleeps really deep, unless Israel is bothering him.  I don't know what Israel is getting out of irritating his brother.  I have tried to ask him, and he says he doesn't know.  I drill him until he's irritated with the interrogation.  Is it for motor stimulation?  Is it in hopes that he'll get hit (ie pressure)?  Is it for attention?  He doesn't know.  I have made the mistake, while under the influence of desperation and sleep deprivation, to threaten to take him to the doctor to get him medication that will allow him to settle his body at night.  But I'm not sure I'm ready to do that. 
So I began bedtime by trying to have Israel lay down with me alone.  He rarely ever sleeps in his bed since we got bunkbeds.  He begged for bunkbeds for a year before I finally gave in.  And his reason for not wanting to sleep in his bed changes from day to day.  One night its because he just wants to be close to me, another because he's afraid of spiders.  I have been trying to head off problems before they start.  We put a plan in place where Israel is allowed to lay next to me on the floor until Zach falls asleep, and then I come up to his tiny bed and lay with him until he falls asleep.  Some nights this works beautifully, despite having to contort my body to fit in bed with my nearly-nine year old.  But last night, Israel was very upset that he was in his room first, and alone with me, and the crying jag began right out of the gate.  I always try to talk to him about what is going on first, and then about other things to distract him, but on nights like last night, nothing works.  It seems that once he begins crying, he can't stop.  And I wouldn't call it crying as much as screaming/howling with very few tears.  That we haven't had the police called on us for disturbing the peace or suspected child abuse is a wonder!  For some reason Zach came to me to ask for a favor while trying to contend with Israel.  Despite my husband being available, Zach still prefers me to help him, and I got up to help him and then Israel followed.  That led to him asking for food, which drew-out bedtime even longer.  By the time Zach got into bed and dozed off, it was nearly an hour past their bedtime, and it was nearly my own bedtime.  I eased Israel into his bed, and he began to settle after another half hour.  But just as he was drifting off, he jolted awake, panic-stricken that there might be a wasp near his ear, because he heard a buzzing sound.  Was he dreaming?  Who can tell.  But I was already losing sleep myself, and my stress level was so elevated that I caved in and let him sleep in the living room with my husband.  I don't like to let him do that because my husband doesn't usually go to bed until after 11pm, but at the time it was nearly 10:30 and Israel wasn't sleeping anyway.  So I dumped him off on my husband, who's been gone a lot this weekend due to work, and went to bed.  Israel came in my room at midnight to tell me that my husband wouldn't let him sleep in his bed with him.  So after a little while of begging him to try again, I finally had to get up and fix him a comfier bed of bean bags and cushions on the living room floor, so he could finally get to sleep.  I didn't hear from him again until this morning, thank goodness.  But that is what happens at least a few times a month.  He didn't get to bed until after midnight.  He didn't have any caffeine yesterday, had plenty of stimulation and fresh air, and very little sugar.  But one thing I did think about last night is, this usually seems to happen when I'm left to handle him by myself.  Lightbulb!  It's just a hunch, but I'm thinking he is finding his way to get attention/closeness from my husband.  Because usually if it goes on too long, and I am at my wit's end, he eventually ends up sleeping with my husband.  They have always had a really close bond. 
We need more work on bedtime, but I am starting to consider natural sleep aides.  Has anyone tried anything and had success?  Advice would be appreciated!!