After a long day, most long to lie in bed and sleep. However, while you sleep happily, there are times when you wake up with a feeling of spasms in your arms and legs.
As you are awake again, you wonder what just happened. This is called a hypnotic jerk or sleep start . As we fall asleep, we have that sensation of an electric shock. It is not a seizure and it is a totally benign event. Surely you have also suffered it as a feeling of falling into the void.
Causes of moving when sleeping
Despite being nothing to worry about, they can serve as a clue that something is wrong with your lifestyle or that you could use a little care. Below we reveal the key reasons for these movements while sleeping.
Little amount of sleep
When it comes to hypnotic jerks, lack of sleep is the most common cause. This could be because we are not getting a good amount of sleep or we do not have a good quality of sleep.
Poor quality sleep means you are not getting the deepest REM stage of restorative sleep. This means that, despite being in bed sleeping, we may wake up feeling tired and sleepy during the day.
To address sleep deprivation, make sure you spend enough time in bed for a minimum of seven hours; Set a timer for going to bed, if that will serve as a reminder. Sleep hygiene, such as having time before bed for relaxing activities and being away from screens, is also important for quality of sleep.
High stress level
Mental and emotional stress can also trigger the onset of sleep. It would be interesting to know if people began to experience more movements when sleeping during the pandemic.
This fits in with the idea that a little relaxation or meditation could be used before sleep to ease any anxiety that may keep us awake and physically relaxed so that we can fall asleep peacefully.
Too much caffeine before bed
Stimulants, such as caffeine and nicotine, are also associated with movements when sleeping. And it’s no wonder that lack of sleep and caffeine consumption can go hand in hand.
The less you sleep, the more we’ll depend on caffeine to keep us awake, and it may be drunk later in the day (disrupting your sleep even more). Experts recommend that people consume no more than 400 mg of caffeine a day, or four to five cups of coffee (about 230 ml each cup).
Sleep apnea
Because hypnotic jerks occur during the transition between wakefulness and sleep, they are more likely to occur if we suffer from sleep apnea, a condition marked by brief pauses in breathing during the night, causing multiple awakenings and wakefulness.
Other signs and symptoms of apnea include snoring or gasping during sleep, as well as excessive daytime sleepiness or headaches when you wake up. Sleep apnea is dangerous because it can increase your risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes, so it is important to speak with a doctor.
