Are you getting all the sleep you need to succeed? As it turns out, sleep might be an important indicator of your success and productivity—but some of the world's most successful people have some very unique sleep habits that might not work for everyone. Read about these 7 sleep habits and wonder if sleep really is one of the keys to success.
Winston Churchill
Winston was a believer in the siesta. He took a 2-hour nap every day at 5 p.m. – after a whiskey and soda. He claimed that his nap allowed him to get a day and a half’s work done in each 24-hour period. Was it the whiskey talking? Still, you can’t argue with a legendary statesman so maybe naptime in the evening works.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci also was a believer in the short sleep. In this case, not really a nap. He followed a polyphasic sleep pattern with a 20-minute nap every four hours. Given his expertise in so many things -- invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music and more – the unconventional schedule must have worked for him.
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey takes sleep to the opposite extreme. She claims that to keep her voice in tune she must sleep 15 hours each night with 20 humidifiers running. The moisture and the sleep soothe her throat and keep her in tune --- even if she’s not in tune to sleep cycle of most of us.
Michael Phelps
This famous swimmer has to open two doors to go to sleep. His “bed” is in a chamber that mimics the altitude of 8,500 to 9,000 feet. It decreases available oxygen and makes his body work harder to get that oxygen to his muscles. His strange sleeping habit helps him build endurance and after his last Olympic performance, no one can argue with that.
Charles Dickens
The famous writer is thought to have been an insomniac. He went to bed with a very strange object – a compass. He believed that he had to face north both to sleep and when he was writing. He believed that sleeping and writing facing north made him more creative.
Arianna Huffington
The "Queen of Quality Sleep" believes in a good night’s rest. So much so that she has made her bedroom a “slumber palace”, complete with blackout curtains. She gets her sleep in a canopied bed and follows all the rules like turning off her electronics. Her final bedtime preparation – a hot bath with both Epsom salts and lavender oil. She sleeps like a princess.
Eminem
The rapper spends a lot of time in hotel rooms, but that doesn’t mean he trusts their blackout curtains to keep him slumbering. He lines the windows with tinfoil to keep all the light out and then he turns on some white noise. All these preparations help him sleep better even when traveling between time zones.
