has revealed she has been battling insomnia for decades, with the lack of sleep affecting every area of her daily life.
The Friends star, 53, opened up about her struggles with sleep and sleepwalking which started over 20 years ago.
She admitted: ‘I think it started somewhere in my 30s or even earlier, but you just don’t start to notice the effects of a lack of sleep when we’re younger because we’re so invincible.’
Jennifer started off by ‘accepting’ her lack of sleep but it was only when she started feeling the long-term effects that she realised it was a problem.
She explained to : ‘All of a sudden you realise the effects of your lack of sleep and how it affects your day and your work and your mind function and your physique. And the more I worry about it, the harder it is to fall asleep.’
Jennifer’s sleep issues got so bad that she even began sleepwalking when she was the most sleep-deprived, and would often wake herself up by setting off the motion sensor alarms in her house while walking around.
She added: ‘It became something that I really was struggling with. It used to be the last thing on the list, but you can’t really abide by the three pillars of health — which are diet, exercise and sleep — if you can’t really exercise and you can’t really eat right if you haven’t slept well because your body clock is so completely thrown off.’
Jennifer managed to get her sleep under control after seeing a doctor and putting together a nighttime routine for herself.
She now winds down for the evening by doing some stretches and yoga and leaving her phone outside her bedroom so she is not tempted to use it.
While having pets in the bedroom can also be a huge disruption to a restful night’s sleep, one thing Jennifer refuses to change is not to have her dogs in bed with her.
She confirmed: ‘It’s just too cozy when they cuddle! It’s worth it. Especially since Chesterfield is not a puppy anymore. Now he’s just a sweet, deep sleeper. I actually envy his sleep sometimes.’
