Have you ever woken up with a sudden jolt just as you were falling asleep? Maybe it felt like one of your arms or legs had an involuntary spasm?
Perhaps you’ve woken with the feeling of falling, saw a flash of light or heard an unexpected noise. If this sounds familiar, it could be that that you’ve experienced hypnic jerks.
In most cases, a hypnic jerk or two is thought to be a harmless part of the process of transitioning from being awake to asleep. However, if you’re concerned by the severity or how much they disrupt your sleep, or if you have spasms during the daytime, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor.
In this article, I’ll be talking about my experience of hypnic jerks, and how I cope with my partner’s episodes. After that, I’ll cover some background information and coping strategies.
Contents
My experience of hypnic jerks
My own experience of hypnic jerks is that they are usually quite mild and only happen once or twice a week – as far as I’m aware. Just one or two small twitches of a hand or arm seems to be the norm on the nights I have them. After that, I typically fall asleep quite quickly, and if I do have any more, I don’t remember them.
A few times a year, I experience a much bigger jolt that feels like one side of my whole upper body spasms or jumps in bed. I’ve noticed that these tend to happen when I’m particularly tired, such as when travelling or if I’ve hit the gym especially hard that day. Again though, I usually fall asleep fairly soon after one of these more dramatic episodes and they don’t cause me any distress.
Living with someone who has more frequent hypnic jerks
My partner, who kindly agreed for me to talk about her in this article, has multiple hypnic jerks every night without fail. As a bit of a light sleeper myself, her twitching has a tendency to keep me awake until it finally subsides, especially because they are sometimes very pronounced.
Interestingly, like my own hypnic jerks, I only notice her hands and arms making any movements. Even when we have our feet touching, they never seem to twitch. It’s always her upper body.
They also seem to follow a pattern. There may be two to five small movements or twitches over the course of a minute or two, and then one big one. If we are holding hands at the time, it sometimes feels like an intermittent pulsing of her hand, followed by either a tighter squeeze of my hand as her fingers contract or a sudden movement of her whole hand or arm to one side.
They rarely seem to wake her up on their own, but sometimes they cause me to move in bed, which then wakes her up. If she does stir and I jokingly tell her she just had an epic twitch, her usual reply is ‘oh really? I must be falling asleep!’
Her hypnic jerks are nightly, and can go on for several minutes after we turn the light out. They are so predictable, that I’ve learned to accept that it’s likely I won’t fall asleep myself unless I sleep on the other side of the bed with no physical contact or I wait until she’s fallen asleep if our bodies are touching. And if she wakes up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night, and I’m awake too, the hypnic jerks often start all over again.
How I cope with our combined hypnic jerks
For me, the main thing is to always keep in mind that they are likely to be normal and nothing to worry about in both our cases. Fortunately, they don’t last long, so I don’t lie in bed worrying about my occasional twitches.
I harbor no resentment towards my partner just because her hypnic jerks keep me awake for a few minutes. It’s quite likely it would take me that long to relax and fall asleep anyway, with or without her spasms.
Finally, one of the key points I try to remember is that they can be seen as a sign that sleep is probably just around the corner. Even if I have a more dramatic jolt, I just smile to myself and look forward to the next phase – sleep.
As you’ll see in the following sections, there are some lifestyle factors that may be involved in hypnic jerks. For me personally, they are all things I try to do anyway, not specifically for the hypnic jerks. But I do feel that stress is an important one for both of us to keep an eye on, as the hypnic jerks anecdotally seem worse during periods of higher stress.
Background information & research
As someone who has had hypnic jerks for as long as I can remember, and more recently am living with a partner who has them nightly, it’s interesting to see what the current scientific thinking is around hypnic jerks. Let’s take a look.
Different names
First of all, if you look up hypnic jerks online, it’s worth bearing in mind that they are sometimes referred to by different names:
- Sleep starts.
- Night starts.
- Sleep jerks.
- Hypnagogic jerk.
- Myoclonic jerks. A myoclonus is an involuntary muscle twitch, with hiccups being another harmless example.
What are hypnic jerks?
Hypnic jerks are the sudden, involuntary twitching of one or more muscles when you’re falling asleep. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders manual describes them as follows:
Sleep starts, also known as hypnic jerks, are sudden, brief, simultaneous contractions of the body or one or more body segments occurring at sleep onset. Sleep starts (or hypnic jerks) usually consist of a single contraction that often affects the body asymmetrically. The jerks may be either spontaneous or induced by stimuli.
International Classification of Sleep Disorders – 3rd Edition
The fact that they often occur asymmetrically explains why it might feel that just one arm or leg jolts. Furthermore, they can occur independently or in response to external stimuli in the bedroom, such as your partner moving or external noise.
The Mdsmanuals.com website explains a key difference between physiologic myoclonus and pathologic myoclonus. It states that physiologic myoclonus can occur when a person is falling asleep or during early sleep phases, whereas pathologic myoclonus can result from different disorders and medications.
In a review paper in 2012, Dora Lozsadi neatly explained this difference as follows:
Myoclonus is a brief (less than half a second) contraction involving agonist and antagonist muscles, leading to a sudden jerk. It may be a normal phenomenon, as in the so-called ‘sleep starts’. When pathological, myoclonus is a symptom of a broad range of neurological and systemic diseases.
Dora Lozsadi
Symptoms
The most common symptom is the sudden twitching, spasm or jolting sensation of one or more limbs. Some people might have other experiences, such as:
- The feeling of falling.
