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Sydney Sweeney usually makes headlines for her various popular projects such as Euphoria and the like. But very recently, she made news because of her ability to function off of barely any sleep. However, there were a few medical professionals who didn’t believe Sweeney.

What this doctor had to say about Sydney Sweeney getting two hours of sleep

Sydney Sweeney posing on the Today show while wearing a black shirt.
Sydney Sweeney | Nathan Congleton/Getty Images

Sweeney confided that she didn’t need too much shut eye to start her day. Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, she revealed she barely slept at all, sometimes even getting just 2 hours in.

“I sleep however many hours I get in a night, but I’m known for being able to function off of very, very little for a very long amount of time,” she said.

What might make her alertness even more impressive was the fact that the star didn’t rely on coffee, either.

“I just drink water. For breakfast, I like a berry bowl. Maybe some granola, bacon, a croissant—but I always go to berries,” she said.

But one doctor felt that Sweeney might’ve been mistaken when it came to her sleep schedule.

Dr. Michael Breuss is a world-renown sleep psychologist and the founder of The Sleep Doctor. He added his own two cents to the conversation surrounding Sweeney’s sleep schedule, and felt her claims might’ve been exaggerated.

“This is unlikely. There is a small group of people who are genetically short sleepers, by having a particular disruption in their genetic code. This is far less than 1% of the population. I think around 50 families have the gene,” he said.

Instead, Dr. Breuss figured Sweeney might be experiencing another phenomenon.

“She probably just has Sleep State Misperception, where people think they are not sleeping when in fact they are. If we put EEG on her for 24 hours I can almost guarantee she sleeps,” he added. “This would be extremely damaging to continue to do this for extended periods of time as sleep deprivation of this type can lead to some serious medical conditions. My guess is she naps.”

Another sleep physician, Abinav Singh, agreed with Breuss’ assessment. Singh is a Medical Review Expert at Sleep Foundation and Medical Director of the Indiana Sleep Center. He was also skeptical about the White Lotus star’s claims, as he claimed no one has ever functioned off of 2 hours of sleep.

“By and large this is not possible, and there is probably compensation taking place in terms of coffee or micro naps that are unintentional. There is genetic short sleeper but 2 hours has not been reported and can be damaging in the short term and the long term,” he said.

Sydney Sweeney experienced burnout while doing these two movies

Sweeney’s stress reached high levels over the summer while she was doing two films. She was cast in the features Reality and Madame Web, both of which took a toll on her. She asserted that Madame Web, especially, caused her massive panic attacks and cost her more sleep.

“I put so much into that movie and every hour I had off I had a photoshoot or interview or prepping for Madame Web,” she once told GQ. “I wasn’t allowed to quiet my brain. And that’s hard. I had seven days off. I went home and turned off my phone.”

After these experiences, Sweeney realized she might have to adjust the way she approached her work.

“I was like, ‘F***, I can’t do that again,’ so I have to find a healthy in-between,” she said.

What Sydney Sweeney likes to do in her spare time

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Whether Sweeney gets two hours of sleep or not, her growing acting career keeps her moving all the time. But there were a few hobbies she enjoyed indulging in whenever she had time to herself.

“I like this place called SolidCore,” she said. “It’s a full-body high-intensity workout but on a reformer, and it’s been killing my ass. I love it.”

Sweeney also shared that she isn’t one to splurge her fortune. But parties were the exception.

“I like to splurge on parties,” she said. “I like to host parties for my friends and family.”