Falling Sensation

I'm not sure where to put this...I just was always curious about this. I'm sure someone else has had this feeling while you're just about to fall asleep, and all of the sudden I'll get a mental picture of me in a: Roller coaster going over a hill, skydiving exp, or tripping/falling, etc and get a SCARY REAL feeling of me falling and jolt up awake as can be. (Sorry about the run on haha) What would that classify being?

I get it once in a blue moon...but it always scares the hell out of me!

Ah the jolt thing, I hear it's pretty common, but I'm not 100% sure what it's called.

Maybe hypnagogic jerk? Not totally sure.

yuppa yuppa :)

I get it a lot too, though it doesn't scrare me anymore, got used to the whole thing

I got it FOUR times last night.

Sounds more like sleep paralysis to me.

Spoiler for Hypnic Jerk:

A hypnic jerk, or hypnagogic massive jerk, usually occurs just as we are falling asleep. People often describe it as a falling sensation or an electric shock, and it is a completely normal experience. It most commonly occurs when sleeping uncomfortably or over-tired. There has been little research done on the subject, but there are some theories as to why hypnic jerks occur.

When we drift of into sleep, the body undergoes changes in temperature, breathing and muscle relaxation. The hypnic jerk may be a result of the muscles relaxing. The brain misinterprets this as a sign of falling and signals our limbs to wake up; hence the jerking legs or arms.

A hypnic jerk may also occur during the Rapid Eye Movement phase of sleep. The REM phase is the time when dreams happen and all voluntary muscular activity stops along with a complete drop in muscle tone. During REM, some individuals experience slight eye or ear twitching, and this is also when the hypnic jerk occurs. Some people with sleep disorders do not achieve muscular relaxation and have been known to act out their dreams.

In most people, a hypnic jerk usually occurs just once or twice a night. However, when a person is deprived of sleep or trying to fight sleep, it may happen more often. In extreme cases, the muscle twitches can happen every thirty seconds or more. This disorder is called periodic limb movement.

Another theory put forward to try and explain the hypnic jerk is that the body reacts to falling asleep much in the way that a body may twitch when dying. The hypnic jerk is a reflex used to keep the body functioning. The brain might register falling asleep as a situation in which the body needs to be stimulated.

A hypnic jerk can also occur when you wake up. This is far more rare and can also affect auditory as well as muscular nerves. In the phenomenon known as an auditory sleep start, waking from sleep is accompanied with a very loud snap or cracking which seems to come from the center of the head. Some people have also been known to have visual sleep starts, in which a blinding flash of light awakens the sleeper, but these cases are also extremely rare.

Sleep studies have shown that hypnic jerks affect around 10 percent of the population on a nightly basis. Almost 80 percent of people are affected occasionally and 10 percent are rarely ever affected. So when the person falling asleep next to you on the bus suddenly twitches for no reason, you may well be justified in calling them a hypnic jerk.

- Google.

could this twitching possibly also happen while awake, because sometimes my leg or arm just kinda twitches, while being passive...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ClouD

Ah the jolt thing, I hear it's pretty common, but I'm not 100% sure what it's called.

Maybe hypnagogic jerk? Not totally sure.

---

No, you're the hypnagogic jerk! :P

I've had this before too. The feeling in your stomach is so real... pure adrenaline just gathers there. Not exactly painful or discomforting, but very disconcerting.

I've only ever had that when I've been drinking. Usually happens when I'm drunk and in a car (Not driving of course). This sudden feeling that I dropped 20 feet. Some of my friends remarked on the same thing.

In my own personal beliefs, the slipping sensation is created by the feeling of your astral body slipping into the dream plane before the physical body is 100% completely asleep. In turn, it creates a sensation of your body falling off behind you.

P.S. Deep Sleep, Hollywood Undead are the bomb. Best band ever. ;)

I experience these rarely, but I'm sure they are nothing to worry about. I used to think they were signs of a WILD about to begin, but I'm not sure if that's what they really are.

Okay, Obviously no ones clicking the spoiler button or what ever, so I will post it here
A hypnic jerk, or hypnagogic massive jerk, usually occurs just as we are falling asleep. People often describe it as a falling sensation or an electric shock, and it is a completely normal experience. It most commonly occurs when sleeping uncomfortably or over-tired. There has been little research done on the subject, but there are some theories as to why hypnic jerks occur.

When we drift of into sleep, the body undergoes changes in temperature, breathing and muscle relaxation. The hypnic jerk may be a result of the muscles relaxing. The brain misinterprets this as a sign of falling and signals our limbs to wake up; hence the jerking legs or arms.

A hypnic jerk may also occur during the Rapid Eye Movement phase of sleep. The REM phase is the time when dreams happen and all voluntary muscular activity stops along with a complete drop in muscle tone. During REM, some individuals experience slight eye or ear twitching, and this is also when the hypnic jerk occurs. Some people with sleep disorders do not achieve muscular relaxation and have been known to act out their dreams.

In most people, a hypnic jerk usually occurs just once or twice a night. However, when a person is deprived of sleep or trying to fight sleep, it may happen more often. In extreme cases, the muscle twitches can happen every thirty seconds or more. This disorder is called periodic limb movement.

Another theory put forward to try and explain the hypnic jerk is that the body reacts to falling asleep much in the way that a body may twitch when dying. The hypnic jerk is a reflex used to keep the body functioning. The brain might register falling asleep as a situation in which the body needs to be stimulated.

A hypnic jerk can also occur when you wake up. This is far more rare and can also affect auditory as well as muscular nerves. In the phenomenon known as an auditory sleep start, waking from sleep is accompanied with a very loud snap or cracking which seems to come from the center of the head. Some people have also been known to have visual sleep starts, in which a blinding flash of light awakens the sleeper, but these cases are also extremely rare.

Sleep studies have shown that hypnic jerks affect around 10 percent of the population on a nightly basis. Almost 80 percent of people are affected occasionally and 10 percent are rarely ever affected. So when the person falling asleep next to you on the bus suddenly twitches for no reason, you may well be justified in calling them a hypnic jerk.

--From google--