12 years of 30-minute sleep? Japanese entrepreneur swears by productivity secret
Japanese entrepreneur Daisuke Hori says his 30-minute daily sleep schedule for 12 years has transformed his life and increased his productivity.
Sleeping is an important part of our daily lives and is essential for maintaining good health and overall well-being. Most people need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night to function optimally. However, a Japanese man claims he has been sleeping only for 30 minutes a day for the past 12 years. According to the man, this sleep pattern has improved his ‘work efficiency’.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Daisuke Hori, a 40-year-old man from Hyogo prefecture in western Japan, claims he has trained his brain and body to function normally with minimal sleep.
Hori is an entrepreneur, who loves music, painting, and mechanical design. 12 years ago, Daisuke Hori began reducing his sleep to create more active hours each day and eventually cut his sleep down to 30 to 45 minutes daily.
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“As long as you do sports or drink coffee an hour before eating, you can stave off drowsiness,” he claims.
Reality show reveals Hori's 26-minute sleep and high energy
To examine Hori's claims more closely, Japan's Yomiuri TV featured him in a reality show called 'Will You Go With Me?'. The reality show revealed that Hori once slept for just 26 minutes, woke up feeling energetic, and even managed to hit the gym.
“People who need sustained focus in their work benefit more from high-quality sleep than long sleep. For instance, doctors and firefighters have shorter rest periods but maintain high efficiency,” Hori told the outlet.
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Hori's online resume claims he has taught more than 2,100 students to become ‘ultra-short sleepers’ and according to the outlet, one of the students even told Yomiuri TV that she was able to cut her sleep from eight hours to just 90 minutes after getting trained by Hori.
Experts, however, say that sleeping for short intervals frequently is not advisable.
“The body requires longer periods of uninterrupted sleep to complete a full sleep cycle, which includes light sleep, deep sleep, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep. These cycles are essential for brain restoration and physical recovery,” said Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, Director, Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Fortis Escorts Hospital in Faridabad.
“Fragmenting sleep can prevent the body from reaching these deep stages, leading to cognitive impairments, mood disorders, decreased alertness, and an increased risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.”