Muscle spasms when entering Sleep Paralysis?

**atkins513** · 01-27-2011 09:01 AM

I haven't been sleeping well at all recently and this may be contributing to this but has anyone else had an issue of uncontrollable muscle spasms when laying very still to enter sp?

What happens is I am laying there and my leg will become very restless and suddenly shake and jerk violently then be calm again. It is relieving to the feeling building up but it messes it up. Its not a hallucination but it knocks me out of sp.. its only happened a few times but any one else have this?

**mcwillis** · 01-27-2011 11:40 AM

Originally Posted by atkins513

I haven't been sleeping well at all recently and this may be contributing to this but has anyone else had an issue of uncontrollable muscle spasms when laying very still to enter sp?

What happens is I am laying there and my leg will become very restless and suddenly shake and jerk violently then be calm again. It is relieving to the feeling building up but it messes it up. Its not a hallucination but it knocks me out of sp.. its only happened a few times but any one else have this?

Nick Newport discusses this in his 70 minute bridge video from lucidology 101 to lucidology 102. He did a lot of research but couldn't find an answer for why they happen. He said they just went of their own accord after a long period of time.

**atkins513** · 01-27-2011 09:51 PM

I have never seen this video. Can you send it to me?

**Puffin** · 01-27-2011 09:59 PM

Sometimes my legs do that too; they sort of just "jump" when I'm very relaxed.

If it's also accompanied by a falling sensation, it's called a hypagogic jerk.

**atkins513** · 01-27-2011 10:14 PM

well i dont get the falling sensation, just very very restless legs... its strange.

**Peetee36** · 01-27-2011 11:57 PM

I quite often get the falling sensation. Never knew it was that though. Not sure about any advice though, I would say to try and just let it happen naturally and not let it phase you.

**atkins513** · 01-28-2011 12:24 AM

Yea ive heard that if you use the falling sensation right, you can fall into a dream lol but i dont get that sensation...

**Tripoli** · 01-28-2011 01:33 AM

This happens to me aswell. Not sure why though.

**dark_grimmjow** · 01-29-2011 04:44 AM

I've sort of been having the same problem recently as well. It can be annoying. I will almost be able to fall asleep and then i randomly get the muscle spasm. Most of the time it is my legs, but it has also happened with my arms and hands. I've been having a hard time getting enough sleep due to a recent change in my sleep schedule. I have to get up much earlier on mon. wed. and fri. and i don't get enough sleep. It's made worse by insomnia. Maybe, like you said atkins, that lack of rest could be contributing to it, as well as my constantly changing sleep cycle.

**Jay12341235** · 01-29-2011 05:04 AM

your not going to get SP 9 times out of 10 lying in bed without pre sleep if that's what you're trying to do. I can send you a very good induction tutorial if you'd like, PM me

And the spams are called hypnic jerks if I remember correctly. They're normal and I get them too while trying to fall asleep on my back

**Mwoller3** · 03-07-2011 02:02 AM

When you are falling asleep or trying to go for sleep paralysis this can happen. I think it is called a midocardial jerk. It happens all the time to me. Your body's heart rate is either falling at a rate that is to fast or is getting pretty slow, your body thinks its dying. Therefore it sends out a signal to wakle your body up such as a muscle jerk or spazm

**iFatal** · 03-07-2011 02:34 AM

This happens to me too usually when I think about SP when I try to get into SP I find that if I don't think about it, it doesn't happen to me.

@Mwoller3

Cool, I never knew that.

**Captain Frapo** · 03-07-2011 03:12 AM

This is actually a very common thing, which happens to me each and every single night as I fall asleep. I'm not so sure "that your body thinks its dying" but it's typical unconscious sort of... check, to see if you're still asleep. It's actually completely related to the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. I believe that this is because when we go into sleep paralysis it is so that we do not physically act out our dreams... these little jerks or sensations are minute signals sent out from the brain into the body to test whether or not we have fallen asleep yet. This is also why if we lie still long enough we get the urge to itch, or roll over. Both of these are similar test signals to see how the body/mind connection is. As in, if you're awake you will most likely roll over, scratch that itch, or move after the jerk.

Theoretically if you consciously refuse these sensations, the mind will think the body is asleep (or does the body think the mind's asleep?) The muscle spasms are common, though may vary in degree, are just used to gauge how 'asleep' we are. When a muscle spasms the brain sends out a signal to that area because it is still 'awake' and hence spasms, so the signal is essentially dispatching more sleep paralysis to the awake area.

Though this is a good thing, there's a way to make this work for you because it's just a battle of wills between the mind and the body. You can also FAKE a muscle spasm by twitching or clenching a muscle in your arm, leg, face, finger etc... in order to induce sleep paralysis sooner.

**musicforlife** · 03-07-2011 05:02 AM

i get this in my legs when i fall asleep randomly in the day time listening to music, wake up probably a half an hour after falling asleep an not move and my leg just shoots on up like a jolt of lightning. scares the crap out of me at times, heart beat rises crazy stuff. o_O

**Tripoli** · 03-07-2011 07:41 AM

Originally Posted by Captain Frapo

This is actually a very common thing, which happens to me each and every single night as I fall asleep. I'm not so sure "that your body thinks its dying" but it's typical unconscious sort of... check, to see if you're still asleep. It's actually completely related to the phenomenon of sleep paralysis. I believe that this is because when we go into sleep paralysis it is so that we do not physically act out our dreams... these little jerks or sensations are minute signals sent out from the brain into the body to test whether or not we have fallen asleep yet. This is also why if we lie still long enough we get the urge to itch, or roll over. Both of these are similar test signals to see how the body/mind connection is. As in, if you're awake you will most likely roll over, scratch that itch, or move after the jerk.

Theoretically if you consciously refuse these sensations, the mind will think the body is asleep (or does the body think the mind's asleep?) The muscle spasms are common, though may vary in degree, are just used to gauge how 'asleep' we are. When a muscle spasms the brain sends out a signal to that area because it is still 'awake' and hence spasms, so the signal is essentially dispatching more sleep paralysis to the awake area.

Though this is a good thing, there's a way to make this work for you because it's just a battle of wills between the mind and the body. You can also FAKE a muscle spasm by twitching or clenching a muscle in your arm, leg, face, finger etc... in order to induce sleep paralysis sooner.

So does it mean I am getting closer to SP? If so then YAYAY.