Japanese businessman Daisuke Hori has said that he slept only about 30 minutes a day for 17 years.
During a weeklong continuous livestream he launched to demonstrate this, he became a topic of discussion after appearing to fall asleep while receiving a head spa treatment.
Mr. Hori explained that this consisted of multiple short periods of sleep, but viewers’ reactions were divided.
3-Line Summary
1. Mr. Hori claimed to sleep 30 minutes a day
2. Reports said he slept for about 27 minutes during the head spa
3. It is difficult to determine his sleep habits based on the video alone
Purpose of the Weeklong Livestream That Began on the 9th
Daisuke Hori is a Japanese businessman who has introduced himself as an acquired “short sleeper.” He serves as representative director of the Japan Short Sleeper Development Association, a general incorporated association, and was reported to have proposed sleep-improvement programs. Mr. Hori’s explanation is that, since 17 years ago, he has continued to lead a highly satisfying life on about 30 minutes of sleep per day.
To show viewers who doubted whether he actually lived this way, Mr. Hori began a continuous 7-day livestream on YouTube starting on the 9th. SmartFLASH reported that the purpose of the broadcast was not to promote that he would not sleep even for a moment, but to convey his daily life of living on short periods of sleep.
Tokyo Sports Web reported that tens of thousands of people connected to the broadcast simultaneously, drawing attention. This is also why whether he was sleeping became the central issue of the broadcast. Mr. Hori was the person who had explained his own sleep habits, and he had personally planned the public broadcast to support that explanation.
Scene of Him Falling Asleep and Snoring During the Head Spa
The controversy occurred on the second day of the broadcast, while he was receiving a head spa massage from beauty corrective therapist Yugo Uchiyama. According to reports by SmartFLASH and Tokyo Sports Web, Mr. Hori fell asleep and snored during the treatment, then woke up when he was told that the treatment had ended. After waking up, he assessed that the treatment was enough to make an ordinary person inevitably fall asleep.
Tokyo Sports Web reported that Mr. Hori appeared to have slept for about 27 minutes in this scene. In response, Mr. Hori explained to the effect that he had “only had 10 microsleeps.” The report introduced microsleep as a phenomenon in which the brain suddenly enters a sleep state for several to several dozen seconds, generally describing it as momentary sleep lasting less than 15 seconds.
It is necessary to clearly distinguish the reported details concerning the same scene. The appearance of him falling asleep while snoring and the observation of approximately 27 minutes came from Tokyo Sports Web’s report, while the view that this should be regarded as multiple microsleeps was Mr. Hori’s explanation. This scene alone cannot prove or disprove his entire lifestyle of sleeping 30 minutes a day, which he has said he maintained over a long period.
Criticism and Concern, Along With Reactions Viewing It as Entertainment
The video spread on social networking services, including X. SmartFLASH reported that some users responded by telling Mr. Hori not to push himself or saying they were concerned because his speech was unclear. Criticism also continued that he might actually be sleeping more.
Hiroto Kyogoku, a former world professional boxing champion in 2 weight classes, posted about the matter on X through the 11th. According to Tokyo Sports Web, he expressed the view to the effect that he had no intention of criticizing Mr. Hori and that participants in the related courses had likely enrolled after being satisfied with them. He went on to write that he viewed the matter as entertainment.
What this video showed was a scene in which Mr. Hori fell asleep while receiving a head spa during a public broadcast, followed by his own explanation and divided reactions. In particular, the fact that the scene occurred on a broadcast he had begun to show his lifestyle intensified the debate. Determining his health condition or all of his actual sleep habits from a single video is a separate issue.
References
Tags #ShortSleeper #ショートスリーパー #DaisukeHori #30MinutesOfSleepADay #SleepControversy #YouTubeLivestream #HeadSpa #Microsleep #SleepHabits #JapanTopic #HirotoKyogoku