As you drift into sleep, all of a sudden—you’re falling off a cliff. You shoot awake, your heart pounding, but you soon realize—you didn’t move at all. This is called a hypnic jerk.
Hypnic jerks are defined medically as a brief and unintentional muscle twitch that occurs when the brain transitions from being conscious to asleep. Hypnic jerks can be accompanied by a “falling” sensation, a jolt or twitch in one’s limbs, or a sensation of being shocked. Hypnic jerks occur because during sleep, our muscles become more relaxed, as well as our heart rates, and the brain might perceive this as “falling,” thus sending signals through our nerves that try to help us from “falling.”
They are extremely common, generally harmless, and more likely to occur when someone is under stress or has consumed caffeine
Ever have a hypnic jerk so powerful that you pretended nothing was happening despite kicking the air?
MBH/PS