- A shock sensation.
- Hearing a sudden noise.
- Seeing a flash or unusual light.
- Hallucinations.
In addition, researchers have noted that it’s possible to have a physiological response, such as a faster heartbeat, increased breathing rate or sweating.
If you do have symptoms that feel more severe than simply twitching, it’s a good idea to consult your doctor about your experience.
How common are hypnic jerks?
If you have hypnic jerks, then rest assured you’re not the only one whose wayward limbs seem to have a mind of their own at bedtime. In a study in 2016, Italian researchers suggested that between 60% and 70% of people experience hypnic jerks, both men and women and people of all ages.
What causes hypnic jerks?
As is often the case in the complex world of sleep, the exact cause still isn’t completely understood. The International Classification of Sleep Disorders manual offers this technical explanation:
Hypnic jerks are hypothetically caused by sudden descending volleys originating in the brainstem reticular formation activated by the system instability at the transition between wake and sleep.
Or in layman’s terms, your brain and body are briefly a little bit out of sync as you relax and go from being awake to being asleep.
Factors that may increase the frequency and severity of hypnic jerks
Although the exact cause is still up for debate, researchers have suggested several factors (such as this 2015 paper and this 2023 paper ) that might increase the severity or likelihood of hypnic jerks happening, such as:
- The use of caffeine or other stimulants. Medline.com has more information on the side effects of caffeine.
- Anxiety or stress.
- Fatigue, such as from intense physical work or exercise.
- Sleep deprivation.
- Certain medications.
Is it caused by another condition?
A review of hypnic jerks literature by researchers at the University of Alabama raised an important point. They proposed that hypnic jerks are often seen as benign, but could in some cases be a ‘characteristic of certain illness’.
They also suggest that hypnic jerks are more prevalent in chronic health conditions that disrupt sleep and could also be ‘mimicked by other movement disorders’.
Some of the differential diagnoses they say should be identified include:
- Nocturnal seizures.
- Nonepileptic seizures.
- Parasomnias.
- Hyperekplexia.
- Restless legs syndrome.
- Periodic limb movements in sleep.
- Excessive fragmentary myoclonus.
- Psychiatric diagnosis.
In addition, the Italian researchers in the 2016 study (see above) found that hypnic jerks are common in people with Parkinsonism. The Alabama team also suggested it could be helpful in diagnosing the condition.
Finally, don’t confuse sudden wakings from hypnic jerks with sleep apnea. If you, or someone you know, wakes suddenly gasping for breath or with loud snoring, this should be discussed with a doctor.
I don’t want to cause panic with the above information, but I think it’s good to be aware that ‘usually’ benign doesn’t mean ‘always benign for everyone’. Again, if you’re concerned about your own experience of hypnic jerks, it’s okay to raise it with your doctor, even if you think it’s likely to be normal. Peace of mind is valuable!
Reader survey results
Way back in 2014, I conducted a short survey for readers to share their experience of sleep starts. The results are of course biased because the people who voted were already searching for information about the topic. With thousands of people participating though, I think the results are still interesting.
1. Frequency
In the graphic below, you can see how often voters experienced hypnic jerks. It’s interesting to note that many readers had them on a daily basis. The largest percentage of 42.2% say they have them occasionally though.
2. How they affect your sleep
Here you can see that many people were able to sleep well after an episode. 43.9% of people say it disrupts their sleep at first, but then they sleep okay.
3. The role of stress and anxiety
The final poll shows how people feel about the impact of stress or anxiety. 50.8% thought anxiety or stress ‘definitely’ makes their hypnic jerks worse. It could be that tackling stress or anxiety in your life is a good idea if it’s relevant to you.
Managing hypnic jerks
Do you need to see a doctor?
While sleep experts often suggest that hypnic jerks are benign in most cases, they do recognise that they can have a negative impact on some people’s sleep and well-being.
If your hypnic jerks aren’t severe and you don’t have any other symptoms or health concerns that are worrying you, then try to relax and allow yourself to fall asleep naturally when they occur.
However, if you have them regularly and/or severely, or have other symptoms, you might want to raise it with your doctor. If they think it’s a sign of another disorder, they might ask you to do a sleep study or further tests.
They might also offer to prescribe medication to reduce the frequency. And importantly, they can offer reassurance if that’s the appropriate course of action and give you advice about healthy sleep habits that might be beneficial in your case.
Finally, despite what I’ve said, trust your instincts. If you just ‘have the feeling’ you’d like to speak to your doctor about it, then do so.
How can you stop hypnic jerks?
It might not be possible to totally stop hypnic jerks from happening. Accepting them as normal and harmless is perhaps your best option if they aren’t severe.
Additionally, the following self-help ideas might be worth considering:
- Cut down on caffeine, nicotine and other stimulants – especially in the evening.
- Reduce how much intense work or exercise you do in the evening. Do exercise in the morning or afternoon instead.
- Eat a balanced, healthy diet.
- Use a comfortable mattress and bedding.
- Sleep in a comfortable position.
- If you suffer from anxiety or stress, do some relaxation exercises in bed. One simple breathing exercise is to inhale for a count of 4, hold for 4, then exhale for a count of 4.
- Try not to allow yourself to get too tired. You may understandably have a busy and tiring lifestyle. But it’s important to give yourself enough time to sleep well.
