Quick Question.....

jamieh

Hey all,

You know when you're just about to go to sleep and you're kind of half asleep\half awake and all of a sudden your whole body kind of jumps....like a shock or something!

Anyone know what thats called, what causes it, etc??

Steoob

ya that happens to me alot, sometimes even when im fully awake.. its your mind thinking something so real that your body react to it... most of the time for me im imagining myself on a step and i start to fall off the step so my body jolts to "keep me on the step"....

its totally subconscious of course...

Sleepy

Don't know what it's called but it happens to me occasionally...

jamieh

Ya its weird isn't it!! I wouldn't even have to be dreaming or anythin....i'd just jump!! Happens to the best of us I guess....!!

gerrycollins

it happens when as you are about to go to sleep your body shuts down but the "jerk" is to prevent your body shutting down too fast and you know the rest yourselves

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

drdre

yeah it also happens to me, its so weird. and sometimes im fast sleep and i just jump in shock.but this only happens sometimes

gerrycollins

sorry forget to put in that it is an electric pulse from your brain to restart your heart as you nod off too fast thats what causes the jerk

thegloriousend

Do you ever take a piss and then you get a shake (like a quick chill through your body)? This doesn't apply exclusivley to pissing (just makes it more memorable I guess):rolleyes:

daiixi

This is what doctors and scientists call a hypnic or myoclonic (say: my-eh-kla-nik) jerk, and it usually happens right before going into deeper stages of sleep.

Apparantly doctors think that when you fall asleep, normally your body temperature goes down and your heart starts to beat just a little slower. This is because your brain signals your body to relax to prepare for sleep. When your muscles are relaxed, you go into the very first stages of sleep, but you're not sleeping too deeply yet.

This brain activity may cause your larger muscles to contract a little bit.

During this light sleep, you can be easily awakened - like if the phone rings or if your dog licks your face. A lot of people who do wake up during this light sleep believe they haven't really fallen asleep yet. That's why you may think that your body jerked right before you were about to fall asleep, but really, you were lightly asleep the whole time - just not deeply asleep.

Myoclonic jerks are a normal part of sleep. Most people (80%) have them at one time or another. But many people do not realize their muscles are jerking at times during light sleep and it doesn't wake them up.



Yup, get it all the time.. Also had a dream once that I fell off a cliff and actually landed and it hurt.. woke up the next morning and it turns out that the reason why I "landed" in my dream was because I'd fallen out of bed and had spent the rest of the night on the floor. V. funny!