There are few things that can mess up a good night’s sleep like suddenly waking up in a panic.
You might have felt this before—most people probably have at some point. If you haven’t, consider yourself lucky! For many, that jarring feeling of being pulled from sleep is really uncomfortable, and it often comes right after the sensation of falling.
It’s similar to those dreams where you’re falling… falling… and then you wake up just before you hit the ground. Unfortunately, you never really get used to it, and it can be tough to fall back asleep afterward.
So, what does this jerking feeling mean? Why does it seem to happen to almost everyone? Is there a way to stop it from occurring?
We’ve done some digging into this topic, and while there are still many unknowns about this strange experience, we do have some interesting information for anyone who has ever jolted awake in the night with their heart racing.
First off, let’s call these sensations by their real name: hypnic jerks. Also known as sleep starts, they are those sudden muscle twitches that can happen as you start to drift off.
What we know
According to the Sleep Foundation, hypnic jerks usually affect one side of your body—like your left arm or right leg—and researchers still aren’t completely sure what causes them.
There are a lot of ideas about why we experience hypnic jerks, but we mostly rely on a few facts to support these theories. One interesting point is that hypnic jerks, which are sudden muscle twitches that happen as you fall asleep, start in the same part of the brain that controls how we react when we get startled. Pretty cool, right?
It seems that when your muscles are finally relaxing as you drift off, your brain might mistakenly think you’re actually falling. To respond to this, it sends signals to your muscles to jump back into action, almost like a reflex.
Another idea is that these jerks might be linked to the strange images we sometimes see as we fall asleep. Your brain could be mixing up dreams and reality, causing your muscles to react to what’s happening in your mind while you’re dozing off.
As for why these jerks happen, it’s not completely clear. However, some theories suggest that certain things might make them more likely. According to the Sleep Foundation, factors like drinking too much caffeine, exercising hard right before bed, feeling stressed, or not getting enough sleep can all increase the chances of experiencing hypnic jerks.
Stimulants like caffeine and nicotine can have a big impact because they stay in your body for hours after you use them. These substances can keep you awake and make it harder to fall asleep, which might explain why they can cause those sudden jerks when you’re trying to sleep.
Similarly, working out really hard late at night doesn’t help you feel sleepy. Instead, exercise makes you feel more awake and alert, which is the opposite of what you want when you’re trying to go to bed.
It’s also good to know that hypnic jerks can happen to anyone, and they come in different forms. According to the Sleep Foundation, about 70% of people experience them, and while they can be a bit scary, they aren’t harmful.
So, what can you do about it?
This leads to the important question: how can we stop or at least manage those annoying hypnic jerks?
There are several things you can try to reduce them. For example, you can improve your sleep routine by going to bed and waking up at the same times every day. It’s also helpful to lower your stress, exercise regularly (but not too close to bedtime), cut back on caffeine, and limit or avoid nicotine and alcohol.
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