what is this

[brandeath]

Hello im new here , I was doing a research paper for school on Dream Control and i became attached to reading these forums. But my question is , Sometimes before i fall asleep like while im laying there ill almost fall asleep and this big jolt of energy in my head will go threw me and make me rapidly wake up and it can happen numerous times in one night occasionally. What is it and what does it mean?

[Citrusponge]

Happens to me often, whatever it is. And I have no idea, sorry. This post wasn't too helpful

[nina]

Hey there, here are just a few links I thought you might want to check out...this has already kinda been discussed quite a bit: http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....&highlight=jolt http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....&highlight=jolt http://www.dreamviews.com/forum/viewtopic....&highlight=jolt

[Gothlark]

That's most likely hypnagogia. If you get your mind to function as if it's asleep while maintaining consciousness, your mind will begin to create things similar to dreams. Most of the time, it starts with seeing things on the back of your eyelids. Sometimes it could skip this stage and go directly to the part where you experience sensations as realistic as any vivid dream. Alot of people experience energy sensations, vibrating sensations, and things like that. So, basically, it's like a really vivid day dream.

[nina]

Here we go: A hypnic or hypnogogic jerk is an involuntary muscle twitch (more generally known as myoclonus or a myclonic twitch) which often occurs during the transition from wakefulness to sleep (see hypnogogia). It is often described as an electric shock or falling sensation, and can cause movement of the body in bed. Hypnic jerks are completely normal, and are experienced by most people, especially when over-tired or sleeping uncomfortably. The exact cause of the sudden jerks is not clear, but there are two main hypotheses to explain them. One is that it is a naturally occurring part of the sleep process, as are slower breathing, and reduced body temperature. Another hypothesis is that the feelings associated with relaxation before sleep are misinterpreted by the brain as falling or toppling over, and by reflex the body jerks out the limbs to stay upright. Hypnic jerks are usually felt just once or twice per night. More regular (and usually less dramatic) muscle twitches often occur during normal sleep (perhaps as much as one every thirty seconds). In extreme cases, this may be classified as a disorder called periodic limb movement. The person with the disorder will usually sleep through the events, and the partner sleeping in the same bed is kept awake.[/b] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk

[Gothlark]

Thanks for posting that, Nina. I wasn't aware that there was any proper term for that stage of hypnagogia.

[nina]

Originally posted by Gothlark Thanks for posting that, Nina. *I wasn't aware that there was any proper term for that stage of hypnagogia. Yeah I wasn't either until I looked it up. Seeing as how there are so many questions about it maybe we could add it to the acronyms list with a definition of what it is. It could be HJ - for hypnic jerk...what do ya think?

[wasup]

The acronyms are really just for ancronyms that are used (often).

[TygrHawk]

Originally posted by lucidnina hypnic jerk I dunno -- sounds kinda like some new dance.