She says she let her "self-care needs go completely."
Jennifer Lopez has opened up about experiencing panic attacks in her late 20s. Writing in her On the JLo newsletter, the 52-year-old reflected on that period in her life where sleep deprivation, stress and exhaustion led her to thinking she was losing her mind.
“There was a time in my life where I used to sleep three to five hours a night. I'd be on set all day and in the studio all night and doing junkets and filming videos on the weekends. I was in my late 20s and I thought I was invincible," wrote the US singer and actress.
One day though, when J.Lo was sitting in a trailer, it all caught up with her. The work, the stress, the lack of sleep and ability to recuperate mentally all came together, she says.
The Hustlers star described how suddenly she went from feeling "totally normal" to "frozen" and not being able to move or see clearly. At the time, she says, she thought she was going "crazy."
“Now I know it was a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion, but I had never even heard the term at the time,” she shared.
In that period of her life, the global superstar admits that she was burning the candles at both ends: “I used to sleep three to five hours a night. I'd be on set all day and in the studio all night and doing junkets and filming videos on the weekends."
The doctor she saw following the panic attacks assured her she wasn't "crazy", she says. "He said, ‘No, you're not crazy. You need sleep...get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, don't drink caffeine, and make sure you get your workouts in if you're going to do this much work.’”
“I realized how serious the consequences could be of ignoring what my body and mind needed to be healthy—and that's where my journey to wellness began,” she wrote. After having let her “self-care needs go completely” in her late-20s, the Golden Globe nominee gushed about how much she now loves sleep.
“I think of sleep like a little time machine. You lay down and you go into a space where you preserve yourself and then you come out a new, younger person than you were before. Sometimes I wake up and say, ‘Wow! I just lost 10 years off my face!’ That’s what a good night’s sleep can do for you, and it accumulates over time.”
We couldn't agree more J.Lo: sleep is our favourite too.
