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Writer's pictureIgnatius Raphael

How many hours of sleep does the ultra successful people get?

Have you ever wondered how much sleep the super successful people get?


Are they super-human with the ability to operate on very little sleep?


A few people survive with just 3 to 5 hours of sleep, according to them. But the majority does 6 to 7 hours and several are in the 7 to 8 hours range.


PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi: 5 hours (11 pm - 4 am)

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: 6 hours (1 am — 7 am)

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: 7 hours (9:30 pm — 4:30 am)

Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft: 7 hours (12 am — 7 am)

Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group: 5–6 hours (12–5/6 am)

Jack Dorsey, Co-founder of Twitter: 7 hours (10:30 pm — 5:30 am)

Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL: 6 hours (11 pm — 5 am)

Barack Obama, Former President of the U.S.: 6 hours (1 am — 7 am)

Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO of Amazon.com: 7 hours (10 pm — 5 am)

Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host: 8 hours (11 pm — 7 am)

Donald Trump, President of the United States: 3 hours (1–4 am)


We cannot blindly follow what they are doing and hope to mimic their success. Sleep is an individual requirement and the number of sleep hours your body requires is uniquely your own.


The range is between 7 to 9 hours of sleep for a normal healthy adult as per sleep scientist Mathew Walker (author of "Why we sleep?") and others who have spent over 20 years researching Sleep.


Some of those who are in less than 6 hours of sleep may be using hormonal supplements and/or other techniques to survive with less sleep. The long-term effects of these are yet to be established conclusively


What one needs to keep in mind when deciding how much sleep is required for them to succeed in life is, to be clear about what they want out of life.


If your success is more important than your long-term health and relationships, then reducing the sleep hours to increase your work hours would seem more attractive.


But did you know that reduced sleep hours can affect your decision-making skills and productivity? And that you might realize it only after many years.


Not only can it impact your productivity, but it can also cause memory loss, earlier onset of Alzheimer's, stress, hypertension, possible heart-attack, cancer and more. Your fertility is impaired and you start ageing earlier too. The downside of less sleep is far greater and permanent than any success you are chasing in return for it.


Your health, wellness, youth, good looks, and decision-making skills are all dependent on your beauty sleep.


Read below what Bill Gates thinks about the right number of hours required for sleep.



In conclusion, I would like to summarise as below:

  1. Sleep as much as your body is seeking. Go to bed when you are tired and sleepy, wake up without an alarm till you are sure how much time your body requires.

  2. Set your sleep hours once you have learned your body's requirements and stick to it.

  3. Schedule your sleep as you schedule your other important appointments. After all, that is when you are prepping your body and mind to take battle in the world.

  4. Keep your bedroom cool and dark when you go to bed.

  5. Avoid food and alcohol 2 hours before sleep time

  6. No screen time 1 hour before and 1 hour after your sleep time

  7. No caffeine after lunch

All the money in the world cannot buy your health once you lost it. Steve Jobs discovered it too late as did countless other successful people.

It is important to become successful. But it is more important to be alive to enjoy your success.


Your sleep is the key to your immortality. Claim it!

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