Jennifer Lopez reveals she suffered a panic attack in her 20s that was brought on by ‘exhaustion’

Jennifer Lopez has opened up about the importance of sleep after suffering a panic attack brought on by exhaustion early on in her career, saying a good night’s rest can even make her look a decade younger.  

The 52-year-old, who spends seven to nine hours in bed each night, got real about her snoozing habits in her recent newsletter On The JLo. She admitted that she didn’t start prioritizing sleep until after a health scare in the late 1990s. 

‘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.’

Lopez (pictured in 1995) wrote that she was in her late 20s when she suffered a panic attack and was ‘terrified’ she was losing her mind. She later learned it was brought on by exhaustion 

However, JLo had a change of attitude after burning the candle at both ends led her to suffer a paralyzing panic attack.  

‘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,’ she recalled. ‘I went from feeling totally normal, to thinking about what I needed to do that day and all of a sudden I felt as if I couldn’t move.’

Lopez said she was ‘completely frozen’ and didn’t know what was happening. 

‘I couldn’t see clearly, and then the physical symptoms I was having started to scare me, and the fear compounded itself,’ she said. ‘Now I know it was a classic panic attack brought on by exhaustion, but I had never even heard the term at the time.’

Lopez explained she was ‘terrified’ when her security guard drove her to the doctor.

The singer (pictured in 1997) said early on in her career she only used to sleep three to five hours a night. Her doctor told her she needed seven to nine hours for optimal health 

The ‘Marry Me’ star also credits her age-defying appearance to plenty of rest, saying that ‘sleep to me is the most underrated beauty secret out there

‘I thought I was losing my mind. I asked the doctor if I was going crazy,’ she said. 

The singer’s doctor gave her some life-changing advice, telling her she needed to get seven to nine hours of sleep per night, avoid drinking caffeine, and balance working out with work.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine states that adults need at least seven hours of a night for optimal health. Anything less than the recommended amount can lead to adverse health effects, including increased anxiety. 

‘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,’ Lopez wrote. 

The ‘Marry Me’ star also credits her age-defying appearance to plenty of rest, saying that ‘sleep to me is the most underrated beauty secret out there.’ 

JLo said she sometimes wakes up and says, ‘Wow! I just lost 10 years off my face!’

Lopez (pictured with her fiancé Ben Affleck in February) said sleep is one her ‘5 S’s’ for good health along with sunscreen, serums, supplements, and (vivir) sano – Spanish for live heathy

‘I think of sleep like a little time machine,’ she explained. ‘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.’

Sleep is one of the JLo Beauty founder’s ‘5 S’s’ for optimal health along with sunscreen, serums, supplements, and (vivir) sano — live heathy in Spanish. 

And while ten years might be a stretch for most people, there is a connection between sleep and looking younger. 

Michael J. Breus, a clinical psychologist and a diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, explained in an article for Psychology Today that ‘great sleep is like getting the full works at the spa.’

‘Sleep is prime time for the body to restore and repair itself at the cellular level,’ he wrote. ‘It’s during sleep that a fleet of hormones that support cellular health AND a youthful appearance go to work.’