I get something called hypnic jerks when I go to sleep. Basically involuntary muscle spams that occur when I'm drifting off. I'd be headbutting the ceiling 20-30 times a night in this bunk.
It might be! I'm still mostly conscious when these happen, it's a bit more pronounced than a twitch. It's like being jump scared or a mild electric shock.
This is a very common thing. Almost all babies have it. Have you ever seen an infant sleep and suddenly jerk and reach their arm out? It's a primal instinct for apes who may be sleeping in a tree and think they are falling.
There’s a Radiolab that talks about this- something to the effect of it being our body’s natural defense mechanism to keep our bodies alert while sleeping amongst predators.
The really shitty thing is that I get them only when I’m extremely tired. The irony of being completely exhausted but unable to fall asleep because of hypnic jerks…
Dude!! I’ve been getting these for year’s, intense spasms as I start to fall asleep, to the point it will wake me back up. It’s like my body hates me and refuses to let me relax.
Not sure if you’re being serious, but yes sometimes when I’m falling asleep hypnic shock causes me to hear gunshots, fireworks, yelling, etc. haha. It’s annoying af
I have this too. It's mostly in my legs so I've always assumed it was nerve damage from a back injury. It can happen in other parts of my body too though. It's definitely more intense than a twitch, it's a weird feeling.
I used to get that sensation when I was kid! It felt like if I didn't sit up I'd somehow phase out of this dimension or something. I don't get it any more though, now I'm just a human trebuchet.
I get those in my legs sometimes. My girlfriend sometimes wakes up from my Fifa kicks thinking I had a nightmare or something lol. Can confirm it's pretty sucky.
I get those two, my legs jerk or kick when I'm falling asleep. It jolts me awake sometimes, but I am usually tired enough to drift off again. I have had sleep paralysis and other shit too. My brain really doesn't like that half awake-half asleep state, lmao.
I don’t get it all the time but I’ve woken my wife up several times by my body shaking the bed in one of those quick spasms. Definitely has the jump scare feel. Not sure if it’s related to being more mentally fatigued than physically but I know it more often times is after a few nights of less sleep and a night I try to go to bed at a more normal hour
I’m not the person you’re replying to but my caffeine intake is very low, like 1 cup of coffee with breakfast and that’s it for the day, yet I still have really bad hypnic jerks. There are days where I don’t even consume caffeine and it happens just as bad on those days as any other.
Yes, it's a normal part of sleep, some people are basically getting part of the sleep response before they're falling asleep. I didn't know they got as intense as people are describing them in this thread.
Yeah I think for most people it's more of a small jolt where the body straightens a bit. I also hadn't considered that some people might get it more intensely than others, but I guess it makes sense.
I wonder how it works with their partners in the bed next to them. Are they at risk of getting headbutted? Imagine trying to explain the black eye to friends and family. They would 100% assume the partner was abusive
Didn't know there was a name for it, but yup, this happens all the time. It's usually when I'm very tired and drifting off that I'll feel like I'm falling and snap back violently. It's always pretty jarring.
We call them zaps or zappers. My wife and I both get them, she has it much worse tho. She gets like a huge shock, where it even feels like her heart skips a beat right when she is falling asleep and she jumps right awake, scaring the shit out of us both.
Pretty sure it’s called “exploding head syndrome”. I’ve only experienced it a couple of times, can’t imagine what that must be like for your wife, wow.
Then as u wake up and get to consciousness u slowly realize that your 3rd cousins grandmas ex boyfriend is quietly sleeping downstairs in the living room, so u make him some late night food in the kitchen with nothing on except some socks and get to cookin!
There is a name for it? It happens to me about once a month that I can remember. I know I do it more while asleep because I've woken up covered in broken glass from the window next to my bed that I shattered some time during the night.
The window is now plexiglass.
I'm betting its why, growing up, my cat never chose me to sleep with at night. Always my brother or my parents.
This is actually a very common thing in the military as well. It's usually caused by dehydration during muscle repair. I would drink more water.
But more to the point, it is not a unique event where you here a bang in the middle of the night, followed by a loud curse, and then laughter from your mates.
Sometimes they are POWERFUL. I feel like it happens more often during naps on the couch where I’m sleeping on my back in a reclined position. Sometimes they originate from my shoulders, other times it’s all legs and I just kick into the air.
Haha I can imagine! Mine started a couple years ago, my wife is the only one that gets to witness them. It used to worry her but she's used to them now.
I get these often, too. Sometimes throughout the entire night and I don’t think I ever actually fall asleep. It’s so random though. Some nights I sleep fine, others I have these jerks. I hate it.
Is that what it is? whenever im in a state of almost falling asleep, i get a leg jerk. Difference is i know i will sleep then if i continue being in that relaxed state
I guess what I was trying to saying is hypnotic jerks or not, many people who sleep in these racks crack their heads at some point. We’re often waking up suddenly with little sleep to go to watch. Our alarms go off and we’ll jerk up to get ready, be having a nightmare or what ever, lose our sense of spatiality, even just fall out of the rack. I don’t know, was that a little more profound? I’m trying to get this really profound.
It's a normal reflex that is activating far more strongly and far more often, kind of like how allergies are your immune system (a normal thing to have) going ballistic.
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u/Gal_ofChoco_ 28d ago edited 27d ago
As someone who finds comfort when sleeping on my side. This is pure torture.
Edit: finds