What do Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Michel Angelo and Thomas Edison have in common? Two things. First, despite that the youngest of these men perished 57 years ago, they are still commemorated today because of their outstanding contributions to the world. And, second, they all had a strong aversion to sleep.
On a cold winter night, roughly four years ago, I went on a first date with a handsome lady in downtown Amsterdam. We picked a bar at the Rembrandtsplein, one of Amsterdam’s many squares, famously known for its nightlife. She was pretty. Her beautiful, dark hair made my heart sing. I was really looking forward to our first real meeting. But when I informed about her hobby’s, her answer was revealing: “Sleeping,” she said, without any apparent sign of embarrassment.
Then, four years ago, I didn’t know what to say. Now, four years later, I know that with such a hobby you’re setting yourself up for a purposeless life without any meaningful contribution to the world. Or let me put it this way: nobody will ever remember this mademoiselle for her great sleeping skills. Needless to say, it was our first and last date. It never worked out between us.
Yet Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) is still being commemorated daily. His shiny, bold forehead and his long locks of hair appear on every hundred dollar bill. His portrait features on almost 6.6 billion pieces of paper, which frequently change hands. And the son of a candle-maker also left us with a word to the wise (which, I reckoned, didn’t include the lady I met in Amsterdam): “There will be sleeping enough in the grave.” This legendary American politician chose to devote his time pursuing other ends than mere resting.
Former U.S. president Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) was perhaps a more peculiar case. Jefferson was a quiet man. He had a lisp and therefore spoke little in public. But being one of the founding fathers of the United States, he was above all a very industrious man. He housed his own library with over 6,000 books. In case he has read every single one of the books, for which some evidence exists, he would had to read an astonishing 70 books per year or one book every 5 days during his entire life. It should be no surprise that Jefferson often claimed that he “could not live without books.”
[quote_right]Walk away from the 95%: make sleeping a necessity, not a virtue.[/quote_right]His interests were ample. He read books by authors all over the world, something not quite usual in the (pay attention) 18th century. Aviation was not yet invented and overseas shipping was still in its infancy. Nor did Amazon.com exist. Still he discovered the wonderful writings by Jean-Baptiste Say from distant France, economist and defender of laissez-faire liberalism, which inspired Jefferson in his quest for freedom. It was one of the many seeds that made the United States the dominant power of the 20th century. But the legacy that Jefferson left to the world was in part due to his effective sleeping habits.
The inventor of the light bulb, Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931), has probably never felt lonely while burning the midnight oil. His entire team of researchers slept just four hours a night. That implies, assuming an average of eight hours sleep, an additional four hours every day that could be dedicated to other ends. It meant for Edison an impressive additional fourteen years, which he could devote to other purposes.
What difference could fourteen years make on your social relationships, personal fulfillment, self-growth, and fortune? As you probably would have guessed by now, the man of 1,300+ inventions looked upon sleeping as a waste of time. For a purposeful application of time that we normally squander in idleness, the law of exponential growth remains in full force and effect.
Even the Bible teaches us important lessons. I readily admit that I am an amateur when it comes to the Bible, but its teachings are very valuable. It persuades us to consider the ways of the ant. Proverbs 6:6-8 says: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” The ant is a very apt metaphor for not wasting your life.
King Solomon’s story of the sluggard’s vineyard (proverbs 6:9-11) is perhaps even more relevant to our subject. “How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” Ironically, it seems as if King Solomon was addressing those that repeatedly resort to their alarm clock’s “snooze button”, a modern, widespread habit. In Japan, they even developed an “anti-snooze” app. Every time you press the button, the app insults you on Twitter in order to urge you to get up.
[quote_left]What would you do with four hours more a day?[/quote_left]
Regardless of religious beliefs, we are born for some reason. Probability-wise, just being alive equals winning a lottery with the worst odds ever. Sleeping should not be a hobby. Sleeping is a means to an end. It provides our bodies with the opportunity to recharge our batteries and give our best effort – in all areas of our lives – each and every day.
Luckily, the conventional wisdom of sleeping eight hours daily appears to be a myth. Data by the American Cancer Society of over a million people reveals that sleeping five hours is somewhat healthier than sleeping eight hours. A UCSD professor of psychiatry concluded after careful study that there are no health-related reasons to sleep more than 6,5 hours per night. I strive for approximately five hours of sleep every night.
This, however, is impossible with an unhealthy lifestyle. The goal is to have maximum energy over the entire day, preferably more energy than the average individual. Therefore it is of vital importance to eat healthy. You need an optimally functioning metabolism to be healthy and strong. Healthy persons need less sleep.
Gaining an additional four hours a day is miraculous. You can write a book, learn a new language, or finally get your personal finances under control. You can witness the celestial divinity of an every day’s sunrise. A change in attitude regarding the necessity of sleeping can be life changing.
In the end everybody has 24 hours a day. It is outlandish to say that you don’t have enough time. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, a majority hastily surrender by saying: “If only I had more time.” Such a posture is unacceptable for someone that aims for a life of abundance. If you find yourself indulging in such destructive behavior, it is time to wake up and face reality. The difference between outstanding persons and mediocre persons is not that they have more time; it is how they use their time. It is about focus.
In that sense, Jim Rohn teaches us a great lesson of life. Time is our most valuable asset, yet we tend to waste it, kill it, and spend it rather than invest it. Days are expensive. When you spend a day you have one less day to spend. So make sure you spend each one wisely. This is a lesson we never ought to forget. It is, at any rate, a lesson that Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Michel Angelo and Thomas Edison gratefully took to heart.
Make sleeping a necessity, not a virtue.
Bas says
Good article, I enjoyed reading it and do agree that sleeping shouldn’t be
considered a virtue. Also, I like your emphasis on time as an asset. I
have been quite fascinated by sleeping less and having more
time.
However, lack of sleep is increasingly being credited for
negative health outcomes, among which cognitive impairment is one we
would definitely want to avoid. (See for instance
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/02/20/1217154110.abstract)
Edison, Franklin, Jefferson, DaVinci, Napoleon and others mentioned were
extraordinary people, and probably highly energetic. All of them are
prevalent in discussions on polyphasic sleep, but historical records do
not suggest abnormal sleeping patterns for most of them.
(http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm#Polyphasic%20geniuses)
The Bible as a source on how much we should sleep (or morality at all) is another discussion. Suffice to say that the Bible also noted in Deuteronomy 20:16 and 20:17 ‘However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.’
The reason I noted the above is not to bash your article, but to highlight
what I think is the main point when managing sleeping (and you do say
this): quality of sleep and lifestyle are important. To an extent, one might need less sleep given sound quality of sleep and a healthy lifestyle. However, cutting down on
quantity may affect quality to an unacceptable extent.
How much you should sleep depends on your goals and personal needs. For instance, more sleep enhances muscular recovery through protein synthesis and release of human growth hormone. A top athlete would most probably not improve athletic performance by sleeping less and training more.
Keep us updated on your sleeping patterns and how it works out for you 🙂