Avoid the vicious cycle of worry
Hypnic jerks may trigger a vicious cycle of worry if you become fixated on them.
If you worry about hypnic jerks, you might start to get less sleep and become more fatigued. The problem then is that if stress and fatigue can contribute to the frequency of hypnic jerks, you might find yourself in a vicious cycle.
The key is not to allow the occasional sleep start to disrupt your sleep any more than it has to. Again, try to relax, forget about it and go back to sleep.
Readers’ tips for coping with hypnic jerks
In the comments below, many readers have offered suggestions for reducing their hypnic jerks. So I’ve compiled a list of the most common and interesting ideas.
These ideas don’t all have medical backing and are anecdotal. Please take them with a pinch of salt. But you might find the ideas useful if nothing else has helped.
- Try to see the funny side (I do this myself).
- Magnesium supplements have been helpful for some readers, as has rubbing magnesium oils or transdermal magnesium into the area where you most commonly twitch. One suggestion was to get a blood test to check if you have a deficiency. Disclaimer: please discuss supplementation with your doctor as there is no conclusive evidence that magnesium helps with hypnic jerks.
- Assess your current diet. Make sure it’s healthy and balanced. Eat less processed sugary and salty foods. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
- If you follow a special diet, such as being vegan, pay particular attention to your vitamin and mineral intake, such as the B vitamins. Ensure your diet includes the right quantity, and preferably get your B vitamins through food rather than supplements if possible.
- Don’t drink alcohol, coffee or energy drinks for a week and see if it improves.
- Don’t stress about it, as worrying makes it worse.
- Try to properly deal with any major source of stress in your life.
- If you suffer from anxiety, take steps to tackle this in your daily life.
- Stop doing very intense exercise late in the evening for a week and see if it improves.
- Try to see them as a sign that you must be falling asleep. So it’s a positive thing as you know you’ll soon be asleep.
- Ask your doctor if any medication you currently take could contribute to your hypnic jerks.
- Check if medication you’re taking has a known side effect of myoclonus. If it does, raise it with your doctor.
- Experiment with different sleep positions if you sometimes feel uncomfortable in bed.
- Don’t go to bed very late at night.
- Film yourself sleeping or use a sleep tracker. One reader said he discovered through doing this that he was snoring, and that the hypnic jerks occurred while he was snoring heavily.
- Some female readers feel that it can be connected to hormonal changes.
- Ask for a referral to a sleep clinic if it’s particularly troubling.
- Ensure you have a quiet sleeping environment. It could be a sudden noise which startles you awake.
- Stay hydrated.
- If you’re being bothered by them repeatedly, get up and do something relaxing for 10-20 minutes, then try to sleep again.
- Have a warm shower before bed. Then do relaxation exercises before getting into bed or while in bed.
- If you do exercise, it could be excess lactic acid contributing to hypnic jerks. So try looking into ways to reduce the lactic acid.
Your views
It’s always interesting to hear your experiences, and I know many readers have benefited from reading the stories and advice of others.
So please keep your comments, tips and theories coming. And if you have any practical ideas for dealing with hypnic jerks, I’ll continue to add them to the list.
I’m 51 and have been struggling with some kind of sleep disorder since I was ten. I’ve had several sleep studies and the doctors are baffled. Just as I’m falling asleep I wake up gasping for air. Sometimes I scream help at the top of my lungs. Many times I wake up with my hand and arm feeling like pins and needles. I feel like I’m dying. Are these symptoms common with hypnic jerks? I’ve done some research and it sounds like another possibility could be nocturnal seizures which my sleep doctor highly doubts because nothing showed up on the EEG during my sleep studies but of course the gasping didn’t happen during the sleep study. I do have sleep apnea but this is something different. During my most recent sleep study, using my CPAP, it showed that the apnea is 100% controlled. I had a doctor mention hypnic jerks, sleep terrors and nocturnal panic attacks. Another one wants to look into laryngical spasms or a tic. None of these things seem to match most of the symptoms I have. I’m sick of feeling tired all the time and just want to know what it is.
Hi Cheryl
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you’ve had such a terrible time sleeping and that the doctors haven’t yet managed to pinpoint the cause. What you describe doesn’t exactly sounds like hypnic jerks to be honest. But perhaps there could be an element of it mixing in with other things. I think the main thing is to keep working with your doctors. They are the real experts and eventually will hopefully be able to give you the answers and support you need – far more than I could in the comments here!
It’s well known that sleep clinics often don’t bring out normal sleep patterns in people due to all the wires and the general clinical setting. It’s not the easiest thing to get around unfortunately. I’d say don’t give up hope that they’ll get to the bottom of it.
Regards
Ethan
Cheryl, Firstly, sorry to hear about your experiences. Secondly….you’ve just described exactly what I have been experiencing. I’m 46 years old. The trigger for me to enter periods of time when i have these night time experiences is stress. I run my own business and in 2009 (post crash) and at other times of life being highly stressful. , I had several months of going to bed; then, just as I’m dropping off to sleep i jerk back awake, feeling as though I’ve stopped breathing and that my heart has stopped, including the pins and needles in my arms and hands. I generally shout “no, no, no” and gasp for air. I’ve even gone so far as to beat my own chest, as at that moment i feel like I need to get my heart beating again. Sometimes it feels like “I’ve forgotten how to breath” or that my body won’t let me breath. As soon as I become awake everything settles down again, more or less immediately. On a bad night this cycle might happen 7 to 10 times before I go to sleep properly. After falling asleep I generally have a normal and half decent nights sleep. Experiencing this is extremely draining and upsetting and I have gone through phases where going to bed has felt like an “unsafe” thing to do, which is a horrible feeling. The longer it goes on the more tired i become and the more depressing the experience becomes. Barring some hideous illness I’m unaware of, I’m very convinced that stress coupled with anxiety is the cause. Do you have a very stressful time? Is there any underlying or historical traumas which might contribute to you being highly stressed? I’m not a qualified therapist or anything like that but what you describe is exactly what happens to me and I’m as sure as I can reasonably be that stress is the cause.
