They get up early Almost without exception, successful people start their day early. Many say they get up between 5 am and 6 am. Rising early is particularly great for those who work from home or have small children, because they can accomplish work tasks without interruption.
Some experts do argue that humans tend to be more productive in the wee early hours of the morning, simply because there are fewer distractions at those times. That's the sentiment Tim Cook has shared in the past to explain his own early-rising habit.
But the majority manage to get at least 6 hours, as you can see in the list below detailing the sleep habits of 10 highly successful people: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: 6 hours (1am — 7am) Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: 7 hours (9:30pm — 4:30am) Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft: 7 hours (12am — 7am)
They get up early
Almost without exception, successful people start their day early. Many say they get up between 5 am and 6 am. Rising early is particularly great for those who work from home or have small children, because they can accomplish work tasks without interruption.
7AM: Wake-up call
After a restful 7 hours, Bill awakes rearing to go.
Some of the most successful CEOs in the corporate world dedicate their early mornings to personal projects that they don't have time for during the day. These projects make them happy, which in turn frees up their enthusiasm for the hard work that's ahead of them during the day.
250 CEOs of Fortune 500 businesses were interviewed by The Potential Project, a global leadership development and research firm. A total of 200 of them stated that they sleep between 7 and 8 hours.
Self-made billionaire and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson gets up at 5:45 a.m. to work out before starting his day. Cofounder and former CEO of Twitter, and CEO of Square, Jack Dorsey gets up at 5:30 in the morning to meditate and jog 6 miles. Billionaire Jeff Bezos of Amazon gets up at 5 a.m.
"Getting up at five in the morning to tackle the top three things you want to accomplish in your day allows you to regain control of your life," Corley says. "It gives you a sense of confidence that you, indeed, direct your life.
The thing the job is not known for, however, is a good night's sleep. With various board meetings and no shortage of pressure, rest can be hard to find. CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk get under six hours of sleep each night.
During the early waking moments of the morning, you can be fully alert and focused to due the brain chemistry at that time. You won't be overthinking and can naturally do the things you need to get off to as great start.
He would sleep an average of 10 hours a night as well as taking daytime naps. One of the most famous inventors on our planet, Nikola Tesla, was quite the opposite of Einstein. He slept only a couple of hours a night and compensated for his lack of sleep with power naps throughout the day.
Elon Musk says he's upped his sleep to 6 hours per night—and that his old routine hurt his brain. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, speaks with CNBC on May 16th, 2023. Elon Musk says his days of trying to sleep less and work more are over — at least, relatively speaking.
The talk show host, author and philanthropist reportedly gets eight hours of sleep between the hours of 10pm and 6am, with her last and first thoughts of the day centred upon gratitude. In the morning, rather than check her phone, Winfrey brushes her teeth and cares for her dogs before heading to her home gym.
Tips for better sleep
But they also have more of something else – sleep. Compared to those living near or below the poverty level, the rich sleep more too, according to a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Time may be the most essential commodity you need in becoming successful. Many successful executives admit that they can get by on less sleep and achieve more. While the average person should need between 6-8 hours, successful people think that by sleeping less they can create more hours for themselves to work more.
Disturbed sleep is common and results from various causes like stress, health conditions, and medications. The hormones melatonin and cortisol regulate our sleep cycle. The rising cortisol levels around 3 AM or 4 AM with emotional sorting by the brain are probable causes why you wake up around the same time every day.
It's common knowledge that sleep is good for your brain – and Einstein took this advice more seriously than most. He reportedly slept for at least 10 hours per day – nearly one and a half times as much as the average American today (6.8 hours).
Jeff Bezos has revealed his optimal sleep time in order to be the best he can at his job. The Amazon mogul's success is seen as the ultimate goal for entrepreneurs. "I get eight hours of sleep a night.
As a comedian, he's frequently up until 3 am entertaining people on the stage or hanging out with his friends. He doesn't follow a strict sleep schedule. His only rule is to get eight hours a night. With that being said, he wakes up anywhere from 10 am to noon, depending on the previous night.
Psychology Today reported that intelligent people are likely to be nocturnal beings, with those with a higher IQ going bed later on both weeknights and weekends.
Leonardo da Vinci, who functioned on two hours of sleep a day while painting the Mona Lisa, followed a form of polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which involves 20-minute naps every four hours.
Leonardo da Vinci's sleep schedule included 20-minute naps every four hours. Da Vinci followed an extreme form of a polyphasic sleep schedule called the Uberman sleep cycle, which consists of 20-minute naps every four hours.
Yes, there may be benefits to being awake at 4 a.m. when everyone you know is sleeping. But there are also big drawbacks, and they aren't worth it. Instead, figure out how getting up ultra-early might help you. And then find ways to get those benefits into your day while still getting up at a reasonable hour.
"The overall best is if you can wake up naturally because you're done sleeping," he said. On the other hand, if you're waking up early on just a few hours of sleep, you should probably try and squeeze in some more shuteye.