It's widely reported that Nikola Tesla claimed to sleep only about two hours a day, often through short naps, a method called polyphasic sleep, but this is likely an exaggeration or misinterpretation of his extreme habits; while he was a known short sleeper who used naps for rejuvenation, evidence suggests he didn't sustain that exact, severe routine constantly and his success wasn't solely due to it, with experts warning against mimicking such extremes.
Tesla also only slept two hours per day but in an arcane manner. He said, “When I sleep, I sleep profoundly.
Elon Musk (founder of Tesla) sleeps for 6 hours, Tim Cook and Bill Gates sleep for 7 hours, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, also clocks 7 hours of sleep, and so does the richest man on the planet Jeff Bezos.
Thus, sleeping only 2 hours does not provide significant health benefits but is better than not sleeping at all. Ideally, you should aim for at least 90 minutes of sleep. Sleeping for 90 to 110 minutes allows the body to complete a full sleep cycle, reducing feelings of restlessness upon waking.
Einstein 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). But I bet that, back in Einstein's days, quotes like “no rest for the best” and “success and rest don't sleep together” weren't the norm.
The prolific inventor Thomas Edison slept three or four hours at night, regarding sleep as a waste of time, "a heritage from our cave days." President Clinton grabs five to six hours.
The 30th president of the United States would often sleep up to 11 hours a day, including his two-to-four-hour afternoon naps.
The koala is famous for sleeping around 20-22 hours a day, which is about 90% of the day, due to their low-energy diet of eucalyptus leaves that requires extensive digestion. Other extremely sleepy animals include the sloth (up to 20 hours) and the brown bat (around 20 hours), with some snakes like the ball python also sleeping up to 23 hours daily.
Yes, the Navy SEAL sleep trick (an 8-minute power nap with elevated legs) is a real technique for quick rest, popularized by former SEAL Jocko Willink, that helps improve alertness and reduce fatigue, though its effectiveness depends on individual relaxation skills and it's not a substitute for full nighttime sleep. The method involves lying down, elevating your feet above your heart (on a chair or couch), relaxing facial muscles, dropping shoulders, and clearing your mind for about 8-10 minutes to promote relaxation and blood flow, preventing grogginess.
How to Survive on No Sleep: The Do's and Don'ts
Elon Musk: "I sleep for about 6 hours on average and I work almost every waking hour. I don't have social dinners really. I literally just will have lunch and dinner during meetings and continue the meeting."
Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest military leaders of all time. He is also one of the most famous nappers. Napoleon had a notoriously harsh schedule, only sleeping about four hours a night. He compensated by frequent naps which would inspire his genius strategic movements.
Jeff Bezos on sleep: "I get 8 hours of sleep, I prioritize it - I think better, I have better energy. You get paid to make a small number of high quality decisions." Staying up all night working is not a badge of honor. You're never going to survive long term that way.
Tesla's whiskey habit wasn't about indulgence but discipline. He didn't drink to excess; instead, he treated whiskey as part of a carefully managed lifestyle. Alongside this, he was known for his meticulous eating habits, avoidance of tobacco, and a commitment to regular physical exercise, particularly walking.
10 hours before bed: No more caffeine. 3 hours before bed: No more food or alcohol. 2 hours before bed: No more work. 1 hour before bed: No more screen time (shut off all phones, TVs and computers).
Own Your 3-Foot Space In Navy SEAL training, there's a simple but profound principle: Own your 3-foot space. It means focusing on what's directly within your control—your actions, your attitude, your effort—no matter how chaotic the environment around you becomes.
The military sleep method utilizes breathing and relaxation techniques to help people fall asleep quickly. It combines elements of deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, and visualization. The technique may work best when combined with good sleep hygiene and other sleep-promoting practices.
Whether you prefer a cold drink or a warm bedtime drink, here's our list of the best drinks before bed to help you drift off.
🐌 Did You Know this amazing animal fact? A snail can sleep for up to 3 years! Yes, some snails can hibernate or go into deep sleep to survive harsh weather.
If you thought cats spent a lot of their lives sleeping, you'd be right. Cats actually spend about 70% of their lives sleeping, which works out to around 13-16 hours a day. It's a cat's life!
Winston Churchill
Winston was a believer in the siesta. He took a 2-hour nap every day at 5 p.m. – after a whiskey and soda. He claimed that his nap allowed him to get a day and a half's work done in each 24-hour period.
According to a 2018 article in Popular Science, “Carter boasted he could read 2,000 words a minute with 95 percent comprehension.” An advertisement for a speed-reading class in Australia claims that Carter read three thousand wpm and Kennedy five thousand (the reading equivalent of “Saul hath slain his thousands, and ...
To the west of this space is the large bedroom, which has usually been used by the president and first lady as their private bedroom. Sometimes a president and first lady sleep in the same room, but often they do not due to the president's early and late hours, and personal idiosyncrasies.