Electric/Energy surge to brain when trying to fall asleep.

I started experiencing this 6 years ago as a direct result of practicing transcendental meditation (I stopped the practice once I started getting brain zaps.)

For me its something that happens around once per month. My only other symptom is tinnitus.

When I feel the brain zap starting (usually as im about to fall asleep) I get scared and force myself to wake up. I'd be curious, has anyone ever allowed the brain zap to happen and fallen asleep? If so, what happens if you allow yourself to go with it?

Nearly 2 years ago i started experiencing brain zaps out of the blue. I am 17 and i only get them when i sleep during the daytime or around 8 pm when i nap after school. I never get them when i get a full night sleep. At first i was freaked out because it is a very scary and weird sensation, I thought i had epilepsy or seizure until i found this forum. Seeing that many people experienced this made me feel less frightened. It usually feels like a brain jolt, sudden electrical surge to brain, recurring spinning sensation, nauseous sensation, dizzy/cloudy/floaty, sometimes i feel like i WILL PASS OUT/ lose consciousness because i can partially open my eyes despite to these sensations. I don't know how to explain it to my parents and they don't get me seriously, since this has been happening to me for 2 years. It usually starts while i am half asleep or near waking up to DEFINE only during daytime. Please help me i am so confused and desperate for an answer, also at the same time very concerned if this indicates any health issue.

I relate to this post very much! I have good news and bad news.

The good news is, for the majority of us having the electrical shock feeling just as we fall asleep, causing a negative feedback loop of insomnia night after night, we know that its cause is likely from a viral infection. It doesn't mean we are actively sick, but likely are experiencing nerve damage or autonomic dysfunction from post-viral illness.

The bad news is that they don't know why it happens and so far as my research has led, there is no cure other than "time". That can be seen as good news though, that most people do seem to resolve given some time (and more diet and exercise can never hurt!)

Best of luck to everyone, and it is sad to see the uptime in activity on this post after Covid-19. Long haul is a real b***h and will likely be a scourge on society for many years to come. Hope for recovery!

I'm 32, been having sleep starts since I was a young kid. I used to call it the "sleep monster" lately it's gotten so bad it's keeping me up all night and making me feel like it's turning into short seizures I have just as I fall asleep. Doctor says it's monoclonus and anxiety. I eat healthy and exercise only issue is slightly elevated BP 126/85 avg. I used to have a lot of anxiety but its better lately and I'm under stress but I've had worse. My symptoms have changed over the years and it went from benign popping noises "exploding head syndrome" to one jerk a night, to multiple with full body contractions. If I'm dating someone it freaks them out.

Current Symptoms: repeated jolts just as I fall asleep, feels like an electrical sensation in the brain that sends a jolt of adrenaline through my body and makes me jump and gasp for air uncontrollably, tinnitis (had a cochlear stroke ent said), haven't been able to nap in the daytime in years, background electrical potential feeling like it could happen again, happens during meditation too. the more tired I am the worse it happens.

Attempted Remedies: magnesium, lorazepam, sleepytime tea, melatonin, sex, weed, exercise, sleeping on diff sides, sleeping elevated, cutting out sugar/caffeine/alcohol, sleeping with lights on, had a sleep study done, had an eeg and ecg with nothing found.

Things that help (or used to help): light and looking at phone, sleeping next to someone I'm dating has helped it in the past, not having caffeine, not eating sugar or carbs before bed, no MSG or chocolate or any stimulants, no alcohol, not thinking anticipating the jerks or being distracted. Does not happen often when I wake up in the middle of the night and to go back to sleep.

I'm very unhappy with the medical system and being told it's in my head. They can literally see me jump out of bed on camera in my sleep study and say it's normal. I think doctors have become lazy and reliant on their tablets to do their job for them as none seem to take the extra step to research. We are assembly line cattle to them. I'm told to take lorazepam to help and it makes it worse.

Just my experience guys, hope it helps and I'm still looking for the solution like many of you. Maybe ant-epileptics are the answer. I don't know.

ive been experiencing this lately! been feeling so crazy thinking im alone in this- thanks for posting!