I don’t want to share too much but suffice to say that childhood trauma and the legacy of that (which I’ve had years of therapy for) had lead me to be an extremely stressed out and anxious person in general, so that when the “normal stresses and strains” of adult life descended upon me I was not able to manage them or find a “mature” perspective for them. The result of this was (and sometimes still is) getting ridiculously stressed and anxious, and losing a reasonable perspective on events. It’s at these times this sleep “thing” hits me worst.
So how do i manage it and what do I do to try and get out of the cycle? Take a holiday, lie on a beach, play with the children and try and get a more realistic perspective on my life is one way, de-stress myself as best I can. I hate to say this because no doubt this flies in the face of everything a properly trained doctor (which i’m most definitely not) would say…. a couple of glasses of decent red wine during the course of the evening can stop it happening completely. Obviously I’m not saying that self medicating with alcohol is a great Idea, clearly it isn’t….but the truth of my experience is that it does help. I don’t drink every night and have never been a big drinker but when I’m having these times I will open the odd bottle of wine midweek and have a couple of glasses.
Incidentally, I did go to the doctors about it as I was getting scared about how often it was happening. After I’d explained my current life circumstances, and she’d taken my blood pressure and heart rate, all of which was fine, she just looked at me and said” you’re stressed….who wouldn’t be”.
Thats about it, suffice to say that I’m sorry you’re experiencing this as I know how horrible it can be. I hope you find a “cure”. If you do let me know!!
Hi Andrew
I know you addressed your comment to another reader specifically, so I won’t jump in too much. However, I did want to ask if you’ve been tested for sleep apnea? When you mention waking up feeling like you can’t breathe, it made me wonder if that’s something you’ve ruled out.
And on another note, in case you’re interested, as well as wine (which does help, I know!) have you ever heard of mindfulness? It’s fantastic for coping with stress and anxiety in my experience. Have a look online about it, or check out this article I wrote if you’re interested.
Regards
Ethan
I started getting them after my 2 year old gave me a concussion. I thought it was head trauma since i didnt get an mri of my noggin. Then i thought it was my heart or my anxiety and last resort was an over active thyroid and kidney tumor… I did a whole lot of searching and worrying about this until one comment mentioned sleep starts. When i looked it up i seen how many people suffer from this as well i felt a little better knowing i wasnt going to die in my sleep. I decided to try an app its called Relax Meditation. It helps me relax and de-stress. Now i still get them and i can feel when an attack is about to happen i start to feel scared or on edge and it builds but as long as i ride it out, without over thinking it and put my relaxing sounds on, i usually only end up having one mild attack instead of all night. as far as medical i have a drs appointment thursday and he will tell me the results of blood work but so far i know my horomones have changed, and fingers crossed, hopefully when they resolve that these awful nights stop. But anyone looking to try it i highly recommend trying this app. its free for most of the sounds and three or four meditations. Relax Melodies.
I was wrong on the name the first time…it is called relax melodies! sorry brain isnt all there yet :)
Hi Renee
Thanks for your comment. Wow, your 2 year old gave you a concussion! That must have been quite something!
I’ glad you managed to find something which helps you sleep better. I think relaxation and meditation techniques are a very effective tool for dealing with many different sleep problems. Thanks for the idea of the App you like.
Regards
Ethan
I get something like this where my heart starts pounding what appears like a few moments after falling asleep. I the start sweating and start the process all over again which can happen basically all night and appears I get no sleep and am literally physically exhausted. Sounds like I am doing a fair bit of worrying and that this may be partially cause of this insane cycle. It comes and goes and need to work on the techniques here. In a way doing a technique is sort of admitting you’ll have an issue and feeds into the worry cycle. Benzo’s kill this cycle but try not to use them to frequently.
Hi Tony
Thanks for your comment. It sounds like you’ve been having a pretty awful time trying to sleep. I can understand what you mean about avoiding admitting there’s an issue. But it seems quite clear to me that you’ve already admitted to yourself that there’s an issue. So there’s absolutely no harm in trying things to improve it – after all, those things are there to help.
I’m thinking from what you say that anxiety, stress, an over-active mind or whatever it may be is playing a big part here. My advice would be to try going down the nighttime relaxation techniques route, as well as trying some of the other techniques in the article. But I suspect from what you say that working on your anxiety levels at night may have a positive effect.
Regards
Ethan
Hi Sarah
Thanks for your comment, and I’m really happy to hear you found the article helpful and reassuring. Sometimes it can make a big difference just to know what something really is. With a bit of luck you might find something here which also helps you cope with it.
Regards
Ethan
I’m 16 and I don’t experience this in my bed, as I am usually comfortable and warm.
Sometimes I fall asleep on the bus either to or from college, however, and I often wake with a jolt caused by my body.
