Quote Originally Posted by jcustis View Post
Once told me that when you saw a homeless person who was talking to themself, and looking around without their wits, it was often because they lived in a constant state of sleep deprivation, and had effectively gone insane.
This is supported by some of the studies I have read on the issue. Another factor that is believed leads to mental issues among the homeless is a lack of human contact. This reminds of something that is not pertinent to the "sleep gap", but still interesting. After long periods without sleep you begin to feel a great loneliness. During the daytime you become less and less social, while at night you are completely alone often without a person to talk to. (If you live with someone you may feel even more isolated. As supportive as your wife/GF/etc. may be they still just want to sleep. It is very unsettling to be awake unable to sleep while peopel are only a few feet away from you sleeping soundly. This further isolates you as you more and more feel and almost believe yourself to be an individual, more accurately and entity, seperate from the rest of the world.)

Adam L