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Little jolts as you fall asleep?

Hope4

Desert of SW USA
Messages
473
Hi @Irinasis33 :). I get strange sensations when I first lie down. I had not thought about them being adrenaline surges. I thought it was related to going from standing to lying, tension in the muscles, or environmental factors.

A few years ago, I used to get muscle twitches sometimes, even jerks, as I was almost asleep. I've increased my carb intake some, and am taking better supplements, and that has gone away.

When the adrenaline surge wakes me up, in the wee hours of the night, I feel a jolt! And sometimes my heart skips a beat, and beats more quickly for a bit.

I used to think it was adrenaline slamming me awake, due to low blood sugar. Or related to menopause.

But, after reading posts on this forum, I wonder if it is part of the convoluted system that is ME/CFS.

I hope your symptoms fade away and that you can rest easily. :)
 

PatJ

Forum Support Assistant
Messages
5,288
Location
Canada
little jolt

That might be a kind of Hypnic Jerk:
A hypnic jerk is an involuntary twitch which occurs when a person is beginning to fall asleep, often causing the person to jump and awaken suddenly for a moment. Hypnic jerks are one form of involuntary muscle twitches called myoclonus. Physically, hypnic jerks resemble the "jump" experienced by a person when startled, sometimes accompanied by a falling sensation. Hypnic jerks are associated with a rapid heartbeat, quickened breathing, sweat, and sometimes "a peculiar sensory feeling of 'shock' or 'falling into the void'". A higher occurrence is reported in people with irregular sleep schedules.
 

ChrisD

Senior Member
Messages
472
Location
East Sussex
Yes I get Hypnic jerks often and have had them very badly for about a year on and off.

What I have learned is that they can be triggered by a number of things including food intolerances, supplements that affect the immune system, mineral imbalances, bacterial die off, probiotics - anything that agitated the central nervous system. You have to be rigorous in keeping a diary to work out what your triggers are.
 
Messages
20
Yes. Your body is stuck in fight flight mode. It jolts you awake so you dont miss that a tiger is coming to get you. But obviously it's not.. our body just senses a danger so it's trying to protect you.
 

roller

wiggle jiggle
Messages
775
our body just senses a danger so it's trying to protect you.
why then when one falls asleep, that "very" moment? all is quiet, body relaxed, eyes closed. no tiger near nor far.
shouldnt this happen more commonly in other situations (walking in crowds, traffic...), when e.g. senses (eyes..) are involved and possibly overwhelmed ?
like a little jolt of adrenaline just as they are falling asleep that wakes
what makes you think its adrenaline ???
these moments between wake and "elsewhere" are very interesting. but i thought it has to do with "electricity", with frequency in the brain - changing... to me it feels "electric".
 

Sophiedw

Senior Member
Messages
383
Yes I get Hypnic jerks often and have had them very badly for about a year on and off.

What I have learned is that they can be triggered by a number of things including food intolerances, supplements that affect the immune system, mineral imbalances, bacterial die off, probiotics - anything that agitated the central nervous system. You have to be rigorous in keeping a diary to work out what your triggers are.

Hey Chris D , not sure if I mentioned on another thread that taking boron and bcaas has helped my jerks very much. Do you get the eyes moving around when they aren't feeling? A bit like sea sickness.

You will need to take a whole host of other stuff if u trial the boron :) as I'm sure you've noticed these things can't be altered in isolation.

If you decide to try some and need any help with induced deficiency drop me a message. I feel your pain on the jerks. They're terrifying and gross.

Take care.
 
Messages
78
Location
SF Bay Area
I get those too. It happens when I'm extremely exhausted right before dozing off. It feels like my heart stops and it causes me to quickly get up with my heart racing. It freaks me out everytime it happens. Feels like I'm dying and sometimes I wonder if it it will cause cardiac arrest one of these days. I have no clue what this is and why it is happening. Before becoming sick, this never happened to me. Could it be dysautonomia?