Jennifer Lopez didn’t just share three gorgeous PDA-filled pictures of herself with fiancé Ben Affleck in the latest On The JLo newsletter. The 52-year-old Marry Me star also used it as an opportunity to share a very candid confession about her past with her fans – in particular, how she used to suffer what she described as “terrifying” panic attacks! We had no idea!
The “On My Way” singer’s confession came as she was explaining the importance of sleep, describing it as something undervalued, and crediting it as “the most underrated beauty secret.” (We guess there’s a reason they call it beauty sleep!) “We don’t value sleep,” J-Lo wrote in the newsletter. “We value grinding and working hard — and admittedly, nobody gets caught up in that rat race more than me. I’ve found however, that sleep to me is the most underrated beauty secret out there.”
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"There was a time in my life where I used to sleep 3 to 5 hours a night," the Hustlers star continued. "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." However, J-Lo described that she didn’t always feel invincible, as she suddenly went from "feeling totally normal" in her trailer to feeling like she was "frozen" and unable to move.
"I was completely frozen," she confessed. "I had made my work such an all-consuming priority and let my own self-care needs go completely (even as simple as sleeping or taking ten minutes to just relax). I found myself feeling physically paralyzed, I couldn't see clearly and then the physical symptoms I was having started to scare me and the fear compounded itself."
Lopez then went on to say that she didn’t realize it at the time, but now knows that it was "a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion." She added: "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. I asked the doctor if I was going crazy. He said, 'No, you're not crazy. You need sleep ... get 7 to 9 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."
Wow! And it doesn’t seem like J-Lo has neglected her health since that incident, as she went on to praise the importance of balance, sleep, and self-care. "As I slept more and took care of myself, I realized it was about pro-living versus anti-aging. 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." As she's someone who makes 52 look like 32 (if not younger!) we're going to take her advice *fully* on board! Brb, we're clearing our diaries…
