What is the falling sensation before sleep?

[ModestMouse]

Ever since I remember I sometimes feel a quick falling sensation right when I just starting to fall asleep. It's more like I'm tripping. I always catch myself and will physically convulse my body in bed, like i'm bracing myself. I did some googling to no avail. Someone must know what this phenomenon is.

[Tattoo]

Its the seizures everyone has as they sleep, It feels exactly like tripping to me and I usually startle awake momentarily (if I remember doing it), I believe we do it everytime we are asleep and ocasionally recognize it, these seizeurs have a specific name but my psych class memory has failed me...

[ModestMouse]

thanks found ou the name after some more research, it's called a Hypnic Jerk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk I wonder if you could exploit this into a WILD?

[Burns]

Originally posted by ModestMouse thanks found ou the name after some more research, it's called a Hypnic Jerk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk I also experience those muscle jerks, but never knew what they were called. Thanks for posting that link!

[Barbizzle]

Thanks for the link. I always feel this, it can be quite bothersome.

[Nunquam]

I've had this happen to me lots of times. Usually I don't feel much of a falling sensation though, I just tend to flinch and jerk awake as though someone just punched me or something.

[mongreloctopus]

Whenever this happens to me I dream at the same time that I slip or fall, and when I hit the ground my entire body jerks and I find myself in a supreme state of confusion for a few seconds.

[AnonymousTipster]

Wow, I think used to have these, but i'd actually dream them! I used to call them 'flash dreams' as they happened so fast. It would involve something like falling down the stairs, and just as I was going to hit the bottom, i'd jerk awake and sit up in bed very quickly. If these are the same things, then it may be possible to turn them into WILD....possibly. Unfortunately, I no longer have these dreams.

[danbarber]

Thanks for the info. I've experienced this a few times. I suddenly feel as if I've been slammed into my bed. I've always wondered what it was. Thanks

[ModestMouse]

I was thinking about this. I don't think you could WILD right then, because at least for me it's usually right when i'm first going to sleep so it's not in the middle of REM...

[Merlock]

Ah, but the contrast between dreaming and hypnagogia should not be distinguished as such a large one. Afterall, hypnagogia, when analyzed logically, resembles the logical parts of the dream state in just about every way except that one's mind is usually less focused on it than on dreams.