Thread: asleep and awake at same time

Originally posted by xcrissxcrossx
occasionally when im really tired my eyes start drooping and i have a split second dream where im falling then i jerk my body. does this happen to anyone else? This also happens to me when im in bed trying to get to sleep.

It happens to me when i'm feeling tense and tired, or when some kind of thought is bugging me. However, i wouldn't call that a split second dream, but more some visual flashes from my waking state.

It's called a myoclonic jerk. It happens when your body and mind don't shut down together, like a diesel engine that sputters before it shuts off. I used to get that all the time in English class.

There was a thread about this not too long ago. There's a good Wikipedia link in it, too, that I found very helpful in explaining this phenomena.

Originally Posted by Burns

There was a thread about this not too long ago. There's a good Wikipedia link in it, too, that I found very helpful in explaining this phenomena.

Nevertrust Wikipedia k

I get this all the time. I'm falling asleep and I suddenly feel like I fell into my bed, or I was shocked awake.

I do as well, whenever I'm really tired and trying to sleep during class. Usually after the first jerk, I realize that I was falling asleep and I am conscious, but the jerks keep on coming. I wish I could use this to induce lucid dreams. ;D It always feels like my head is actually falling off of where it's propped.

This gives me an idea, though. Usually when I try to sleep in class, I keep listen for the teacher's voice getting louder so that if they turn to look at me, I can open my eyes. Maybe if I made some sort of track of a voice that got louder at random intervals and listened to it at night, I'd fall asleep while conscious!

Oh god, welcome to my life as a high school senior. I'm always getting myclonic jerks.

I used to get the jerking sensation while sleeping in class, not fun. I also get it when I try to make my mind awake and body asleep, and I'm always wondering why does it happen.

I've had dreams where I've been asleep and it seems as though my eyes are part way open at the same time, seeing my surrroundings, nothing could be weirder!!!

This is also known as microsleep. When the body occasionally drifts into a moment of sleep as it becomes unstimulated and low on monoamine neurotransmitter production.

This is a sign of sleep deprivation and stress. Relax, meditate, and go to sleep!
~

Hahaha I wish I could understand O'nus in-depth explanations xD

I had these hypnic jerks quite often, especially when I was extremely sleepy but forcing myself to stay awake... it's quite creepy, I wake up so scared from falling down heh

I used to get this, too. It would happen whenever I was tired and dozed off in a chair. When it happened, I'd usually have an odd little dream where a trapdoor would fall closed on my head, and that would shock me awake.