Wow. Ambien sounds scary.

I sometimes take diphenhydramine when I can't sleep and it makes me sleepy, I get a good night's sleep and I don't feel groggy when I wake up in the morning. It might not be an option for someone that needs something stronger, but it works well for me. It's also super-cheap and available OTC. The brand name is Gravol in Canada, but I think it's Dramamine in the U.S.

I have tried a couple of different herbal sleep teas, but one of them gave me heart palpitations and made me feel even more wide awake and wired, so that scared me away from taking anything like that again. I don't remember which herbs were in it.