Donald Trump says he sleeps just 4-5 hours a night. What does science say about sleeping less, and how much sleep do Americans need?

The president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, told Fox News in 2017 that he gets only 4 to 5 hours of sleep every night. His prominent job comes with long hours of work that keep him up till 12 o'clock and 1 a.m. The 80-year-old admitted that he wakes up at 5 a.m. every morning. His physician Ronny Jackson confirmed that Trump sleeps four to five hours a night.

Jackson says, "He's probably been like that his whole life. He's just one of those people who just does not require a lot of sleep."

But is Trump genetically wired to need less sleep, or is he just accustomed to getting less of it?


To most sleep scientists, President Donald Trump's sleeping habits are more likely to raise questions than eyebrows.

National Institutes of Health describes a natural short sleeper as someone who sleeps a lot less in 24 hours than is expected for people of the same age, without being abnormally sleepy. Short sleepers sleep less than 75% of what is normal for their age. Scientists believe that genetic variation allows natural short sleepers to function well with less sleep than normal.

Unfortunately, surviving on caffeine and a packed calendar doesn't automatically qualify you as a natural short sleeper. Genetics gets the final say here.

The White House versus an average American

President Trump may or may not require more than four to five hours of sleep. How about an average American?

The CDC says more than one-quarter of American adults sleep less than 7 hours.

Humans spend nearly one-third of their lives sleeping, an essential daily process that helps our bodies function properly and allows the brain to clear waste products that accumulate while we are awake. National Institutes of Health says sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the body, from the brain, heart, and lungs to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease risk.

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So what happens if you don't get the recommended 7 to 8 hours of sleep?

NIH confirms that millions of Americans each year are affected by chronic lack of sleep. Poor-quality sleep increases the risk of multiple health issues and interferes with daily work, social activities, and quality of life.

A report released by the National Center for Health Statistics in April 2026 suggests that 30.5% of adults had less than 7 hours of sleep in 2024.

On the brighter side, the report found that sleep problems became less common with age. The percentage of adults experiencing bad sleep decreased from 18.3% among those aged 18-34 to 12.8% among adults 65 and older.

However, the percentage of adults with short sleep duration increased from 27.2% among adults ages 18–34 to 34.5% among those 50-64, and decreased to 27.2% among those 65 and older.

Who are worse at sleeping: Men or women?

The battle of the sexes reaches the bedroom, but who's actually getting enough sleep? Unfortunately, this isn't a competition that anyone wants to win. Men and women may disagree on many things, but when it comes to getting too little sleep, they're almost perfectly united.

Women were more likely to have trouble staying asleep compared with men. The percentage of adults with short sleep duration was similar among men (30.6%) and women (30.4%), the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) says.

Asian non-Hispanic adults (61.5%) were more likely to wake up well-rested compared with other race and Hispanic-origin groups, the NHIS report finds.

Does catching up on lost sleep help?

You may not always find enough time to get a good night's sleep, but catching up on those lost hours could offer some health benefits.

Here's what researchers found: People who recovered lost sleep after a short night had a lower risk of premature death than those who repeatedly slept too little without getting sufficient recovery sleep.

Apparently, sleep debt is one bill you shouldn't keep pushing to next week. Your body might appreciate an occasional repayment, but that still doesn't make endless borrowing a good idea.

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The 2026 study, published in Nature Communications, found an association between recovery sleep and better survival outcomes. The study suggests that sleeping longer than usual to recover from a recent loss of sleep after getting fewer hours of sleep than your body needs is linked to a lower risk of death during the study period.

If not adults, are kids getting enough sleep in America?

National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep in America® Poll: 'A Focus on America’s Youngest Sleepers, Understanding Children’s Sleep in the Context of Family Sleep Health' findings highlight that nearly half of U.S. children aren’t getting enough sleep. It also suggests that seven in ten parents say poor sleep negatively affects their child’s mood and daytime functioning.

How important is a consistent sleep schedule to heart health?

Here's where the story gets more interesting!

Washington may celebrate those who burn the midnight oil. But when it comes to heart health, science seems to favour those who know when to turn out the lights.

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American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2026 suggests that changes in sleep timing from night to night over about six months were linked to a 20% to 23% higher risk of serious heart events, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. An unusually long sleep cycle was also linked to a 55% higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

Turns out, your heart prefers a predictable bedtime over a surprise party every night. Your heart may care not just about how long you sleep, but when you sleep.

Here’s what the report found: For every additional 29 minutes of variation in how long people slept from one night to the next, their overall risk of serious heart-related problems was 24% higher. This included a 29% higher risk of developing a disease that weakens the heart muscle and makes it harder to pump blood, and a 20% higher risk of heart failure.

Having a greater number of complete sleep cycles each night was associated with a 28% lower risk of atrial arrhythmia, a common type of irregular heartbeat. Irregular sleep was linked to a much wider range of heart conditions than expected, said lead researcher Nguyen Minh Tuan Viet, M.D., Ph.D., a neuroscientist and postdoctoral research fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He added:

“Sleep irregularity is often due to weekends - we get to sleep a little bit later on a Friday night, or people have shift work. This may not be good for your heart health,” Viet said. “Sometimes the quality of sleep is something we cannot control. But the regularity, consistent bedtimes throughout the week and waking up at the same time every morning, is something some people can control.”

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