Why you jerk yourself awake every time you try to fall asleep (and what to do about it)

Do you ever get a sensation like you're about to fall asleep and then you suddenly jerk yourself awake again? Perhaps with a racing heart and feeling as though you're in fight or flight mode?

The physical jerks aren't uncommon and are often referred to as hypnic jerks, sleep starts, or sleep twitches. They typically occur as we progress from wakefulness to the first stage of light sleep and are sometimes associated with a sensation that you are falling.

Of course, in real life, the only falling actually taking place is falling asleep! So, with this in mind, it can be helpful to recognize these jerks or jolts as the onset of sleep rather than a sign that something is wrong.

These physical jerks or sudden mental arousal can also be a symptom of hyperarousal — in other words, the more you pay attention and perhaps self-monitor for sleep and these jerks, the more frequently they might happen or the more intense they might feel.

They can also be a heightened response to the normal bodily changes associated with sleep. For example, as we fall asleep our muscles start to relax and our breathing slows. If we are more alert or monitoring for this, we can be more sensitive to these changes.

So, what can you do to get rid of these jerks? Recognizing that they are not unusual and that they don't necessarily indicate a problem, and identifying them as a symptom that sleep is happening can be really helpful.

It can also be helpful to observe a consistent sleep schedule, take time to unwind before bed, and only go to bed when you feel sleepy enough for sleep.

If you experience a jerk or jolt and this leads to a lot of time in bed feeling worried, anxious, or frustrated, it can be helpful to get out of bed and only return when you feel calm and relaxed again.

Related video:

Hypnic jerks can be a challenge but they are simply a sign that sleep is happening! The less you can worry about them, the less you monitor for them, and the more comfortable you can be with their occasional presence, the less likely they may be to occur.

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All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

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[InsomniaCoach]

All content found on the Insomnia Coach YouTube channel is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Oceanix]

The part that sucks about this is that it happens once, you get anxious about sleeping and then it happens because you're anxious about it happening. It becomes a cycle.

[affiniti]

All I can say is THANK GOODNESS I’m not the only one! Knowing that loads of people go through this normalises it which takes away some of the anxiety. Thanks so much for making this video. It makes so much sense. 🙏

[quickpstuts]

Here's some encouragement and help for anyone going thru this. I just had my first full night's sleep in many months where I was averaging 1-4 hours. The night before last, I may have gotten 20 minutes total!!! They are definitely related to my anxiety and stress levels.

I was so sleep deprived that my anxiety was on 10 all day (heart pounding) and the hypnic jerks were nonstop for the last 2 nights. I have never been so exhausted, nor had I had multiple hypnic jerks like that.

I realized my issue was I couldn't stop worrying about NOT sleeping. I am a chronic worrier anyway and always have anxiety. So I would go to bed every night almost fearing sleep and any sensation (jerks) or anxiety (stomach) that would come about.

So when I laid down, I got a really hard jerk on my arm. My whole arm jerked, even up to the shoulder. Never had that before. Normally it's my leg. My fingers were trembling too. I thought I was having a seizure, but I was just hyper from sleep deprivation.

Instead of instantly worrying it would not go away and start catastrophizing like I normally do.... I said aloud "It's OK. I'm safe. It will eventually go away. Just relax." I focused on my breath and took super long, loud exhales. Long exhales are such a great hack for relaxing the body.

Now, because I had just had a few jerks and my adrenaline had surged a bit, I was no longer as sleepy. (I would also get a few butterflies in my stomach along with the jerks that also kept me up.)

In the past, I would worry about how awake I was and how I hope I don't have any more anxiety episodes (of course that would just give me more anxiety or jerks). So the cycle would continue all night long.

But instead of panicking and worrying that it would happen all night, I just kept telling myself, "It's OK. I can rest." I noticed by saying that and breathing, I was not as anxious as I normally was after having a few jerks. So I turned to my side and before I knew it, it was morning.

The lesson for me was you have to learn to accept it. That's hard to do when you want sleep so badly. Also, it's so important to busy yourself the evening before. I did 30 minutes of cardio and every time I tried to worry about sleep, I would distract myself.

Thinking all day about how you can't sleep also fuels your anxiety, so by the time you are in bed, you are still carrying that adrenaline with you. That doesn't help. So try your best to stay busy all day. This is HUGE!!! Plus, cardio can tire your body and make it easier to stay asleep.

By coaching myself gently and accepting the sensations that were keeping me awake, it re-wired my brain to know I'm safe. So the anxiety stopped.

I wish you the best. I know how scary this can be if you've been going through this a long time, but it will eventually go away.

[wizzardwacs]

The first 13 seconds and I’m like YES!!!

