--- title: Barack Obama: The President Has a Specific Late-Night Snack description: When he stays up late writing and reading, President Obama avoids caffeine and junk food, opting instead for a very specific snack. canonical: https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-02T15:55:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:01:25.855Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama's Very Specific Late-Night Snack og:description: He typically spends a few hours alone after dinner each night og:url: https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb1c9c3a6a64e2c5/69889a78a988ca45536b87c9/obama-snack.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Russia's President Medvedev and U.S. President Obama have burgers for lunch at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama's Very Specific Late-Night Snack twitter:description: He typically spends a few hours alone after dinner each night twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb1c9c3a6a64e2c5/69889a78a988ca45536b87c9/obama-snack.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama's Very Specific Late-Night Snack  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jul 2, 2016 3:55 PM UTC  Barack Obama and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev have burgers at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, June 24, 2010. Barack Obama and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev have burgers at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, June 24, 2010.Kevin Lamarque—Reuters  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jul 2, 2016 3:55 PM UTC The man is busy, that’s for sure. He’s father-in-chief, husband-in-chief and commander-in-chief wrapped into one, making for long days and late nights. A new report by the [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/us/politics/obama-after-dark-the-precious-hours-alone.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news) provides a clearer picture of how President Obama usually spends his time at home, after a dinner with the First Lady and their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. A self-described “night guy,” he’ll spend hours in the Treaty Room of the White House—reading, writing or playing Words with Friends, usually with sports on TV as a bit of background noise. When he stays up writing speeches and reading briefings, Obama avoids caffeine and junk food. He doesn’t typically drink coffee or tea, and is instead more likely to opt for water over soda. Those close to him told the _Times_ he prefers seven lightly salted almonds. “Michelle and I would always joke: Not six. Not eight,” said Sam Kass, the Obamas’ personal chef until 2014\. “Always seven almonds.” The health benefits suggest it’s a snack that Michelle Obama [would likely approve](http://time.com/4282461/michelle-obama-steph-curry-turnip-for-what-vine/). Almonds, named one of [TIME’s 50 Healthiest Foods](http://time.com/3724505/50-healthiest-foods), are rich in monounsaturated fats that help keep cholesterol at a healthy level. They’re also a good source of the antioxidant vitamin E, which might help slow cognitive decline with age. Read more at the [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/us/politics/obama-after-dark-the-precious-hours-alone.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/"},"headline":"President Obama's Very Specific Late-Night Snack","datePublished":"2016-07-02T15:55:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:01:25.855Z","description":"He typically spends a few hours alone after dinner each night","url":"https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb1c9c3a6a64e2c5/69889a78a988ca45536b87c9/obama-snack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb1c9c3a6a64e2c5/69889a78a988ca45536b87c9/obama-snack.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Russia's President Medvedev and U.S. President Obama have burgers for lunch at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington","caption":"Barack Obama and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev have burgers at Ray's Hell Burger restaurant in Arlington, Virginia, June 24, 2010.","creditText":"Kevin Lamarque—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4392169/barack-obama-late-night-routine/","name":"President Obama's Very Specific Late-Night Snack"}}]}] ```