A friend of mine told me that he read that jolts to wake you up are your brain’s way of making sure you aren’t dead, he said that occasionally your brain thinks that the slowing of the nervous system etc. confuses your brain into thinking that you are dying and sends a small signal to your muscles to make sure. I thought it was a little ridiculous if I’m honest, and just dismissed it.
Hi Tristan
Thanks for your comment. Well, there are many people who believe that’s a possible explanation for hypnic jerks. My personal take on it though is that the brain is a pretty amazing thing, and so I just can’t believe that it’s not capable of telling if it’s dead or alive!
Regards
Ethan
I’m still 16 and for the past 3 weeks, I’m experiencing twitches coming out from nowhere. These twitches occur intermittently mainly from my left arm, legs and sometimes, feet. There are also nights when I can’t sleep because of these numerous jerks when I am about to fall asleep. It really keeps me up all night. I have health anxiety and I really worry a lot regarding about my health, maybe it’s because of the past experiences that I had when I was younger. Are these twitches and jerks causes by anxiety? I need your help older people. I wanted to become normal again :(.
Hi Carlo
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear you’ve been so concerned about the hypnic jerks. Anxiety can definitely make sleep harder to come by and exacerbate some sleep disorders. I think if it’s affecting your life due to a lack of sleep, then it might reassure you to speak to your doctor about it and get some advice. I would also try the tips in this article, which many readers have found helpful. I think perhaps it might help you to do some relaxation techniques before going to bed.
Regards
Ethan
When It happens to me I’m imaging something harmful about to hit me so my body suddenly jerks or when I’m falling or which which could hurt me. What I’m imaging also feels extremely vivid. Is this a type of sleep paralysis?
Hi Umar
Thanks for your comment. No, that doesn’t sound like sleep paralysis to me, rather a dream and/or a hypnic jerk.
Regards
Ethan
I don’t mind when I get the muscle jerks ,sometimes they are really strong other times not very strong, ,but I know if it happens I will go to sleep, so I welcome them almost every night, now that I know that they are not dangerous I am not worried at all
Hi Carolyne
Thanks for your comment. I’m the same as you – if I get hypnic jerks, I know sleep is just round the corner as long as I don’t let myself get stressed by them. It’s an important point to try to keep in mind.
Regards
Ethan
Hi Thruoifel
Thanks for your comment. Try some of the tips in the article – hopefully something will help you out.
Regards
Ethan
I was a sleep tech some years ago and my patients & I often discussed this phenomenon. I once read that it was possible the brain was ‘thinking’ it was in the process of dying, so it suddenly needed to revive the body.
I suffer from them and they are certainly not comforting. Mine are TERRIBLE. I nearly fly off of the bed, often screaming. It feels more like I’m being shot than simply jerking. They are so bad I sleep on the couch if they begin because this seems to lessen them. I feel stress is definitely part of it as mine get much more severe as the night goes on. I have felt them since I was a child along with exploding head syndrome. Sometimes this is loud bang, like a gunshot, sometimes it sounds like a man yelling very loud. I was pretty excited to learn that this was an actual ‘thing’. I actually prefer this to the jerking.
I have done most of the more common suggested remedies (except the calcium and magnesium supplements together since 1 will deplete the other making things worse), little seems to help, I must tackle the stressors.
Thank you for this informative article. Lots of great thoughts here.
Hi Sheri,
Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad you found the article informative. It’s nice to know that from someone who has worked as a sleep tech! It sounds to me then like you already know what the best solution would be for you. If you’ve tried all the little tricks and nothing helped, perhaps it’s time to try to tackle the stressors fully and give yourself some TLC. It’s so easy, as I know myself, to be aware you need to tackle stress in life yet not actually get round to doing it. So my advice would be to put some thought into it and get started asap on bringing a little peace into your life.
Regards
Ethan
I suffer from insomnia myself, but these jerks are my husband’s problem – however having said that it affects me too – the jerks make the bed and the duvet move, and it’s hard for me to drop off to sleep waiting for the next one!
Hi Maggie
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I can see how an insomniac and someone with hypnic jerks might have some difficulties getting to sleep! Perhaps you could mention this article to him and see if he’ll be willing to try some of the techniques mentioned.
Regards
Ethan
I’m almost disappointed if I don’t have “jerks”. It’s almost calming.
Hi there
Thanks for your comment. It’s always good to hear from people who see hypnic jerks positively!
Regards
Ethan
I’ve found the term for the apparent precognition dream aspect of a hypnic jerk:
<> —https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream#Incorporation_of_reality
This was my initial hypothesis which I became suspect of due to the perception I hadn’t actually lost consciousness—I wasn’t yet asleep. What gave me that impression? In such states of restfulness, someone would not have to yell my name, knock repeatedly or loudly at my door, or wait more than one phone ring to get my attention. It wouldn’t startle me anymore than if I were watching TV, chatting with someone, or reading a book. If that perception of being awake the whole time is simply an illusion, then I’m surprised I’m the only one describing it as such. If it gave me the perception of precognition, perhaps it’s given others the same perception just as the memory bias in dreams does.
Thoughts from those who’ve also experienced such dreams culminating in hypnic jerks?
I thought I had RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) before coming across this term. But my interest in the topic is not about health, but about consciousness. How is it, I’ve asked myself, does my dream of tripping CULMINATE in the hypnic jerk? Is it an illusion? Of the 660 comments here, has anyone else brought this up?
