Have you ever had that feeling, when you're drifting off to sleep...?

Question

...and suddenly you feel like you're falling or something; then your whole body jerks & you're wide awake?!
This is a poll/survey---Yahoo, leave me alone!! LOL!!

WOW! PinK CherrieS--thanks!!---that is some good info!!!

OK--even more good info!! Thanks, All! Glad to know I'm not alone; & VERY glad to read the information that you've sent!!

This is weird, but when mine happens, I'm usually in a Taxi, & it goes plummeting off a cliff. How weird is THAT?! LOL!! I never ride in taxis, & there are no cliffs around Madison, WI, that I know of.

Answer 1

Yes quite often....its as scary as hell too......

Answer 2

Write down what those voices are asserting and come again to us. in the event that they're asserting clever concerns. i'd carry them around for that by utilising myself. in the event that they're whispering nonsense, you would be having a bout with schizophrenia in spite of the undeniable fact that it relatively is treatable. It infrequently seems actual looking that the better of the speech determines on the different hand you're loopy .

Answer 3

I think that, in that stage between being fully awake and fully asleep, it's your muscles letting go of their tension in preparation for sleep. Some people even do it twice before they fall into a deep sleep. I have a hard time falling asleep and I find that I rarely get the full body twitch. Rather, parts of my body do it separately - a foot, an arm, etc.

Answer 4

Yes. It makes my whole body jerk. My husband did it a few nights ago and that woke me up! He fell right back to sleep but I was left staring out into the darkness wondering just the same thing you are!

Answer 5

Yes it has been happening to me since i was little. It's almost like falling off a cliff [or falling backwards in a chair] and then suddenly you jerk up. Very uncomfortable.

Here's some info on it:

Do you ever wake up suddenly to a falling sensation and a strong muscle twitch just after you have fallen asleep?

This strange falling sensation and muscle twitch is known as a hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or “Hypnic jerk” If this has happened to you on more than one occasion, don’t worry, you are not alone. Close to 70 percent of all people experience this phenomenon just after nodding off, according to a recent study at the Mayo Clinic.

Most experts agree that this is a natural part of the sleeping process, much like slower breathing and a reduced heartbeat. The occurance is well known and has been well documented. However, experts are still not completely sure why the body does this.


The general consensus among researchers is that, as your muscles begin to slack and go into a restful state just as you are falling asleep; your brain senses these relaxation signals and misinterprets them, thinking you are falling down. The brain then sends signals to the muscles in your arms and legs in an attempt to jerk you back upright. This misinterpretation that takes place in your brain may also be responsible for the “falling” dreams that accompany the falling sensation. These “dreams” are not really normal dreams, as they are not produced from R.E.M sleep, but rather more like a daydream or hallucination in response to the body’s sensations.

While this phenomenon happens to most everyone, studies have recently begun to link occurrences of “Hypnic jerks” to sleep anxiety, fatigue, and discomfort. People who are having trouble sleeping or can’t get comfortable in bed appear to experience the sensation more often throughout the night. It is especially more common with people who are trying to fight falling asleep or have deprived themselves of sleep for more than 24 hours.

Researchers believe that the lack of sleep from sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation confuses the muscles and the brain. The muscles continually attempt to relax and shut down for rest, while your brain remains awake creating continued “misinterpretations” of falling or loss of balance.

Scientists and researchers continue to study sleep twitching and jerking in a small capacity, but state that the sensation is completely normal for our bodies and is “of little medical significance”. Our bodies go through several procedures of shutting down and preparing for an extended period of rest. “Hypnic jerking” is just one of them. It doesn’t appear to cause damage to body and poses no danger to our physical wellbeing. That may be true, but it could pose a significant danger to my bed when I mess my pants next time I wake up thinking I just fell off of a building.

Answer 6

Yes



This strange falling sensation and muscle twitch is known as a hypnagogic myoclonic twitch or “Hypnic jerk” If this has happened to you on more than one occasion, don’t worry, you are not alone. Close to 70 percent of all people experience this phenomenon just after nodding off, according to a recent study at the Mayo Clinic.

Most experts agree that this is a natural part of the sleeping process, much like slower breathing and a reduced heartbeat. The occurance is well known and has been well documented. However, experts are still not completely sure why the body does this.


The general consensus among researchers is that, as your muscles begin to slack and go into a restful state just as you are falling asleep; your brain senses these relaxation signals and misinterprets them, thinking you are falling down. The brain then sends signals to the muscles in your arms and legs in an attempt to jerk you back upright. This misinterpretation that takes place in your brain may also be responsible for the “falling” dreams that accompany the falling sensation. These “dreams” are not really normal dreams, as they are not produced from R.E.M sleep, but rather more like a daydream or hallucination in response to the body’s sensations.

While this phenomenon happens to most everyone, studies have recently begun to link occurrences of “Hypnic jerks” to sleep anxiety, fatigue, and discomfort. People who are having trouble sleeping or can’t get comfortable in bed appear to experience the sensation more often throughout the night. It is especially more common with people who are trying to fight falling asleep or have deprived themselves of sleep for more than 24 hours.

Researchers believe that the lack of sleep from sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation confuses the muscles and the brain. The muscles continually attempt to relax and shut down for rest, while your brain remains awake creating continued “misinterpretations” of falling or loss of balance.

Scientists and researchers continue to study sleep twitching and jerking in a small capacity, but state that the sensation is completely normal for our bodies and is “of little medical significance”. Our bodies go through several procedures of shutting down and preparing for an extended period of rest. “Hypnic jerking” is just one of them. It doesn’t appear to cause damage to body and poses no danger to our physical wellbeing. That may be true, but it could pose a significant danger to my bed when I mess my pants next time I wake up thinking I just fell off of a building.

Answer 7

Ye I've had that. I often see my legs walkin along a wall or something and then i fall and it feels as if I've fallen onto the bed. It really weird I don't know what it is.

Answer 8

Yes, and I hate it because it takes me so long to get to the point of just about to drift off.

Answer 9

Yes a lot of times especially right now that I'm sick! with the flu.

Answer 10

Yes, I have had the jumping, falling feeling. No Fun!!

Answer 11

Yes that has happened many times too me.