Why You Sometimes `Fall´ When You Fall Asleep

The feeling that you literally `fall` asleep just when you start drifting away at the beginning of your sleep, the feeling that you make a misstep while you are laying in bed, this is called sleep twitch or hypnagogic jerk. You might not know this name, but most people do know the feeling! So what is it, and what is the cause of this, sometimes annoying, phenomenon?

Sleep Twitch or Hypnagogic Jerk

Hypnagogic jerks are short, involuntary muscle jerks or twitches that occur right as you are falling asleep. They are involuntary muscle twitches that occur quickly, with the muscles immediately returning to relaxation. Hypnic jerks happen randomly, but they always take place while someone is transitioning from wakefulness to sleep.

It is important to distinguish the hypnagogic jerks from other movements associated with sleep, disorders like periodic limb movement disorder, and restless leg syndrome. The hypnagogic jerk lasts very short, and we have them only during the transition from wakefulness to sleep. It is common to sleep through your jerks. Some people are only aware they experienced them because their sleep partner told them. Sometimes they are strong enough to wake you up and rouse you back to alertness again. Usually, people only feel one jerk. It can feel like falling, you can cause a banging sound, and some people even experience visual symptoms like flashing lights or a dream or hallucination.

No sense of doubt, for what you can achieve,
I’d help you out, I’ve seen the life you wish to leave
Well it kicks like a sleep twitch!
You will choke, choke on the air you try to breathe.
It kicks like a sleep twitch!

Editors, Writer(s): Thomas Smith, Russell Leetch, Christopher Urbanowicz, Edward Lay

Sixty to seventy percent of people experience hypnagogic jerks. There are no differences between sexes, and they can appear at any age. For most people, they occur randomly and sporadically.

What Causes Sleep Twitch?

Looking on the internet for causes of hypnagogic jerks, you will find a usual list of suspects. These are anxiety, sleep deprivation, late-night exercise, and excessive use of caffeine and stimulants. However, what all these causes have in common is that they cause that your level of awareness stays high, and sleep doesn´t come easy. Therefore it is hard to say if these are causes of hypnagogic jerks or that these conditions just make you more aware of them.

Science is still out on the real cause of these sleep twitches. An interesting and promising theory is that when we fall asleep, our brain shuts off in a disorganized way; it is not like switching just one switch. Instead, many systems have to be shut off when we fall asleep. Sometimes you can sense this yourself; when you go to bed, your thoughts are coherent and make sense, but along the way, they get more mixed up, till the end when they don´t make sense at all. A sleep twitch is caused when your brain already has your muscles relaxed and your awareness is going down. These muscles maintain our upright posture, that is, support the body’s weight against gravity, and are controlled by the brain and by reflex mechanisms that are wired into the neural networks of the brainstem and spinal cord. This reflex is very important and prevents us from falling. What probably happens is that this system senses that our posture muscles are relaxed, which in awake circumstances could mean that you are falling, and therefore our posture muscles contract to `prevent` us from falling. That is also why it so typically feels as if you are falling or making a misstep.

Should I Be Worried About Hypnagogic Jerks?

The good news is, hypnagogic jerks are not dangerous. Most people experience them, and it may be a nuisance; it is not a sign of bad health. If you want to experience them less, the most important thing you could do is have a good deep sleep so that the sleep twitch will not reach your awareness. Also, prevent the things aforementioned and keep good sleeping hygiene.

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