The same thing happens to me preceding a real sound. My dream seemingly ANTICIPATES the sound, incorporating it into my dream. Is it precognition or simply my mind rewriting history.
Hi
My Name is Lee i am Nocturmal(sleep) epileptic. For the last 5 months i have found myself
feeling very strange in the daytime!??
This has been happening just once a month, me & my partner have been baffled my it.
About a month ago i realised it seem to happen after i had been working late hours a few days in a row and so when putting my little daughter to bed i was that tired that i would start these ‘HYPNIC JERKS’ a combination of tiredly falling asleep but as a alert my brain won’t let me fall asleep as I’m with my little 3 yr old daughter.
i know you said that these jerks are harmless but they seem to be affecting my epilepsy in a very different way.
Thank you for showing me the name of these sleep jerks I’m having.
Lee
Hi Lee
Thanks for your comment, and I’m glad you found the article useful. It sounds to me like you may be suffering the effects of sleep deprivation and/or just exhaustion from your daily schedule. Whether there’s a link with the epilepsy or not I couldn’t say. But my advice would be to talk through these symptoms with your doctor, and also try your best to get a proper night’s sleep every night – if you can.
Regards
Ethan
I gave birth to my wonderful daughter 9 months ago. The delivery plus several traumatic events around then lead to a severe case of PTSD. About 3 months after delivery, I came down with a case of insomnia. I couldn’t fall asleep bc of the jerks and then when I finally did fall asleep, it was just a half-sleep state and I would wake up several times during the night. For 3-4 months I would average 2-5 hours of sleep per night…sometimes 0 hours. After going through several doctors I finally found a team that helped me. This included a new OBGYN, psychiatrist and therapist. They put me on an anti-depressant, an anti-anxiety and 2 sleep aids: Belsomra and Trazadone. The Belsomra is very specific because it turns off the neurotransmitters that keep you awake and are firing away at night, due to being in fight of flight mode from the PTSD. The jerks will only go away if I take the Xanax and Magnesium. When stressful events occur (usually family events), they are worse. I also notice they get worse when I forget to take my plethora of vitamins and minerals. The therapy has helped ten fold with sorting out all of my stresses and confusions in my brain.
Definitely gets worse when my lower back is aggravated
My hypnogogic jerks began after I was involved in a hot air balloon crash in 1997. It is a feeling as if falling. Not only do I jerk violently, but I call out loudly, and I am totally awake, unable to get back to sleep.
I thought I sent a comment out but can’t find it so I’ll try again. I have dealt with chronic insomnia most of my adult life.. I have learned a few things from your blog. Lately I have been having jerks that are almost violent and I had 4 or 5 last night and after I just lay awake and I am so sleep deprived. When I am going through a bout with insomnia I have terrible sweats, along with all the other aches and pains of laying in bed and just tossing and turning. I have taken tamazapan which helps occasionally. Will there ever be rest for the weary?
Hi Sharon
Thanks for your comment. Sometimes it takes me a while to reply which is why readers may think the comment didn’t go through! I’m glad you’ve learned some things from the website, though it’s a shame nothing to have granted you the rest you need yet. Perhaps, however, you could try the readers’ suggestions to see if you can get on top of the hypnic jerks or at least reduce their effects a little.
Regards
Ethan
Thank you! This has put some ease to my worry.
I jerk awake when I fall asleep not normally too late but I also have a another problem that drives my family Insane because when they assume they’ve woken me up they haven’t, I open my eyes and talk to them while I’m asleep scares me a lot and I’m only 16 years old.
I always get these I will be falling asleep and then I fell like I am falling most of the time it is down stairs and right before I hit the floor my left arm and leg will lift up and I slightly jump and then a minute after I fall asleep but it only happens when I am sleeping on my right side it happens every night most of the time.
Hi, I started getting better with the help of these three types of treatment :
1) accupuncture (with a good accupunturist);
2) reiki (a japanese therapy)
3) homeopathy.
I found that meditation before sleeping also helps.
I recently have been quite tired due to the stress of upcoming GCSE examinations and when I started to drift asleep, I felt like someone hard hit me and my body jerked myself awake. My brother was there when I woke and thought I was having a seizure, even though I’m not epileptic. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with this but I but wanted some assurance on whether I should tell my parents.
Hi Katelyn
Thanks for your comment. It could well be a hypnic jerk, which can be quite strong at times for some people. I think if you’re feeling really stressed out by the exams, then it’s good to talk to your parents about that. They might be able to help put your mind at ease, and also do some things with you to reduce the stress.
Best of luck with the exams!
Regards
Ethan
I’m trying some therapies to fight these symptons, which I think are being very helpful: accupuncture (by a good accupuncturist); reiki (a japanese therapy) and homeopathy. These three combined will certainly cure you. Or you can choose two of these therapy, they will work as well, but may take longer to heal.
Well my experience with this phenomenon has been a bit stressful. As I have chronic shoulder pain due to a work injury, whenever I jerk I use my shoulders to prop myself up, causing more and more pain as I jerk multiple times teying to fall asleep, and leading me to literally not sleep once in a night. My doctor initially prescribed Trazadone to maybe get me out of the cycle. It worked for a night, then I would have to take more and more each night to get to sleep. I just gave up on it, I don’t want that much SRRI in my body.
This was a little over a year ago.
