My doctor told me long term use of ambien can lead to problems with addiction (not being able to sleep without it).

Ambien never helped me sleep much, though, nor did Tylenol with codeine. Melatonin helped slightly. I've had lifelong problems with insomnia. My only explanation is that I am possibly one of those people who doesn't need a lot of sleep to get by. I've heard all kinds of recommendations that are basically totally ineffective, such as yoga, meditation, breathing, counting sheep, etc. - none of these things work in my case. My brain just doesn't "go there" into sleep mode.

Things that keep me awake the longest at night are wine and any kind of alcohol.

Otherwise, I get by on about 3 hours of sleep. Is it possible you just don't need much sleep?