“I don’t know how he does it. I mean, none of us know when he sleeps. He’s working all the time and he is just constant for him,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi of President Donald Trump this week during an interview with “The Katie Miller Podcast.”
Vice President JD Vance also commented on the 79-year-old president’s seemingly perpetual energy during a recent appearance on Fox News’ “My View with Lara Trump” and the show’s host corroborated these observations. Lara, the wife of Trump’s son Eric, said people often ask when Trump – who is known for his frequent social media posts – gets up in the morning, and her guess is 4:30 a.m. or 5 a.m.
“Sometimes Eric and I will get a call from him at 6 a.m. from him, and he’s clearly already read a few newspapers and watched some news by that point,” Lara said. “And the crazy part is, I don’t think he goes to bed until well after midnight most nights.”
Trump himself has said that he only gets three to four hours of sleep each night, per reports, and has said that he will “toss and turn” and like to “know what’s going on.” The Independent reported that Trump’s personal physician said in 2018 that the president slept for four to five hours a night.
Musician Kid Rock, a friend of Trump, has also noticed that the real estate mogul and current commander-in-chief doesn’t seem to get much shut-eye. The Independent noted that Rock mentioned a study about people who don’t need much sleep during an interview with “The Will Cain” show in May.
According to the National Institutes of Health, there has been a gene identified in people who don’t seem to need as much sleep as most people. Those with this gene are able to naturally sleep less than six and a half hours without any apparent ill side effects.
However, most adults should get at least seven hours of sleep per night, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though around 37% adults in the nation don’t get that much rest. Getting enough sleep helps people stay healthy, maintain a healthy weight, reduce stress, improve mood, improve heart health and metabolism, and lower the risk of conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
“Sleep habits are really, really critical… you know some of the things we do actually cause poor sleep. So, if you’re drinking a lot of caffeine right before bed, obviously that’s gonna not set you up for a really good night’s sleep – it’s going to keep you awake,” Dr. Brent Wallis, chief medical officer of People’s Health, told Audacy. “And then… it may be related to things like stress and anxiety – so you’re trying to go to sleep but your mind is really active and… and thinking about all those things you’re stressed out about we call that rumination.”
This year, Trump’s doctor announced that the president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency following rumors about his apparently swollen ankles. His physician has also indicated that bruises on Trump’s hands are common for people taking aspirin as part of a heart health regime. Still, these health concerns ramped up to the point where death rumors were swirling.
While Trump is known for avoiding sleep, at least one report noted that he appeared to nod off last year during his hush money trial in New York.
In 2020, researchers published a study regarding Trump’s apparent sleep habits in the Economic Letters journal. They said that his sleep appeared to become shorter by the end of his first term in office, determining “late nights” based on his social media posts.
“After a late night, various performance metrics for the following day change,” said a summary of the research. They found the president was more likely to be “angry” after a late night.
In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Trump chronicler Michael Wolff said he suspects Trump is on the phone right up until he goes to bed. That is something that many Americans do, per this recent Audacy report.
“The only thing that I know about Trump’s bedtime habits is that during the first administration, he had a lock installed on his bedroom door and that precipitated a fight with the Secret Service, who actually took it off – demanded it be taken off,” said Wolff.
His account that the president “doesn’t read anything” conflicts with Lara Trump’s comments about his reading the news in the early morning hours.
“I just think Donald Trump is one of those people who thrives on very little sleep,” said Lara. She later added, “we are so lucky to have a president who for sure no one is going to give the nickname ‘sleepy’ – what a nice change,” a jab at former President Joe Biden, who Trump used to call “Sleepy Joe.”
Biden, now 82, did tell Democratic governors last summer that he needed more sleep following his disastrous debate performance against Trump.
Soon after, Biden dropped out of the election.