OK, so that title looks a lot like ‘hippy jerks’ or something possibly ruder, but ‘hypnic jerks’ ARE a real thing…
+ Ever twitched violently while you were resting in bed?
+ Perhaps your leg or arm suddenly jerked in your sleep – so much so that you woke yourself up.
+ Maybe your body seemed to experience a random “jump scare” while lying down doing nothing.
+ Have you ever felt as if you feel off a cliff, or into a void, while ‘falling’ asleep?
These are all forms of hypnic jerks.
They are any sudden, involuntary muscle contractions. Sometimes the feeling is accompanied by shortened breath or rapid heartbeat – as if you actually have fallen or been scared. Very occasionally, the feeling is accompanied by some sort of accompanying hallucination.
According to Wikipedia, 70% of the world’s population will experience a hypnic jerk at least once in their lifetime, and 10% can have them daily.
[I’d say I’m a once a weeker.]
Reading several sites, it seems as though the causes of hypnic jerks circle around the sorts of factors that you would associate with insomnia and other poor sleep patterns; anxiety, too much caffein, noise, stress, bright lights, variable bedtime… but also includes exercising late at night and the use of some medications.
[Image source: Hypnic Jerk: Why Do I Twitch in My Sleep? | SleepScore]
So, whilst nighttime jerking (gosh this is awkward) is not a big problem, it can lead to poor sleep and all the downsides that go with that, including irritability and anxiety… and migraines.
There are apparently a few things you can do to prevent (or minimize) hypnic jerks, all of which sound like good sleep health ideas regardless:
+ don’t consume caffeine (or other stimulants) several hours before bed,
+ don’t do any exercise or strenuous activities before you go to sleep,
+ make sure you keep your magnesium levels up,
+ have a dark and quiet room,
+ develop a good sleep routine (like going to bed at the same time each night),
+ and I’m going to throw in there: practice mindfulness techniques.
[Image source: Hypnic Jerks: Why You Twitch In Your Sleep]
Oh, and if you’re wondering where the weird word “hypnic” comes from, according to the website just above, it’s short for “hypnagogic” which relates to the transition between wakefulness and sleep (which is when most jerks happen). As such, it sounds like the word is closely related to “hypnosis.”
None of the sites I read suggested you need to tell your doctor about this condition – unless – it seems to be happening excessively, or while you are awake, in which case it could be a symptom of a neurological or muscular condition…. otherwise, it’s just a bit annoying to you or your bed-sharer.
This might not really seem like a relevant post for a Mindfulness Migraine Blog – but you’ve hitched your cart to this old Linda-filly, and she was curious what on earth was going on with my leg at night… I needed to be able to convince my husband that I really wasn’t deliberately going after his shins – I’m not being a jerk – it’s just a hypnic jerk!
Take care taking care, Linda x
PS – if you think “Hypnic Jerks” is a weird thing to happen as you’re falling asleep, you’ll be horrified to know there is also a condition referred to as “Exploding Head Syndrome” which is a lot like migraine-aura only much shorter in duration; people experience a large bang/flash in their brain just as they are falling asleep… ugh.
The Mindful Migraine 
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