I experience the same thing. I would experience a few nights of anxiety and have a few legs jerks. After a few times I usually feel a sleep. Before 16 months ago I never had a leg jerk ever in my 36 years of life. now I'm almost 38. About a month ago i start having the brain surges were I fall a sleep for like 30 seconds and as soon as I start to dream its like my brain taps me awake. like after 2 times of it happening I can't fall a sleep. With good nights I can fall asleep after with a Trazodone. Otherwise nothing puts me to sleep except Alcohol or a Valium.

Hi

I'm coming on here to share my experience of this weird sensation and my path out of it, in case it helps anybody who still checks here. I had three months of non-sleeping hell due to 'electric' sensations whooshing up my body every time I tried to fall asleep, along with a massive tremor on the point of falling asleep and sometimes some 'brain zap' feelings too. Awful. Saw no end of GP's and had loads of blood tests, spent days and days desperately trawling the net and thought I was going mad or had some terrible neurological disease. Anyway. After much patience and continuing to push my GP for answers, we've finally got to the bottom of it and I'm starting to recover and sleep again. There were two things causing this for me:

1. Hormonal imbalance. My estrogen levels were 190 (I'm towards the end of the menopause). Low estrogen can affect the nervous system pretty dramatically. Now the levels are up to over 400 on a new gel HRT I feel much better.
2. A very low level of Vitamin D3 which was causing my parathyroid gland to produce too much hormone. Vitamin D deficiency can cause neurological issues, tremors and sleeping disorders. This is being corrected with a daily tablet.

   So - blood tests for oestrogen level for women, plus blood tests for parathyroid and also Vit D levels can be easily carried out at the GP.

   Hope this helps somebody.

Hi! I have never posted on a forum before but when i read this I had to share. I've been experiencing the exact same symptoms when I'm falling asleep, horrible brain zaps jerking me awake just as I start to drift off. It felt like I was dying every night, very scary. I was using valium at night to control them which worked for a while but i found I was building a tolerance which obviously isnt ideal. I started using a sleep and calm supplement which has ashwaganda, passion flower and valerian, and also a bach remedy about an hr or two before bed. I also take a magnesium supplement in the morning. Doing this stops the zaps and I've never slept so soundly before. I don't need valium at all anymore. If I don't take them, the zaps come back unfortunately, so i suppose they are working as a preventative rather than a cure but I'm grateful for that at least.

Hi there, similarly to most participants in the discussion I am surprised that there are so many people who experience this.

Please read up about and check for latent tetany, a lot of people have it without knowing, doctors misdiagnose it as anxiety or depression, sometimes even epilepsy.

Stay strong.

I hope this helps someone.

Hello. I am experiencing the same sensation. I actually find it soothing and relaxing when it happens just before sleep. I am often extremely busy and sleep deprived due to the phase of life I'm in.

It's good to seek answers, but I wonder if your brain is just processing the day and winding down. Sleep is so important for your brain. A doctor who survived a brain tumor told me that toxins are cleansed from the brain during sleep. She said it's important to turn screens off long before bed and keep the room dark.

I hope you sleep better soon.

I believe everyone here is suffering from Vestibular Neuritis. Doctors are not great at diagnosing this yet and the facts about it are not exactly factual. The good news is that it will heal completely up overtime, but it will take the brain months to even years to compensate properly so you no longer feel symptomatic. Best thing you can do is not fear the symptoms but rather accept them and that everyday is day closer to being healed because the only medicine is time.

Ive been having similar issues as well. I recently have been feeling an electrical type surge right as when i fall asleep. However, after i get the butterfly feeling in my stomach and the head rush, i immediately get a full body pins and needles which is both startling and painful. It happens multiple times a night, and most of the time makes me nervous to close my eyes and fall asleep. After reading some of these posts i don't believe i am stressed by anything. I finished my finals week in college about a week and a half ago but they started after. Has anyone had this painful tingling sensation too? Does anyone know what this is or what it's from?