I have tried using some of the oxycodone I was prescribed when I got the injury, makes it worse. Tried cyclobenzaprine before bed. Didn’t touch it. Valerian root, Marijuana. (Legal in my state of WA) Nope.
The ONLY thing, like literally that gets me to sleep is alcohol, and I hate it. I have to drink a few glasses of wine, or a few shots of alcohol before bed. I used to drink maybe once or twice a week max. Now I have to every night, or I will jerk within 5 minutes of going to bed. A few times I have tried to slowly stop drinking, but once I get down to only nothing before bed the hypnic jerks start up again.
The only other thing my doctor is willing to prescribe is amytriptaline, and I DO NOT want a tri-cyclic in my body. Yet I would also not want to use benzodiazapines long term either. I have tried everything, no electronics before bed, diet, meditation, read before bed. Nope alcohol is the only thing that will allow me to sleep. I feel like if I did not have the shoulder injury it would not be a big deal at all, probably drift to sleep, but pain becomes an issue. While my shoulders are better than they were last year at least, it still hurts to jerk my arms 20 times in one night. I do have a feeling the stress from shoulder pain is an issue falling asleep as well, but that’s not something easily fixed unfortunately.
Anyways that’s my experience. Thought I would give a little detail.
Thanks for reading!
Katy
I have had these since I was a child. It is always the same dream, I am stepping off a curb and think I am falling. Now that I am retired it takes me longer to go to sleep and they are less frequent, maybe once a month instead of every other night.
The explanations and comments have opened a window for me but my experiences happen during my waken hours for example ,After a good nights sleep and a light breakfast while reading a newspaper or my iPad I will almost take off literally i actually bounce off my seat arms akimbo newspaper flying through the air .Surely this is not quite the same as examples that have been described cheers Don
Hi Don
Thanks for your comment. It would be the same, but only if you’re falling asleep just as it happens. But if you’re wide awake, then it wouldn’t be a hypnic jerks. It might be a muscular spasm of a similar nature, but I can’t help with that one I’m afraid. Perhaps check in with your doctor for some advice and see what they come up with.
Regards
Ethan
I have recently started to have these Jerks almost every night and even find myself having slight ones while awake.
This is now causing me to worry thus causing me to have them more
I find they are worse if I think about them or I am trying to not fall asleep.
If I just give in to the sleep and go to bed early rather than sit up watching TV and nodding off I am.much better
Sorry! this turned into an essay more than a comment!
I first noticed I was having hypnic jerks in my thirties ( I’m in my sixties now) but I had no idea what they were — there was no internet then! In my attempts to find out what the heck was happening I made them worse because I got more and more anxious. Hypochondriac that I was I had 8 medical books at the time but none informed me so I went to my GP. He sent me for heart tests, allergy tests and blood tests. It was the allergist who asked “what are you anxious about?” And I said “nothing! I am only anxious about why I am getting anxious!” (Which wasn’t really true–I had 5 kids and a lousy marriage) I wound up being prescribed a tranquilizer which put me into a clinical depression and thus began years of panic disorder, GAD diagnosis, and two nervous breakdowns but never did anyone define “hypnic jerks”. One day, a few years ago, I googled “jerking awake as you sleep” and was directed to Dr Andrew Weil’s website where I finally found out “they had a name”! I knew they must — I couldn’t be the only person who ever had them — but I had described them to several doctors and non had ever named them or explained them to me. Dr Weil also mentioned that most people experience them as a sensation of falling and I that gave me an epiphany. I did NOT experience them as a falling sensation at all. I experienced them as a DYING sensation. I would sometimes jerk right to a sitting position with the only thought in my head being “oh I’m DYING!” Or less dramatically I would still be lying down and think “hm…I’m dying”. But always dying. And I think that’s why I got so worked up about them thirty years ago. About ten years ago I had a terrible case of chronic insomnia and the hypnic jerks played a big role in it because every time I tried to sleep I was jerked awake and all the relaxation techniques and breathing exercises I’d learned by then didn’t work at all. I ended up in the hospital feeling suicidal. But I did get onto a proper medication then so that was good. I don’t know why I experience hypnic jerks with a “dying sensation” instead of a falling one but I joked with my friend that perhaps I fell to my death in a past life. I try not to let them bother me anymore and just say “oops, I must be over stressed” to myself but sometimes I still have trouble getting back to sleep after they’ve woken me.
I suffer various sleep problems ; Nocturnal epilepsy during adolescence. I think I was self medicating with phenergan for insomnia which I now think caused restless leg syndrome. Others have found the same. There does not appear to be a connection to hypnic jerks though but I have stopped taking phenergan.
Hi Julie i suffer from Nocturnal epilepsy too.
About 5months ago i started having these Hypnic jerks which started my epilepsy behaving very unusual to normal. i get them when iv been working long hours & tiredly want to fall asleep but i know i can’t.
