There's more variety in the bedtimes of our leaders, with Tim Cook (9:30pm) and Oprah Winfrey (10pm) being those that like an early night. At the other end of the scale, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Barack Obama all go to bed at 1am, making them the night owls of the bunch.
They read.
Experts agree that reading is the very last thing most successful people do before going to sleep —President Barack Obama and Bill Gates are known to read for at least a half hour before bed. Michael Kerr, an international business speaker and author of "You Can't Be Serious!
What Do Most People Do At Night? Fun things that most people do at night can vary from person to person. Most people spend quality time with friends or family, invite friends for dinner, watch their favorite TV shows, go out to dinner, etc.
CLARITY. Many early risers claim to have increased creativity and inspiration in the mornings. If you think about it, between the hours of 5 and 6am, no one is really awake. This is why it's such a good time to do work for yourself rather than others in order to get ahead.
Now we know, as our circadian rhythms are responding to less light and our body is beginning to slow down for a night's rest, the right hemisphere of the brain can actively function and benefit our creative impulses when we're not in our most attentive state.
When we reach night time, this side of our brain becomes more active because less energy is being used to power the rest of our brain. This is partly what allows creative surges to happen.
Successful entrepreneurs, including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett, prioritise rest and swear by seven to eight hours of peaceful sleep. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, reportedly wakes up at five every morning, while Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, rises at 5:45 am.
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.
They make their bed
“Those who do their chores and keep their living space tidier tend to make more money,” writes Bell. “For example, those who make their bed in the morning are up to 206.8 percent more likely to be millionaires.” It puts your mind into a productive mindset, he explains.
In a post on the newly launched Threads app, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg claims that he's mastered what we all dream of—getting about seven to eight hours of sleep per night. “Really dialed in my sleep with Eight Sleep and Oura,” he wrote, referring to a smart mattress and smart ring meant to help us catch our Zzzs.
Now, he makes an effort to sleep at least six hours per night, he said in an interview with CNBC's David Faber on Tuesday. “I've tried [to sleep] less, but ... even though I'm awake more hours, I get less done,” Musk said. “And the brain pain level is bad if I get less than six hours [of sleep per night].”
Most Geniuses Perfected the Power Nap
That's pretty much true. Since a lot of them tend to believe that it is absolutely imperative to stay ahead, they seem to think that sleeping deprives them of this opportunity. Hence, they'd reduce the time they rest at night in order to have more functional, waking hours.
They also have higher IQs according to The Independent. Unfortunately, night owls have slightly lower academic scores than early risers (by about 8%). The reason for all these differences is likely due to the difference in brain chemistry between late night creative types and early morning larks.
Studies tend to show that when food is consumed late at night — anywhere from after dinner to outside a person's typical sleep/wake cycle — the body is more likely to store those calories as fat and gain weight rather than burn it as energy, says Kelly Allison of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's ...
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. Spend time with family.
The survey of 1,086 CEOs of U.S. companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list, published on Thursday, found that 64% wake up by 6 a.m., or earlier. Nearly 9 out of 10 of the CEOs surveyed rise no later than 7 a.m.
Early Birds
Fewer phone calls. Starting work earlier than everyone else lets you be proactive, not reactive, and lets you set the agenda for the day instead of having one set for you. Others choose to get up early so they make sure they get their workout in -- and take advantage of the mood-boosting effect of exercise.