Good sleep is necessary to maintain life, because during sleep we repair ourselves and process information from the day. We need sleep for our wounds to heal and for our memory to function. Lack of sleep has been linked to immune system problems. 
But recently they found out that having insomnia and taking Ambien, a prescription sleeping pill, can be dangerous, too. If you take Ambien for sleep you have a chance of ending up in the emergency room. 
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, emergency room visits due to Ambien went up 220% from 2005 to 2010
( http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/260084.php). We are not talking about overdoses. We are talking about people who took the recommended doses of Ambien.
So how could it be that an FDA-approved medication is making people go to the ER? Nobody goes to the ER for fun. Or maybe FDA-approved drugs are not as safe as we think they are?
Thoughts on how to deal with insomnia:
Avoid neurotransmitter-modulating substances like nicotine, alcohol, caffeine and simple sugars.
Try to go to bed at sundown and get up with the sunrise.
Remove any light sources from your bedroom.
Minimize the noise in your bedroom.
Probably the most important thing to do is to find the root cause of your insomnia and eliminate it.