This was published 3 months ago
Trump dozed off in court. But is there any benefit to a micronap?
You’d think being at the centre of a criminal trial would be enough to keep Donald Trump awake. But it seems even consciousness was too much to ask of him.
On Monday, The New York Times reported that the former president was dozing off in the courtroom ahead of the first of four criminal trials, writing, “Mr. Trump appeared to nod off a few times, his mouth going slack and his head drooping onto his chest” before jolting awake.
Credit: Getty Images/Bethany Rae
Trump is not the first high-profile figure accused of nodding off when they shouldn’t. In 2021, Bill Clinton appeared to fall asleep during Joe Biden’s inauguration, while Boris Johnson and Biden seemed to have difficulty keeping their eyes open at the COP26 climate summit in 2021. On home turf, Derryn Hinch was snapped dozing off on the opening day of parliament during his time as senator, while Clive Palmer blamed his sleepiness on Tony Abbott in 2014.
Many have joked online that Trump’s public display of narcolepsy was a stunt or the result of being deprived of his 12-a-day Diet Coke habit. Or perhaps he’s onto something with the micronap? Below, a sleep expert analyses his behaviour.
Australian politicians snapped dozing off in parliament: Left, Derryn Hinch in 2016, and right, Clive Palmer in 2014.Credit: Andrew Meares
When to worry about sleepiness
Most of us will be familiar with that feeling of fighting off sleep. But if it’s happening regularly (say, in the middle of your own criminal trial), it could be a sign of a deeper problem.
Dr Frank Cahill, a sleep psychologist from Melbourne, says that struggling to stay awake can be a sign of a range of things, from the obvious (like a poor night’s sleep) to conditions like idiopathic hypersomnia or narcolepsy. Most commonly, however, he says daytime sleepiness is a symptom of sleep apnoea.
“That means that if you’re sitting in a sedentary position for any period of time, you can very easily nod off to sleep. Typically, you’ll see people with sleep apnoea nodding off in meetings. Truck drivers are also particularly susceptible to it.”
Most people, Cahill adds, will experience a circadian dip around 3pm, even if they’ve had a good night’s sleep. He says this afternoon lethargy typically lasts between five and 10 minutes, and that getting up and moving around will help it pass.
Can ‘micronaps’ be a good thing?
For some people, particularly those with insomnia or sleep apnoea, sleeping during the day can impact nighttime sleep, causing a vicious cycle, says Cahill.
But he says that “having a conditional nap when you’re tired can be very helpful for some”.
“The general rule is that if you’re going to have a nap, and you don’t want it to interfere with your nighttime sleep, keep it to 15 to 20 minutes.” Restricting naps to short periods of time prevents you slipping into “slow wave” or deep sleep that make it harder to fall or stay asleep at night.
As for “micronaps”, he sees no problem with a few minutes of shut-eye, so long as you can keep them short.
The sleepless elite
For high-powered figures, running on the bare minimum amount of sleep has become something of a badge of honour for those dubbed the “sleepless elite”. Barack Obama and Julia Gillard spoke of surviving on six hours of sleep a night, and Kevin Rudd a measly three. Margaret Thatcher trained her body to get by on four hours, while Winston Churchill was renowned for his eccentric sleep routine of whisky sodas chased by two-hour afternoon naps.
Trump himself favours a slimmed down sleep routine, writing in his 2004 book, Think Like a Billionaire, “I usually sleep about four hours per night.”
But should we all be following in the footsteps of the sleepless elite and maximising our waking hours? While the typical recommendations for adults is between six and seven hours of sleep per night, Cahill says it very much depends on the individual.
“The amount of sleep you need is really determined by your functionality during the day. So, if you’re functioning well, and you’re on about five or six, that’s fine.”
But, he warns, the long-term effects of insufficient sleep are well-documented, and adds that short periods of sleep may not always be an active choice for those in high-powered roles, but a symptom of stress.
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