Donald Trump is infamous for bragging about how little sleep he needs. Anyone unfortunate enough to be within earshot of George Will’s favorite “bloviating ignoramus” or unlucky enough to hear him brag about it on social media already knows this. Of course, it wouldn’t be surprising if his criminal trial in Manhattan, the sheer number of trials he’s facing in the coming months, could be contributing to his lack of sleep.
You’d think a trial that could lead to his conviction in connection to alleged payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, would stress him out enough to keep him awake as jury selection continues. Even if it is a bit, well, boring.
And as the Daily Beast notes, this isn’t the best look for someone who always pretends he’s Mr. Dynamo, full of vim and vigor in public. Even if that dance he does looks completely stupid.
But while one sleep expert told the outlet, what most of us already know, that Trump isn’t getting enough sleep or proper nutrition, there’s a bit of a twist.
“Anytime we fall asleep in a stressful situation, those are indications that your brain is prioritizing it,” Dr. Chris Winter, neurologist and sleep expert,” referring to the former president’s shut-eye in court.
“we live in a society where an individual who is able to fall asleep quickly and anywhere is a great sleeper. but someone who is able to fall asleep in jury selection is really someone who is at great risk and not and not an excellent sleeper.”
Winter added:
“He has something wrong with the nature of his sleep.”
Trump, who will turn 78 in June, was, of course, observed by several reporters, including someone from the Daily Beast, nodding off in the courtroom as the prosecution and the defense went about the long slog of choosing jurors.
It wasn’t long before the hashtag #SleepyDonald began trending on social media and this incident served to remind the public that it’s pretty rare to see Trump not chewing up the landscape and commanding control of the situation, especially in an overheated courtroom that’s working at a snail’s pace.
“he might not have found jury selection stimulating enough to keep him awake,” winter said. “that indicates an issue in sleep amount or quantity. Even if he is getting enough sleep, there is something wrong with the quality of it.”
Trump didn’t bring up his brief nap in the courtroom when he talked to reporters as he left court on Monday, but a spokesperson later issued a statement, which contains the usual content of Grade AAA we’ve all come to expect: “This is 100 percent Fake News coming from ‘journalists’ who weren’t even in the courtroom.”
But then he nodded off again Tuesday, which may stem from the fact that he was denied the 12 Diet Cokes he typically drinks each day. Yes, that’s really true. He consumes 12 of these sugar-bombs daily. I checked. Damn.
Winter also noted that with Trump’s schedule, Trump’s doziness may not be all that unusual given the “perfect storm” of risk factors.
“Anyone that is on the campaign trail and fighting all these indictments against him might not be sleeping well,” Winter, who is the host of the “sleep unplugged” podcast and an advisor for mattress firm and equinox.
Trump, he said, “strikes me as someone who needs to prioritize sleep and nutrition, and he is not right now. He has something wrong with the nature of his sleep.”
According to medical guidelines, someone as old as Trump should be getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. But as per usual, the former president continually boasts about how little sleep he needs.
Trump bragged about this in his 2004 book, Think Like A Billionaire (of course he was 20 years younger then), he wrote that he usually gets four hours per night, a habit he’s kept up, even as president. According to his biographer Gwenda Blair, who told The Guardian in 2017 that Trump once “made a big deal of saying he never sleeps and that people who sleep are lazy.”
“you know, i’m not a big sleeper, i like three hours, four hours, i toss, i turn, i beep-de-beep, i want to find out what’s going on,” according to a 2016 Chicago Tribune story.
Of course, Winter couldn’t also wonder: “Maybe he needs a new mattress.”
Well, maybe. But I also can’t help but wonder if his lack of sleep, especially right now, couldn’t have led to some of the obvious mental problems he’s having. His indecipherable word salads, recent weird comments about New York Attorney General Letitia James, his slurred words, ambulatory mishaps, not to mention some of his horrible decisions — calling the National Guard on peaceful protestors, inciting his supporters to “fight like hell” on January 6, 2021. I’m no expert but I think any and all of these things could be exacerbated by lack of sleep as his brain works feverishly overtime.
I think these are questions that the proper authorities need to be asked before this man even gets close to the highest office in the land.
So are his mental disabilities causing his sleep problems or are his sleep problems causing his mental disabilities?
Or both?
I really don’t know but I had to think that getting so little sleep could really be affecting him since he’s nearly 78
If he only needs 3-4 hours of sleep, why did he not get to the oval office until 11:30? I always assumed it was because he stayed up late and slept late.
He’d spend four or five hours watching TV news. And nodding off while doing so. However since the networks recycle/repeat the same few stories over and over he knew he could keep watching and get caught up on what the major news narrative for a given day would be. THEN he could go down to the Oval Office and pretend to work.
Um, maybe it was all the time he spent every morning getting his comb-over styled and cemented in place, along with the time needed to get the (orange) “bronzed” skin tone he favored (funny thing, though, he evidently never had his ears and hands touched up to match)…..
I need a good solid sleep to function. I can do a day or two with less, but need to catch up. Back in the day I spent summers with my grandparents. They enjoyed their post lunch naps. I did chores for them. So yeah, trump needs an afternoon nap. He is an old man. Biden also is an old man, I bet he needs some breaks as well. Biden also will not be in court. mis dos centavos
Just a correction but Diet Coke does NOT have any sugar–the only sweeteners found are artificial which don’t normally affect the body, at least in terms of sleep. Now, caffeine, on the other hand. . .THAT’S going to do something, especially if he’s drinking a dozen per day. (On a side issue, the carbonation could be playing a part as well. If he’s not burping a lot, then that CO2 could be playing a part in disrupting his sleep. Usually, CO2 is a by-product of antacid relief–think baking soda or Alka-Seltzer–but drinking carbonated beverages that also have mild acids like phosphoric acid doesn’t provide the “antacid relief” effect so the body is stuck with excess CO2.)
I’ve always thought there was hyperactive/ADD/ADHD component to tRump, given the way he natters on and jumps from one thing to the next, which might affect his ability to sleep. There’s also the chemical aspect. That much caffeine is certainly going to affect sleep. But I still think that whoever is in charge of the pills is maybe giving him a bit more downers than usual to keep him from going off the rails in the courtroom. He has no self-control whatever, so something needs to be keeping him ‘calmish’.