Jennifer Lopez just got v candid about a big health scare. The Grammy Award nominee penned her “On the JLo” newsletter this week and recalled “feeling physically paralyzed” during numerous panic attacks she experienced in her late 20s, which were caused by exhaustion.
“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,” she wrote.
“I was in my late 20s and I thought I was invincible…Until one day, I was sitting in a trailer, and all the work and the stress it brought with it, coupled with not enough sleep to recuperate mentally, caught up with me.”
The singer/actor/dancer continued, noting she went from feeling “totally normal” to all of a sudden not being able to move—almost as if she were “frozen.”
“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 admitted.
Back then, all she knew was she had trouble seeing clearly along with a host of other physical symptoms. It was only after seeking the help of a health professional that she discovered what was actually going on.
“My security guard on set came in and picked me up and drove me to the doctor. By the time I got there, I could at least speak again and I was so terrified I thought I was losing my mind,” the Marry Me actor recounted.
“I asked the doctor if I was going crazy. 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.’”
Admitting that, at the time, she was letting her “self-care needs go completely” as she prioritized the projects she was taking on at the inception of her film career, J.Lo reached a point where she needed to make a change.
“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.”
Now, the Halftime star does her best to live a more “balanced life” and prioritizes rest as much as possible. “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.” BRB, adding this tip to my beauty regimen stat.