{
  "id": 8425545,
  "title": "Man who claims to sleep 30 minutes a day for 17 years snores on livestream meant to prove it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/man-who-claims-to-sleep-30-minutes-a-day-for-17-years-snores-on",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T09:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/man-who-claims-to-sleep-30-minutes-a-day-for-17-years-snores-on-livestream-meant-to-prove-it-5121122.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Daisuke Hori, leader of the Japan Short Sleeper Training Association, claimed to sleep for just 30 minutes a day for 17 years. To prove his claim, he began a 10-day livestream on September 9, scheduled to end on September 16. On the second day, he snored and slept for about 27 minutes after a head massage. Despite this, he insisted he experienced little to no sleep. On the thirteenth day, audio went silent as he lay face down for 30 minutes during a beauty salon treatment, raising suspicions among viewers. His eyes appeared bloodshot by the third day, and he started wearing sunglasses. He announced on the fourteenth day that he would take naps for the remaining three days. However, Dr. Mikiya Takasu, director of Nagoya branch of Takasu Clinic, declared the challenge a failure, stating Hori was clearly sleep-deprived. In a video, Hori said he plans to stop claiming to be a 30-minute sleeper around October. Dr. Masashi Yanagisawa, a University of Tsukuba professor, said true short sleepers are genetically determined and cannot be trained, with over 99% of self-described short sleepers being fraudulent. Chronic sleep loss can cause various health issues, including dementia, heart and brain damage, and higher mortality. A 2018 study found that one night without sleep increases beta-amyloid levels by about 5% in the brain. The U.S. National Sleep Foundation recommends seven to nine hours of sleep daily for adults aged 18 to 64.",
  "summary": "A Japanese entrepreneur who says he has slept just 30 minutes a day for nearly 17 years repeatedly appeared to fall asleep during a weeklong livestream meant to prove the claim.",
  "key_points": [
    "Daisuke Hori claims to sleep only 30 minutes daily for 17 years.",
    "He livestreamed for 10 days starting September 9, 2023.",
    "Dr. Mikiya Takasu declares Hori's challenge a failure due to sleep deprivation."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}