WENN

Lupita Nyong'o booked herself onto a silent retreat following the huge success of Marvel movie Black Panther.

The Mexico City-born actress starred as Nakia in the groundbreaking movie, which featured a predominantly all-black cast, and broke box office records.

However, Lupita has shared in an interview with Porter Magazine, that following the movies' "passionate" reception from fans and critics alike, she needed some alone time, and booked onto a 10-day retreat at the Vipassana Meditation Centre in New Zealand, for some much-needed rest and relaxation.

"I learned so much in there. It blew my mind," she told Porter. "All you are doing is learning this technique of meditation. It was the hardest 10 days of my life. It was also the most restful 10 days."

The quiet time had a positive effect on Lupita's wellbeing, and even helped to cure the actress' stress-related insomnia.

"It makes all the difference," she sighed. "Stress is what makes me an insomniac. And I'm a stress-buster, man."

The Brooklyn resident has kept up her rituals since returning from the retreat, meditating daily, however, she admitted that she doesn't always crave solitude, and loves that she can call on friends that live locally.

"I like that I can call a friend down the street to go the farmers' market," she smiled. "The other day I was watching The Shining, the credits came up, and I'm like, 'OK, I need company, I can't be alone.' I called my friend and he came over immediately."

The 12 Years a Slave star, who has recently been tapped for a role in Jordan Peele's next movie Us, guards her privacy carefully and pays no attention to the adulation given to her from afar.

"I think there's a separation between the public and the private," she explained. "In the arena where I'm being desired, I'm absent. Most of the time, I'm actually not there.

"The only thing that matters is the private – seeing someone eye-to-eye. Desire from afar is just news," she smiled.