Well, this sounds familiar but not so "other worldly". I would lean toward alcohol abuse, but hey - whatever works, right? Maybe "other worldly" is a good motivator...
My RAH was never a good sleeper. He was up and down, complaining about nightmares and weird dreams. I notice when I was younger that when I drank too much it would give me insomnia - I would sleep for three hours and then be up again for another 3... my RAH did the same thing only regularly. I can only imagine how much it messes up the brain... not having enough REM sleep on top of being soaked in alcohol every day. Passing out is not sleeping, so the brain reacts differently. But I did hear from a psychiatrist that even passing out is enough brain rest to prevent the real nasty psychosis that comes with no sleep at all.