A shock if you fall asleep Sleep twitch or hypnagogic shock

Like you almost sinking into a deep sleep, you wake up startled by a shock that your legs or arms going. Whether you sleep and almost fall suddenly into a gaping depth. At least it feels that way, because in reality, you are safe in your bed. What is this strange phenomenon?

Such a little shock or falling sensation in the phase between wakefulness and sleep is called a hypnagogic sleep shock or convulsion. The science is there no matter what that crazy feeling, because there is no extensive research done. There are a few theories.

Relax muscles
When you sleep, your muscles relax. During REM sleep, the stage in which you are dreaming, the muscles of the limbs even temporarily paralyzed. You fall asleep at once, and the muscles are not a control in a blow off. Brain Parts are successively asleep.

So it can happen that the brain areas that provide observation still awake, while the part of your brain that controls your muscles already asleep. The waking brain region so that you think is a reflex and tightens your muscles to keep you afloat. This allows you to experience a jolt in limbs.

Stress
some scientists think that the convulsions have something to do with stress, anxiety or disturbed sleep. They come because more often if you are very tired or is not comfortable. Another hypothesis is that you fall asleep during the mini-REM naps through which you will begin to dream and the muscles relax. These REM sleep during sleep may contribute to the occurrence of hypnagogic shocks.

Many people have ever experienced a shock for them to fall asleep. Usually feel it once or twice a night. If you wake up shoots through the strange sensation that may be annoying, but it cannot hurt. The shocks are harmless; you let your bedfellow most scared.

Restless legs
you will experience each time a jerky sensation in the limbs so you sleep poorly, then there might be more to it. For recurring moving legs in bed, we talk about periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD) or in Dutch: periodic limb movement disorder.

In this sleep disorder make the legs and sometimes the arms uncontrolled kicking and jerking movements while you sleep. Although you all that activity night itself might not even notice, did you do suffer from daytime. The move ensures that you always wake up from your deep sleep, so you do not have enough rest.

PLMD is often associated with restless legs syndrome (RLS), but it's not the same. RLS has irritating, burning and tingling sensations in the legs and sometimes in the feet. Reduce the symptoms temporarily as you move. PLMD is also frequently seen in include Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, some forms of ADHD, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.