Isaac Newton’s Strange Sleep Habits

Isaac Newton One of Newton’s employees took note of the physicist’s habits in the 1680s, observing that Newton rarely went to bed before 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, and sometimes not until 5:00 or 6:00 a.m.—and yet, “In a Morning he seem’d to be as much refresh’d with his few hours Sleep, as though he had taken a whole Night’s Rest.” During the day, Newton was never seen taking a walk or engaging in other recreation, and his assistant could recall hearing Newton laugh only once. Food was also a dispensable luxury; Newton dined sparingly and often forgot to eat at all. If reminded that he had failed to touch a meal set on the table for him, Newton would reply “Have I ?” and absentmindedly take a few bites before plunging back into his work.

The image is a screenshot of a short historical account about Isaac Newton’s extreme work habits in the 1680s. It describes his very late sleep schedule, lack of recreation, sparse eating, and near-total absorption in work, including the amusing detail that he reportedly laughed only once and barely noticed meals. The joke is that Newton resembles an intensely focused, socially detached programmer or student, making the image suitable as a reaction to obsessive work or installing Arch Linux for the first time. EN: The image is a screenshot of a short historical account about Isaac Newton’s extreme work habits in the 1680s. It describes his very late sleep schedule, lack of recreation, sparse eating, and near-total absorption in work, including the amusing detail that he reportedly laughed only once and barely noticed meals. The joke is that Newton resembles an intensely focused, socially detached programmer or student, making the image suitable as a reaction to obsessive work or installing Arch Linux for the first time.

• @gentoomemes / 18314 2025-08-21