Yeah, it can become a dangerous cycle. Never getting enough sleep and keeping your mind active late into the night. I do it all the time though.
Someone once told me that the subconscious owns creativity, thus, in order for us to develop new ideas, we need to be able to shut off the ego and working parts of our mind. For a lot of us that doesn't happen until we lay down to sleep.
I'm not sure if I agree with that or not. But it's a good thought.
RE: SOFT, GRAINY AND RAW