[trudy]

Those jolts of adrenalin in the middle of the night makes me feel like I'm going to have a heart attack then I'm up the rest of the night.. Such a miserable feeling. 😭

[tammyburgess]

I first have the sensation of falling then immediately the feeling like I am suffocating/dying, once I am completely awake the scary feelings leave.

[donnavazz]

To anyone that's experiencing hypnic jerks, i want your'll to know it does go away, but takes time and patience, i had this a year ago n i was in a very horrible state, but now im ok. I think this was all caused by the physical stress and importantly mental stress.
If you're doing any heavy exercise, just avoid it for the time, do your regular work which keeps your mind busy from the fear of not falling asleep, eat your food don't worry too much on what food u should eat or not eat, keep your self hydrated enough. (Your brain needs energy to sleep, duh) If ur feeling dizzy sit n stay calm, i used to avoid laying on the bed at day time, n only used to sleep on it at night.
And plz do not worry too much about it, change your perspective towards it, any kind of negative emotions/situation/people keep them away, maybe don't react to this kind of things, spend a little time outside, be kind to yourself. Practice gratitude, at that time even if i slept for 15 minutes i told myself good job. And with this attitude i got my sleep back, n no longer afraid of hypnic jerks.

[frozenpeas]

today i haven’t got sleep at all bc of these jerks im so frustrated. i got mental breakdown at like 12 am and try to sleep after that but i cant im so tired. got a panic attack and im afraid to got to sleep and every night time i got so anxious. good god make it stop

[Miaree_]

This started happening 3 days ago when my anxiety started getting really bad. I would lay in bed and try to go to sleep while constantly opening one eye to try to see if I was ok and I would get this shock wave feeling in my chest. It also happened when my mom came in my room which startled me and caused my chest and body to jolt. I can't even sleep anymore because I'm scared it will happen again.

[kellyriveramusic]

I recently recovered from Covid but I have not been able to sleep for the past month due to this scary jerk feeling when Im abt to fall asleep, I get this mostly in my chest, so I fear I’m having heart trouble which causes anxiety and now Im scared to go to bed every night.. i end up staying up all night almost every night 😓

[stefanohamam]

It's been happening to me quite a bit lately. I'll start falling asleep and usually I become aware right before it happens. Then I feel I am forced awake gasping for air but I immediately catch my breathe and feel fine shortly there after. The feeling i have is that if I don't force myself awake, I'd die. It can be terrifying sometimes.I feel it happens less often when I sleep on my stomach.

[happytanoya]

Brah I thought I was having a seizure👀

[dudo]

Man, it really shows how much my sleep issues were all in my head/anxiety. As soon as I used these flight or flight moments as a positive sign of sleep, they calmed down. I felt that my heart was beating so fast, then I checked my Fitbit at 55 Bpm! It's like my body was trying to play tricks to make me worry, so when I stopped trying to worry all night and just accepted these things come and go, sleep changed for me. Thanks so much!!!

[WormsWeGot]

I'm so desperate to be rid of these. They started randomly out of nowhere 5 years ago, and has since then stopped me from getting natural sleep ever since, at least a full-night (6-8 hours). I get these so much, and it feels like a heart-attack each night. And I'm slowly but surely losing hope that there is a fix or a "cure" for this. I cannot nap or sleep.

[ryandigings]

3:00 is literally me, but I'm stuck in that OCD type cycle where I can't stop obsessing about it, and the more I try 'not to' the worse it gets. They're sometimes so strong I feel like I'm going pass out or even have my heart stop... scary how powerful the mind can be when turned against itself!

[TheAllKnighter-to]

I can not sleep without taking sedatives to get past hypnic jerks. They are horrrendous. I relax down just to the edge of sleep and then give a jerk, a split second snore and all these alert swirling awake thoughts pass over the front of my brain. It's beyond hell. I am only getting knocked out by Zopiclone but my doctor says I have to go off it. I will die the most horrible death from no sleep.

[MrGordonSims]

All due respect, but frankly, this was in no way helpful. It’s not sufficient to “know” the jerks are not harmful; your semi-unconscious brain clearly does not know this.

[maddygraham]

I get these pretty randomly. When it happens I feel SO exhausted trying to fall back asleep but as soon as I start to again jolt and grab my chest to catch my breath again but I start panicking and have anxiety/ panic attacks and feel like I have butterflies in my chest and stomach. Been trying to calm down for about an hour now.

[heptagram]

It feels like an electric shock and I get really awake I also get sleep paralysis. I'm gonna try experiment if a pillow on my chest reduces the feeling of falling. The jolt feels powerful and I normally bounce quite bit.