The Sleep Deprivation of Donald J. Trump

“Donald Trump” || Painted portrait by Thierry Eehrmann from Saint Romain au Mont d’Or, France, Europe || CC BY 2.0

SHC is just the messenger…

…but keep in mind, this curation resource is not without its biases, and any public figure known for “waging a war on napping” is fair game for discussions about sleep deprivation in the workplace. That said, here’s a year (or so) worth of links (newest to oldest) discussing Trump’s proclivity for “short sleep.”

• It’s no small thing to assess the health of an incoming president: the Washington Post offers this January 18, 2017 overview of Trump’s physical fitness as he enters his new role, including a look at his sleep habits.
• Lest we should forget, AlterNet has provided a cross-comparison between Trump’s sleeping habits and multiple disasters throughout history which were caused by some aspect of sleep deprivation (January 17, 2017).
• Sleep health influencer Arianna Huffington has (not surprisingly) been a key force in raising awareness about the incoming leader’s disdain for adequate sleep; this recent (January 17, 2017) post in CNBC is just one of countless features on Huffington highlighting Trump’s dangerous penchant for getting four or less hours of sleep nightly (in this case, as part of a larger discussion about workplace burnout).
  • Here’s an earlier discussion at Huffington Post‘s Sleep+Wellness department (May 25, 2016) which warns of “terrifying” problems with leadership for those who do not get adequate sleep.
  • Rolling Stone also offers this April 8, 2016 interview with Huffington in which she is quoted as saying, “Trump Needs More Sleep to Be Less Dumb.”
• Are Trump’s tweeting habits a sign of chronic insomnia? (Metro, November 23, 2016)
• New York Magazine‘s “Science of Us” column wonders aloud, “Maybe Trump Is Explained by His Disastrous Sleep Habits,” in this commentary posted October 25, 2016…
• …And check out this related pre-election piece from The Week (October 17, 2016): “Trump might be going crazy from sleep deprivation, neurologist says” (Curator’s note: SHC completely endorses the tag, “Make Sleeping Great Again”)
• The campaign trail offered many comparative glimpses between candidates, including this one in The Roanoke Times (July 25, 2016) in which Trump is credited with disrespecting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s view on napping.
• The British sleep researchers in this Telegraph article from June 23, 2016 reflect on the misleading “virtue” of sleeping less as an indicator of a person’s success in business, highlighting the false image of sleep as a measure of weakness and how many business leaders, such as Trump, still buy in to this practice.
• Even if Ohio went to Trump, the Cleveland Plain Dealer website called out sleep deprivation as a liability for the then-candidate last winter (February 28, 2016).
• Is Trump a so-called “short sleeper?*” Maybe, but Timothy Egan’s op-ed piece in The New York Times (February 26, 2016), “A Unified Theory of Trump,” bears some serious consideration.

*Short sleeper (from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine):

“Most adults need 7 or more hours of sleep per night and are unable to function well after less than 6 hours of nightly sleep. But a small percentage of adults are short sleepers. They regularly feel alert and refreshed after sleeping less than 6 hours per night. … Studies suggest that short sleepers may have a gene mutation that enables them to function well on less than 6 hours of nightly sleep.”