Bed time is meant to be a time of rest and respite, but for the Friends (1994 to 2004) actress Jennifer Aniston, it has long been a dreaded time of the day.
In an interview with entertainment magazine People, published on Friday (April 15), the 53-year-old American actress revealed that she has been plagued by chronic sleep problems for decades.
"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 (you're) younger because (you think you're) so invincible," she said.
Aniston said she mainly has trouble falling asleep, although she has also been "known to" sleep walk.
"I've been woken up by house alarms going off that I've set off. I don't think I (sleep walk) anymore - that was when I was super sleep-deprived," said the star of The Morning Show (2019 to present) on Apple TV+.
She added that she finally decided to seek medical help when 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," added the Los Angeles-born actress.
Aniston also spoke about the importance of establishing proper sleep hygiene - for instance, by establishing night-time rituals such as stretching, putting her phone away and keeping to a consistent bedtime.
Despite her sleep woes, the actress has kept up a steady career in television and film in the last few years.
She recently wrapped up filming for Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler. The Netflix movie is a follow-up to 2019 comedy hit Murder Mystery, in which the duo played a New York couple who finds themselves ensnared in the murder of an elderly billionaire. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
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