Celebrities also suffer from insomnia

Insomnia is defined as the prolonged inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep. Its duration can range from a short period of days or weeks to months and even whole years of nightmare-inducing sleep. Insomnia is not a phenomenon to be underestimated: lack of sleep is one of the factors that most affects people's mood and their ability to concentrate or relate to others. It is mainly associated with stress and can be caused by a hectic lifestyle, so it's not surprising that so many celebrities talk about suffering from it or having suffered. However, insomnia is a universal equalizer that affects everyone without distinction of age, gender, or profession. The first time I experienced it, I was 9 years old, tossing and turning in bed counting sheep, restarting every time I reached a hundred because I didn't know how to go on. I wasn't alone: here are 5 celebrities who have shared their experiences with insomnia because being famous isn't always just a dream.

Jennifer Lopez

"There was a time in my life when I slept three to five hours a night. I was at the end of my twenties and thought I was invincible," Jennifer Lopez recounted. One day, while spending time in her dressing room on set, lack of sleep got the better of her. "I went from feeling completely normal to thinking about what I should do that day, and suddenly I had the feeling that I couldn't move," she said. "I was completely immobile." She feared she was going crazy, but in hindsight, she claims it was a "classic panic attack caused by exhaustion." The doctor bluntly told her, "You're not going crazy; you need to sleep." Now, JLo has resolved her sleep issues: "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."

Rihanna

Singer, designer, and actress Rihanna has talked about her sleep problems in several interviews. In the December 2017 issue of Vogue Paris, the singer revealed that the cause of her troubles is her constantly active mind. "I have a lot of difficulty turning off my mind," she said. "Even when I get home early, which means before one in the morning, I start frantically watching TV series or documentaries, which I love. I can't go to bed right away. In reality, I only sleep three or four hours a night."

Chuck Palahniuk

In his article for The Guardian, author Chuck Palahniuk shared his theory that insomnia is a kind of muse for creative people like him. Palahniuk, well-known for his novel Fight Club, featuring a character suffering from insomnia due to work stress and frequent business trips, suggests that writers are inspired by things related to shock or suffering. "Fasting works. Denial does too. Insomnia works wonderfully," Palahniuk wrote. According to Palahniuk, Fight Club was inspired by his own insomnia. "In 1993, I found myself stranded in Reno, Nevada, with no money and nowhere to stay," Palahniuk wrote. "At night, I wandered sleeplessly through the casinos and all-night restaurants, exhausted, delirious, and inventing a story about a man who thought he had insomnia but was actually living a double life: every time he thought he was asleep, his alter ego would undertake all the adventures that he, alone, would never dare to consciously venture into." Palahniuk acknowledges, however, that this lifestyle is not healthy. "Honestly, Ambien helps me sleep more nights than I care to admit, though I'm unsure about the quality of that sleep," he concluded.

George Clooney

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, actor, director, and producer George Clooney revealed that he regularly had "trouble falling asleep" and would wake up up to five times during the night. In another interview, Clooney shared that he had resolved his previous insomnia problem, which had been replaced by another source of sleep deprivation: being a parent to newborns. As any parent of young children knows very well, dealing with multiple feedings and diaper changes during the night can significantly impact the quality and quantity of sleep. With twins, Clooney and his wife Amal were undoubtedly getting much less rest than they needed.

Mariah Carey

Singer-songwriter Mariah Carey has talked about her quest for sleep for many years. In an interview with The Guardian, Carey discussed a recent breakdown caused by overwork. "The truth is, I was severely exhausted," she said. "I've always had problems with insomnia. It's hard to fall asleep, especially when I've done performances or interviews—there's a certain amount of adrenaline that comes with all of this—and when I finally relax and go to sleep, I get woken up after a couple of hours to talk to someone in Australia. There's no downtime." In 2018, Carey revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2001, and that this condition was probably the main cause of her sleep problems. Things have changed, and now Mariah manages to rest, thanks in part to specific treatments for her condition.