Ending Soon! Save 33% on All Access

The Surprising Sleep Habits of the Rich and Famous (Infographic) From Richard Branson to Barack Obama, Leonardo da Vinci to Wolfgang Mozart, the sleep schedules of these bigwigs are anything but naptime wishes and caviar dreams. They're just plain bizarre.

By Kim Lachance Shandrow

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

REUTERS | Luke MacGregor

Thomas Edison thought sleep was a waste of time, preferring instead to take a series of daily power naps. So did Leonardo da Vinci. Nikola Tesla clocked about two of hours of shuteye per night. The secret to their success? Perhaps it was sleep deprivation-induced delirium.

Maybe they knew something we don't. After all, they were geniuses.

Related: Want More Sleep (And Better Productivity)? Work From Home.

Mere mortals like us are constantly reminded that we require eight straight, restful hours of sleep to function, yet some of the most enduring achievers defy that logic. Lucky them, they somehow thrive on minimal amounts of slumber. Donald Trump is one of the sleep-starved elite. The bedhead-defying billionaire real estate mogul scrapes by on only three to four hours a night, but says it gives him a competitive edge. Apparently it's working.

Meanwhile our commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama, logs more sleep than you might think: he reportedly nods off at 1 a.m. and rises at 7 a.m. Winston Churchill wouldn't approve. The former prime minister to the United Kingdom, who famously kept a bed in the Houses of Parliament, believed in the brain-boosting power of catnapping so much that he reportedly credited his victory in leading the nation through the Battle of Britain to his propensity for siestas.

Related: What Leonardo da Vinci Can Teach You About Writing Killer Cover Letters

For more fun, surprising facts about the sleep habits of the rich, brilliant and famous, tuck into the eye-opening infographic below, care of BigBrandBeds.co.uk.

Click to Enlarge

The Surprising Sleep Habits of the Rich and Famous (Infographic)

Image credit: bigbrandbeds

Related: The Surest Path to Success? Get Some Sleep.

Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor

Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper, HealthCentral.com, PsychCentral.com and the former U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Coop. Follow her on Twitter at @Lashandrow. You can also follow her on Facebook here

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business Culture

The Psychological Impact of Recognition on Employee Motivation and Engagement — 3 Key Insights for Leaders

By embedding strategic recognition into their core practices, companies can significantly elevate employee motivation, enhance productivity and cultivate a workplace culture that champions engagement and loyalty.

Career

What the Mentality of the Dotcom Era Can Teach the AI Generations

The internet boom showed that you still need tenacity and resilience to succeed at a time of great opportunity.

Business News

Now that OpenAI's Superalignment Team Has Been Disbanded, Who's Preventing AI from Going Rogue?

We spoke to an AI expert who says safety and innovation are not separate things that must be balanced; they go hand in hand.

Employee Experience & Recruiting

Beyond the Great Resignation — How to Attract Freelancers and Independent Talent Back to Traditional Work

Discussing the recent workplace exit of employees in search of more meaningful work and ways companies can attract that talent back.

Franchise

What Franchising Can Teach The NFL About The Impact of Private Equity

The NFL is smart to take a thoughtful approach before approving institutional capital's investment in teams.