Great people who slept late or had unusual sleep patterns include Winston Churchill (famous for late afternoon naps), Napoleon Bonaparte (short nights, frequent naps), James Joyce (woke around 10 a.m.), and modern figures like Elon Musk, who works late and sleeps fewer hours, showing that success isn't tied to one specific schedule, but finding what works for your own chronotype.
Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host: 8 hours per night. Donald Trump, Presidential Candidate: 3 hours per night. Thomas Edison, Inventor and Businessman: 4-5 hours per night. Nicola Tesla, Inventor: 2 hours per night. Alexander Graham Bell, Inventor: 4-6 hours per night. Jay Leno, Former Talk Show Host: 5 hours per night.
Sleep-wake patterns show substantial biological determination, but they are also subject to individual choice and societal pressure. Some evidence suggests that high IQ is associated with later sleep patterns.
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.
A night owl, evening person, or simply owl, is a person who tends or prefers to be active late at night and into the early morning, and to sleep and wake up later than is considered normal; night owls often work or engage in recreational activities late into the night (in some cases, until around dawn), and sleep until ...
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.
Gen Z stays up late due to a combination of technology (blue light, endless content), significant stress and anxiety (FOMO, financial/global worries), biological shifts (natural teenage circadian rhythm), and "revenge bedtime procrastination," where they sacrifice sleep for personal time, often in bed, scrolling social media. This digital-heavy, high-stress lifestyle creates overstimulation and a misalignment with natural sleep patterns, leading to chronic sleep deprivation, notes the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Health Foundation.
ELI5: Gordon Ramsay said he sleeps 3 hours a day.
Al Herpin. Al Herpin (January 1, 1862 in Paris – January 3, 1947) was an American known as the "Man Who Never Slept".
Jennifer Aniston has struggled with chronic insomnia, including difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. These issues affected her memory, concentration, and energy levels, impacting both her professional and personal life.
Because they are high achievers, they're often able to take on more than most. Even so, they eventually find their breaking point, and must start looking for a new solution to the problem of their limited time. Rather than scaling back commitments, high achievers double down and work even harder by sacrificing sleep.
The Link Between Sleep, IQ, and Long-Term Cognitive Health
One notable area of study is that of the relationship between sleep spindles and IQ (Fang et al., 2017). Sleep spindles, short neural oscillations that occur during NREM sleep, have been consistently linked to cognitive performance (Bódizs et al., 2014).
What Are the Signs of High Intelligence? Let's Talk!
The Night Owl CEOs
A few names might surprise you: Elon Musk — often works late into the night and wakes up around 9 AM. Mark Zuckerberg — more of a night owl than a sunrise chaser but he still manages to wake up at 7 AM.
The book is written as a fable, but the core message is Sharma's advice to wake up at 5 A.M. and follow his 20/20/20 rule. That is: spend the first hour of your day doing 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes of reflection, and 20 minutes of learning.
Nicole Kidman may be best known for her acclaimed performances on screen, but it turns out her most vulnerable creative moments often take place when no one is watching, in the middle of the night, as she recently explained about the unexpected reason she often wakes up at 3 am.
Which jobs have the highest rates of sleep deprivation? Transportation workers (especially truck drivers), healthcare workers, manufacturing employees working night shifts, and business executives have the highest rates of occupational sleep deprivation.
Leonardo da Vinci
He followed a polyphasic sleep pattern with a 20-minute nap every four hours. Given his expertise in so many things -- invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music and more – the unconventional schedule must have worked for him.
Wake up Early: High-performing CEOs often start their day before others by getting up between 5 and 6:30 AM. Doing so early will give them more time to focus on their tasks. No Screens for the First 30 Minutes: If you avoid screens at the start of the day, it's easier to focus and keep your mind less cluttered.
Arnold Schwarzenegger famously advocates for getting only six hours of sleep a night, claiming he consistently slept that amount while achieving immense success in bodybuilding, acting, and politics, famously telling critics they just need to "sleep faster" to fit more into their 24-hour day. While younger, he needed more sleep (around nine hours), but as he aged and his intense training lessened, six hours became sufficient, allowing him more time for his goals.
Gordon Ramsay was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a common and treatable form of skin cancer, which required surgical removal from his jawline near his ear in late August 2025, leading him to share his experience online to urge fans to use sunscreen and protect their skin. He posted photos of his bandages, emphasizing sun safety and thanking his medical team.
Everyone sleeps differently. For example, some billionaire entrepreneur philanthropists like Richard Branson and Bill Gates begin and end the day with a heavy and light workout, respectively. They require over 7 hours of uninterrupted shut-eye before beginning the day anew.
Whilst boomers and millennials may use the 😂 emoji, this has long since been deemed 'uncool' (or 'cheugy') by Gen Z. Instead, this has been replaced by the skull (💀) or the crying emoji (😭), dramatising the idea of 'dying with laughter'.
Across much of the world, it is no longer middle-aged adults who are the most miserable. Instead, young people, especially Gen Z, are reporting the highest levels of unhappiness of any age group.
The 3-2-1 sleep rule is a simple wind-down routine: stop eating and drinking alcohol 3 hours before bed, stop working/mentally stimulating activities 2 hours before, and turn off screens (phones, TVs) 1 hour before sleep, helping you transition to rest by reducing stimulants and preparing your mind and body. It's often part of a larger 10-3-2-1-0 rule, which also adds no caffeine 10 hours prior and no hitting snooze (0) in the morning.