So you’ve finally come back home from work. You eat a nice dinner, and you take a little stroll. You return home, take a nice hot shower. You finally lie on your bed, ready to drift to sleep. And then, you get a jerk! FML!
Why does this happen? Why do we experience a jerk right before we’re falling asleep?
Scientifically, this is called a ‘Hypnic jerk.’ It is characterised by your body twitching involuntarily right before you fall asleep. In more instances than one, it is accompanied by an image of a place at a large height and you having a falling sensation. Rest assured, this is no medical condition. Nothing is wrong with you, and this is a very common observation among people of all ages. They’re basically like hiccups, but for the whole body.
This jerk is caused by a conflict between parts of your brain asking you to fall asleep, and other parts asking you to be awake.
Director of the Sleep Disorders Center at New York–Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and professor of Neurology Carl Bazil says that although scientists haven’t performed in-depth research about this since it’s not a serious medical condition, it still points to the fact that there is a neurological disagreement between different parts of your brain. So, even though the parts which allow you to fall asleep succeed, the other parts which want you to be awake usually go against the signals. According to Bazil,
Sleep deprivation caused by stimulants and caffeine can cause more of these jerks.
A lot of coffee in the day or the latter half of the day, some stimulant medicines like Adderall or Ritalin, or any other drug or substance which cause stimulating effects should be avoided. Lack of sleep will help the ‘keep awake’ parts of the brain put up a better fight, resulting in more jerks, and eventually, less sleep.
Think no more about it. It’s normal, and there’s nothing wrong with you!
Fact source: Unilad, The Cut
Cover image source: Risto Kuulasmaa