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Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the UK and an inspiration for Takaichi, was known for functioning on just four hours of sleep a night. In the United States, current and past presidents like Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton have also been known to manage on minimal sleep. Clinton even confessed that fatigue led to some of the biggest blunders of his life.
This trend of limited sleep isn’t confined to the political realm. Notable American entrepreneur Martha Stewart reportedly carved out her business empire on a mere three hours of sleep each night. Similarly, business leaders, including Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey, have shared how they often prioritize work over rest.
In October, Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s Prime Minister, marking a historic moment as the first woman to assume the role. Her election by the country’s parliament signifies a breakthrough in Japanese politics.
It’s a well-known fact that sleep deprivation affects more than just one’s appearance. Lack of sleep can impair crucial functions such as decision-making and emotional control, while also taking a toll on mental health.
Is it even possible to function when consistently sleeping so little?
Over time, this creates what’s known as a “sleep debt”.
Tips for getting a better night’s sleep. Source: SBS News
Even in the short term, a host of negative ramifications can start to accumulate. Risk of illness increases, problem-solving skills and memory functions diminish and reaction times drop.
Siobhan Banks, director of the Behaviour-Brain-Body Research Centre at the University of South Australia, says people who sleep very little at night may still be taking short naps throughout the day, which can “reset the clock a little bit”.
“Your biology is such that you will just start falling asleep, even if you’re standing up, even if you’re engaged in conversation, the drive for sleep is so strong that you will fall asleep,” Banks tells SBS News.
We hear about these extreme scenarios, and never about the fact that in a couple of weeks’ time, [they] get sick and have to sleep for nine hours, 10 days straight.
As a rule of thumb, most adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night.
The acute dangers of insufficient sleep
It determined people generally experience a modest level of impairment after six or seven hours of sleep, but getting only four or five hours approximately doubles the risk of a crash.
Banks says the sleep schedules that some leaders follow simply “wouldn’t cut the mustard” in industries like aviation or healthcare, where fatigue regulations are enforced to prevent catastrophic errors.
Sleep deprivation as a ‘badge of honour’
Her message, and others like it, resonated widely. The 2000s and 2010s witnessed a wave of mainstream pushback against “sleep is for the weak” and workaholism. In 2019, the World Health Organization formally recognised burnout as an occupational phenomenon.
This is how your sleep needs change with age, according to the US-based National Sleep Foundation. Source: SBS News / Kenneth Macleod
The COVID-19 pandemic only accelerated this shift, driving a decline in employee engagement and increasing demand for more flexible working arrangements.
“We’ve moved away from this idea of leaders as infallible, superhuman people.”
We understand that leaders can make mistakes, and we like when leaders are vulnerable, and we like when leaders are humble, when they’re willing to admit that they’re wrong.
“But I would actually say it kind of makes you sound scary … that you might not be someone so reliable,” she says.
Modelling success and leadership differently
Jeff Bezos has said he prioritises getting eight hours, in part because “as a senior executive, you get paid to make a small number of high-quality decisions”.
“I’d be like, ‘Wow, those guys are so good’. I need to try harder, because sleep is laziness and unnecessary.”
Microsoft founder Bill Gates confessed in 2023 that he subscribed to unhealthy sleep narratives in his thirties and forties. Source: Getty / Bloomberg
According to leadership expert Eva, demonstrating poor sleep habits sends all the wrong messages in today’s environment.
