In contrast to what many medical experts say on how sleep can invigorate people and boost energy levels, Malaysia’s 93-year-old prime minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad says that sleep is debilitating and having less sleep is what keeps him going.
This was his reaction when media people asked him about his energy levels, he replied that his secret was “less sleep and staying active.” “When you lie down, you fade away.” Elaborating further, Dr Mahathir said it was his belief that sleep is debilitating due to its inactivity. “If you are not active, then you become weak. When you sleep, you weaken yourself. When you do exercise, you are using your muscles more. But when you lie down, you fade away.”
According to the nonagenarian doctor, the lack of brain usage when one is exhausted can contribute to the brain’s deterioration, and he believes that it is imperative to constantly think, argue and solve. “If you get tired and go to bed and do not think, do not conceive ideas, do not argue, you don’t find solutions to problems, if you don’t use your brains – it loses the capacity.”Is sleeplessness the twin sibling of greatness and fame? Apparently, it is. It isn’t just Dr Mahathir who sleeps less or who doesn’t like to sleep but most of the world’s great leaders also don’t get much shut eye.– An element of Margaret Thatcher’s daunting reputation was how little she slept.