Why Does Your Body Twitch as You're

Falling Asleep?
If you've ever fallen asleep only to be woken up by a violent jerk or twitch of
your entire body, don't be alarmed. It is estimated to be among the 60-70% of
the population worldwide who regularly experience a phenomenon known as a
hypnic jerk. Also known as a hypnagogic jerk or sleep induction - which occurs
when a person falls into a deep sleep. Here's what you need to know about it.

What do sleep jerks feel like?

Hypnic jerks (involuntary jerks or convulsions that occur at night) can affect
people in different ways. Many people will sleep right through them, but for
others, they are vigorous enough to wake them up.
While there isn't a definitive explanation for what causes hypnic twitches,
they're more likely to occur when people are deprived of sleep or anxiety, or
when they have habits that disrupt their sleep before bed, such as drinking
caffeine or exercising nearby says, James Wilson, U.K.-based sleep behaviour
and sleep environment expert. “For people who suffer from hypnic jerks, it’s
awful,” he adds. “They worry about it before they go to bed, which makes it
worse.”

What causes hypnic jerks?

Put simply, hypnic jerks occur when one part of the brain tries to sleep faster
than other parts of the brain.
“The complexity of going to sleep and waking up is incredible, and
sometimes—particularly when we are sleep deprived—our brain doesn’t
shut down normally, which means we get this sort of jerking movement
when we’re in a light sleep,” says Wilson. Often, he adds, the brain tries to
make sense of it, “which is when we imagine ourselves falling off the
sidewalk, a cliff or in a hole.”

The reason some people experience convulsions at such a predictable time is

because of their circadian rhythm or biological clock. Normally when we fall
asleep we enter a deep sleep phase about half an hour later, in which we would
not have these hypnic jerks. If someone is sleep deprived, as they go through the
process of falling asleep, the brain will get stuck at the same point in time.
Usually, if we can help people address their sleep deprivation, the instances
decrease or disappear altogether.

How can you prevent sleep jerks from happening?

There are ways to limit this effect, especially by making a conscious effort to
get better sleep. Try to establish a good daily routine before going to bed. Get
up at the same time every day and relax before going to bed. Make sure that the
activity you do an hour before bed relaxes you. Like most sleep problems,
preventing hypnic bursts is to correct lack of sleep.
If a person suffers from jerks at the same time every night, they could ask a
housemate or family member to disturb their sleep about five minutes before the
jerks tend to occur, either by encouraging them to turn over in bed or rustling
something near them. Often, that will help stop the twitches from happening.