Recently, at the Sohu Video Follow Feed Halloween American Drama Cosplay Party, Sohu founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO Zhang Chaoyang shared insights on the product positioning, content ecosystem, and future development of Sohu Video's Follow Feed, and responded to external claims about him "lying flat."
Zhang Chaoyang stated that he gets up at 4 a.m. every morning and works for over ten hours. His physics and English classes are both personal interests and important practices for promoting the Follow Feed live streaming and content ecosystem.
"We are not lying flat; we are working hard. The Follow Feed is our strategic product," Zhang Chaoyang emphasized.
In his view, Sohu is investing more resources into refining the Follow Feed product, expanding its user base, and operating offline events. "There is a sequence to these steps; once the platform grows, monetization becomes a natural outcome."
Zhang Chaoyang stated that creating high-quality products that society needs and users love is not contradictory to generating long-term value for shareholders; the most important thing is to make the product excellent.
"Browse casually, forward, interact, and follow the feed," Zhang Chaoyang introduced, describing this as the latest usage guide for the Follow Feed.
Among them, the "Look" channel serves a light browsing function, allowing users to discover videos and creators of interest. After entering the main Follow Feed channel, users can engage in deeper interactions through following, forwarding, commenting, and other methods.
Notably, Zhang Chaoyang's previously shared segmented short-sleep method has sparked considerable discussion among netizens. In a recent exclusive interview for a program in December 2025, he publicly revealed his sleep regimen.
Zhang Chaoyang stated, "I sleep very little; I must ensure segmented sleep of 3+1 or 3+1.5 hours, totaling about four and a half hours."
At the time, he explained that the first priority is to ensure three hours of deep sleep between 12 a.m. and 3 a.m. At 3 a.m., he would wake himself up on schedule, get out of bed, and stay active for at least an hour to maintain a level of fatigue for over an hour. After a break of one or two hours, he would then sleep for another 1–1.5 hours.
He also mentioned that light sleep is harmful to the body, while deep sleep helps with recovery.
At the time, Zhang Chaoyang confidently stated that this was reverse aging, a routine he had maintained for eight years. During these eight years, he claimed to sleep only four or five hours a day, yet remained energetic and in increasingly better condition.
However, it is important to remind everyone that waking up at 4 a.m. daily, working over ten hours, and relying on only four or five hours of segmented sleep is a niche personal exception and not suitable for ordinary people to emulate.
For the vast majority of adults, sufficient continuous sleep is necessary. Blindly adopting short-sleep regimens can easily lead to physical exhaustion.
Of course, we also hope that Zhang Chaoyang, who has been under long-term high pressure and busy schedules, will take good care of his health while pushing business goals, ensuring a balance between work and rest.