I believe in my case using alcohol to help me sleep just set me into a horrible circle. I have always had some problems with getting to sleep. However, once I started using alcohol in high doses daily it did often get me to sleep, but it also made it completely impossible for me to fall asleep without it. I went from having occasional sleep problems to constant sleep problems unless I was putting down close to $200 a month for a drug with long-term health consequences.
Stepping down might work, but I think it depends on what is causing your sleep problems in the first place. For me, I had insomnia since I was a young teenager so quitting alcohol helped but wasn't a perfect solution.