Thread: When You Are Semi-conscious Before Sleeping...

I've never had this before. Are you sure it's not just a dream or your imagination? I'm always hearing weird stuff when I'm tired and laying in bed.

I have that too. My mind needs to wander to fall asleep, and when I am close to falling asleep my thoughts get so realistic, often I'll spazz out. Especially with my feet. Numerous times my thoughts were playing soccer, I when I kicked the ball I used my foot in real life. It snapps me out of my thoughts and I think "Oh yeah, I forgot I'm in my bed!" Not too long ago, I was spinning around randomly in my thoughts, and I almost stepped on my cat. I moved my foot away in real life and it snapped me back.

This happens to me too, every once in awhile. And it's usually right as I'm about to fall asleep... probably because your brain hasn't gone through 'sleep paralysis' yet but you're dreaming, so you react to it. It always amuses me when I or the hubs do it... and then we continue to keep moving or change positions, as if we meant to jerk around like a maniac in bed... LOL.

Originally Posted by JenWoodhouse

This happens to me too, every once in awhile. And it's usually right as I'm about to fall asleep... probably because your brain hasn't gone through 'sleep paralysis' yet but you're dreaming, so you react to it. It always amuses me when I or the hubs do it... and then we continue to keep moving or change positions, as if we meant to jerk around like a maniac in bed... LOL.
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god it's horrible for me, I am just about to sleep and then BAM a big red ball or something comes flying at my face and my whole body just jerks into a spasm.

Happens to me a lot, i think it happens just as you are falling into a deeper phase of sleep.
With me, i'm usually walking down a flight of stairs, and i trip and think i'm going to fall, that wakes me up.

Jen woodhouse, i've just been listening to 'Hello Beautiful' on your MySpace!
You're very, very good!
You remind me of another singer called Beth Orton.

It happens to me too. I will be imagining/dreaming that I am skateboarding and then I fall and it jolts me awake. It leaves me feeling weird, because I have the sensation that I have fallen, but I dont feel any pain or other things that go along with it.

Something similar happens to me. Ill be about to fall asleep when I think that I have fallen into a pit, I then jump up waking me. Very cool.....very annoying.

Originally Posted by TheDreamer

It happens to me too. I will be imagining/dreaming that I am skateboarding and then I fall and it jolts me awake. It leaves me feeling weird, because I have the sensation that I have fallen, but I dont feel any pain or other things that go along with it.
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It's called hypnagogic myoclonus or a myoclonic jerk.
According to the Straight Dope, they seem to be associated with a faint stimulus or a dream. Also see Discovery Online.

Hypangogic myoclonus can often be accompanied by hypnagogic hallucinations. I think that sleep paralysis can also occur during the same phase.

Originally Posted by irishcream

Jen woodhouse, i've just been listening to 'Hello Beautiful' on your MySpace!
You're very, very good!
You remind me of another singer called Beth Orton.
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Thanks so much for listening! Sorry I'm just now responding... I haven't had any luck with my lucid dreaming lately so I haven't been back here to report anything. But thank you for lending an ear!

Yes, shill is right it is called a Hypnogogic jerk, I seem to find that it tends to happen more regulary when you are short of sleep, I mean it can happen any time but I find it's mostly when I haven't slept much. The one that I usually experience is just walking down the street and just then I slip and I'll just jerk and it'll really wake me up another one is that I'am playing football/soccer and I'll get fouled and then just spaz out, it's quite funny I feel.

To me it seems like your having all the thoughts and feelings that you would normally experience while in dream 'mode' but your just not asleep and sometimes I won't even see myself in my head, say walking down the street and falling I'll only just have the feeling that I'am. Anyway that is my first post on this board so I'll just say hi to one and all.

i sometimes get woken up by an extremeley loud gunshot or ringing noise inside my head, i just spring out of bed all tensed up

I'm not sure about that but I have had times where I get into a fight and get knocked out and wake up. The most common one though is falling. I remember one time I was asleep all crooked like and I had a falling dream that woke me up and I kicked my dad in the face.

I was just talking about this to a friend.

I get it quite a bit. Like a vision of a weird face or monster. And for that split second it scares me and i jump.

My girlfriend gets these all the time right as shes falling alseep. Shes a martial arts instructor and gets off work late. If she doesn't have time to chill before bed, she will be all twitchy and accidentally throw a Krav elbow to my face or a knee strike to my groin.

Thats a fun way to wake up.

It usually feels like falling over/falling down stairs for me.

A lot of the times, I trip or fall in my dream before I fall asleep and my leg does that in real life. My legs twitches and moves really fast around my bed, waking me up instantly.

Haha, ive done this one just getting sleepy and i had like a 2 sec dreams and i was at school in mucis sitting on a chair and it was all normal then a few things happend and i got up really quick to punck someone and then my hand moved in real life

This happens almost all the time with me except I vision stairs and I'm falling so i jump.

yeah this happens to me lots! especially when my alarm is about to go off...

In fact, just last night, I saw someone grabbing at my neck. I actually felt my neck being squeezed and it woke me up with a rapid heart.

Yeah, this has happened to me a bunch of times.

I usually feel like I get hit in the head with something. I've noticed that this happens when I've had an emotionally rought day. Also, sometimes after I come back from the club and try to go to sleep it happens.