Lee
Hi! I’m not sure if this is entirely relevant, but in my experience, exploding head syndrome leads to hypnic jerks, then hypnic jerks lead to what I THINK (but I’m not 100% sure because I’ve read up on it and my symptoms are slightly off from the standard ones) is sleep paralysis. It’s always gone this way, so I wonder if stress has something to do with it? When I’m woken up suddenly by an imaginary noise (which usually begins with auditory hallucinations), I know that I’m going to experience hypnic jerks so I start to panic. Then when I have hypnic jerks, I start to panic even more because I know sleep paralysis is coming. I’ve considered seeing a doctor about narcolepsy, since I have some other symptoms of that, but when everything seems so stress induced, I’m not entirely sure if there’s a medical explanation? This had only happened once before I started taking Risperdal, multiple times a week while I was on Risperdal, and now that I’ve been off of it for about 2 years, it happens maybe once or twice a month. I can’t really describe the feeling of the hypnic jerks as anything other than what I would imagine a heart attack or seizure to feel like, but as I’ve never experienced either, I can’t say for sure.
Hi Claire
Thanks for your comment. I think for some people there’s definitely some kind of relationship between the sleep disorders you mention, at least the EHS and hypnic jerks anyway it seems from reading comments. As for the risperdal, many previous readers have also noted that they’ve found a medication makes their sleep problems worse. And I think if you feel it would provide you with some reassurance, there’s no harm In my opinion, visiting your doctor to get checked out.
Regards
Ethan
I have these episides only when I fall asleep while reading. I am always in a seated position, such as on the couch or recliner. I describe it as being ” slammed awake”. Very scary- often feels like I am anticipating danger. Never happend when falling asleep in bed ( prone).
Hi Laura
Thanks for your comment. Yes, it can be a bit disconcerting for sure. It’s interesting you only have it when seated. I wonder if it’s the position or the reading. So you have it when reading in bed?
Regards
Ethan
Lauren; I hope you see this. Many of your symptoms I’ve had two over the past 3.5 yrs. Finally after seeing several doctors who ran me through (what I thought) were irrelevant tests and then prescribed sleeping or anti-anxiety drugs, etc., an NP in a neurology clinic sent me to a sleep clinic. There I was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea and am now trying c-pap therapy. It will take time to heal but I can tell you already that the second night on c-pap went better than the first. Magnesium didn’t help me at all.
This happens to me a few times a night. But, the problem is, I don’t remember them. I end up driving my wife crazy and I’m apparently in such a deep sleep that I don’t even know what I’ve done. Full conversations, no recollection. Other times I startle awake feeling like I’m having some sort of heart trouble. If I could get to the root of this, it would be amazing.
Hi Larry
Thanks for your comment. Does your wife ever notice any other symptoms like breathing difficulty or stopping breathing briefly before startling awake? If so, I’d get yiurself checked for apnea. And the conversations are likely to be sleep talking episodes. But if it is just hypnic jerks, try out some of the ideas in the article and see if they help.
Regards
Ethan
I have very lucid dreams that resemble a movie script….often there is a moment where I am jolted awake by an incident that is threatening or alarming. Why are my dreams so vivid and cause me to wake up suddenly.
Hi Tom
Thanks for your comment. It’s actually very common to have vivid dreams – the thing is whether you wake up and remember them or not. It may be that your dreams are, or are bordering, on being nightmares which is why you jolt awake.
Regards
Ethan
I’ve had this for about a month now. Every night. 3-4 times. I’m so tired. Just want to sleep. Eventually I do fall asleep. This started after I suffered a back injury and I was ok some medicines. I stopped the medicines and it went away but then came back. I have started the magnesium but so far it doesn’t seem to help. The first 3 nights I took magnesium I didn’t have this problem. I thought great. I’m fixed. But now they happening again. I’m definitely someone with a lot of stress snd anxiety. And this disorder only makes it works. It’s awful. I don’t know why it’s happening it how to fix it but I can’t go on like this with lack of sleep it’s terrible.
Hi Lynne
Thanks for your comment, and I’m sorry to hear this is stressing you out so much. I’d say to keep up with the magnesium, you never know as it might still be helping, just with a bit of ‘one 2 steps forwards, one step back’. I’d also try some of the other tips if you can, and perhaps look at doing some relaxation exercises.
And if it’s really getting to the point where it’s impacting negatively on your life and well-being, then I’d recommend speaking to your doctor about it. Hopefully they can provide some solutions and some reassurance.
Regards
Ethan
Valerian root (500mg) along with mulungu tea has been a great help in containing these jerks. Some nights this is the only thing that makes me sleep. Sometimes I also take melatonin, but that alone will not stop the sleep starts.
Another step I’ve been taking to get better is acupuncture. I believe in time it will heal me.
Hi Ariane
Thanks for your comment. That’s an interesting suggestions about the tea. I wonder if any other readers have found that a herbal tea has helped calm the hypnic jerks? And let’s hope the acupuncture does help.
Regards
Ethan
I have these on an almost nightly basis. I suffer with chronic pain and epilepsy. When my day ends I’m exhausted regularly. I will be discussing this with my neurologist the 28th.
Hi Nicole
Thanks for your comment. Hopefully your neurologist will be able to provide some good advice for you. I do recommend trying out the tips as well and see if they help.
Regards
Ethan
I think I have been misdiagnosed. I was told I have restless leg syndrome and I take a pill for that but if I forget to take the pill as soon as I’m ready to fall asleep I have this violent jerking sensation and it will go on all night long until I take this pill for restless leg syndrome after two hours it subsides and then I can fall asleep. I do not have any problem at all during the day only one trying to policy. And just at that moment when I’m going to follow sleep it starts.
Hi George
Thanks for your comment. I know it can be confusing sometimes differentiating between some sleep disorders. I would recommend asking for a second opinion with a different doctor if you’re not totally confident with the diagnosis.
Regards
Ethan