Sudden jump when falling asleep?

Posted , 3 users are following.

I've had this problem for ages, and nights like tonight it really gets to me. It's currently 2:30am (in the UK) and I cannot sleep at all. It has recently been happening on a daily basis but can go for a few weeks/months before coming back and lasting anywhere from 1 day to weeks.

What happens is, I shut my eyes to go to sleep, within a minute or 2 I can feel myself drifting off and just as this is happening I just jump up almost gasping and shocked. I haven't got a clue why.

I tend to pay attention to my heart alot at night and it irritates me and keeps me up enough as it is. These jumps can happen from once to 10+ times a night before I even get to sleep. I've read up about 'hypnic jerks' and I don't think it's that as it seems a bit more serious than that.

It feels like a sudden sinking feeling, numbness, danger type feeling and my heart almost feels as if its stopped beating for a second. once I've jumped up it can take me a minute or 2 to calm down. It usually happens when I'm really exhausted which makes things worse because my body is craving the sleep yet still not letting me do it.

Anyone have any ideas what could be going on? I'm only 22 so I doubt it's anything too serious or anything but it's horrible. Thanks everyone.

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • Posted

    I was thinking hypnic jerks. I experience these from time to time. There is a feeling of "falling" and it happens right at the intersection between sleep/wake states. I would ask your doctor. You may want to ask about getting a holter monitor to check your heart.

  • Posted

    My husband gets hypnic jerks all the time. Funny thing, we don't sleep together but when we do (from time to time I decide to try sleep in his bed) I get the hypnic jerk! I never have it when I'm alone. This is soooo weird! It must be some electrical current?

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