Why We Feel A 'Sudden Jerk' During A Deep Sleep?

By Dr. SHELLY AHMED | INNLIVE

Ever felt a powerful jerk as soon as you are drifting away to sleep? Or felt like you might just fall down? The jerk that we feel as soon as we are about to doze off is called an hypnic jerk.

In layman terms, a hypnic jerk is an involuntary twitching of a muscle, or muscles. It usually occurs just as you’re falling asleep, during what’s known scientifically as the hypnagogic state.

While experts have no full research of why that happens, but what seems to be happening is that there’s a neurological disbalance between the conscious and unconscious part of the brain in the transitional stage when the body is dozing off.

During this transitional state, while the unconscious brains switches off, the conscious brain is still awake and gives off a jerk to show that it is still awake! However, soon enough the conscious brain too gives up and switches off all activity. This is the reason you do not always wake up from a hypnic jerk and sometimes don’t even remember it.

However, the good news is that sleep jerks are normally harmless and unless they hamper your sleep every day, you have nothing to worry!