While some historical figures like Nikola Tesla and Leonardo da Vinci reportedly used polyphasic sleep (short naps, totaling a few hours) and a modern child named Ever has a rare condition allowing only an hour of sleep, these are extreme cases; most people need 7-9 hours, and such severe sleep restriction is generally unhealthy, though brief periods might be manageable for some, notes Healthline.
Tesla also only slept two hours per day but in an arcane manner. He said, “When I sleep, I sleep profoundly.
Einstein slept nearly 10 hours a day. He valued the significance of quality sleep for maintaining his well-being. His sleep routine, though, was out of the ordinary. He regularly indulged in brief daytime naps, occasionally more than once a day.
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.
Editor's note: Kleine-Levin Syndrome mostly affects teen boys, causing them to sleep up to 20 hours a day during episodes that can last weeks. It's rare, possibly affecting one person in a million, with a higher incidence among Jewish people. There is no definitive cause or treatment.
Musk goes to bed around 3 a.m. and gets about 6 hours of sleep every night. Although he's not getting eight hours a night, Musk has upped his sleeping schedule from being nearly nonexistent in the past. In May 2023, Musk told CNBC that he's no longer pulling all-nighters.
The 30th president of the United States would often sleep up to 11 hours a day, including his two-to-four-hour afternoon naps.
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.
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.
But even if you've heard the name in passing, you may not know much about Inventor, Engineer, Physicist, and Innovator, Nikola Tesla. And what is maybe even less well known is that he struggled with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
• Tesla believed that the numbers 3, 6, and 9 were of unique significance, referring to them as the “key to the universe.” • He often referenced patterns in nature, geometry, and mathematics that involve these numbers, suggesting a hidden order in the cosmos.
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.
The 3-2-1 bedtime method is a simple sleep hygiene strategy: stop eating 3 hours before bed, stop working 2 hours before bed, and stop using screens (phones, tablets, TVs) 1 hour before sleep, helping your body transition to rest by reducing stimulants and digestive load for better sleep quality. A more detailed version adds 10 hours (no caffeine) and 0 (no snoozing) for a 10-3-2-1-0 rule.
Signs of poor core sleep (deep, restorative sleep) include waking up foggy, daytime fatigue/energy crashes, poor concentration, irritability, frequent illness, memory issues, and mood swings, indicating your brain and body aren't fully repairing and consolidating memories. You might also experience increased sugar cravings, slow muscle recovery, and a weakened immune system.
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.
During the second world war, Churchill would nap for at least an hour in the early afternoon, writing in his war memoirs: “Nature had not intended mankind to work from eight in the morning until midnight without the refreshment of blessed oblivion which, even if it only lasts 20 minutes, is sufficient to renew all the ...
Jefferson slept five to eight hours a night in a semi-reclining position since his bed was too short for his height. This position facilitated his habit of reading in bed. "I never go to bed without an hour, or half hour's previous reading of something moral, whereon to ruminate in the intervals of sleep."
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).
Gates, who sleeps a minimum of seven hours per night, said he now checks his "sleep scores" daily. Generally, a sleep score represents how much your body recovered overnight, factoring in your sleep's duration and quality.
Thomas Edison, inventor and father of the light bulb is said to have slept as little as four hours a night, compensating with frequent catnaps throughout the day.
The "3-2-1 Bedroom Method" (or a variation like the 10-3-2-1 rule) is a sleep hygiene strategy to improve rest by staggering when you stop certain activities before bed: stop heavy food/alcohol 3 hours before, stop work/mental stress 2 hours before, and turn off screens (phones, TVs, computers) 1 hour before sleep, creating a better wind-down for your body.
In adolescents, the main causes of excessive daytime sleepiness are sleep deprivation, inadequate sleep hygiene, insomnia disorders, circadian rhythm disorders, chronic somatic pathologies, psychiatric disorders, movement disorders related to sleep, respiratory disorders related to sleep, parasomnias, hypersomnia ...
It recharges us with new energy
Your tired eyes need to close for a few hours while your brain “cleans itself up” and your body produces many new cells!