Question: why are you jerking in a dream - many are interested. There is no person who, when falling asleep, did not feel that he was falling, tripping or kicking the ball. At the same time, having already almost fallen asleep, a person starts, twitches and wakes up due to a sharp contraction of muscles in any part of the body.
Jerking in a dream - what is it
That, because of which a person suddenly wakes up, is called Simmonds myoclonia - frequent twitching of muscles in different groups of them. Such muscle contractions are rhythmic and synchronous, or irregular. They are fast, jerky muscle twitches, similar to those that appear when irritated by electric shock.
A similar phenomenon is observed in both children and adults, refer to physiological myoclonia, which are known to everyone. These jerks when falling asleep are especially common in children. They are associated with the imperfection of their nervous system and the difference in the duration of sleep phases compared with such periods in adults.
The main physiological causes
Sleep myoclonia is a completely normal physiological process. Despite this, over time, cramps can progress: become more frequent and become a little longer. Their distinguishing feature is a change in localization. The muscles of the leg may contract after falling asleep at night, the muscles of the arm contract the next night, and the third night will be associated with sudden twitching of the muscles of the face.
There are several factors leading to the occurrence of myoclonus. They are partly the answer to the question - why jerk in a dream.
Neurophysiological cause
When you fall asleep, the muscles completely relax - their tone is minimized, the body relaxes to ensure a good rest. At the time of falling asleep, body temperature, blood pressure decreases, the heart rate decreases, breathing slows down. The hypothalamus perceives this as a process of dying of the body, so the brain sends electrical signals to relaxed muscles to raise their tone - there is a sharp involuntary contraction, which leads to awakening due to the fact that a person trembles in a dream. But only a few people suffer from such twitches.
Physical exercise
If you are interested in why you are jerking in a dream, you need to analyze your past day. Large physical exertion on the muscles throughout the day - physical education or sports, long walking, intense movements associated with work - adversely affect the muscles. Their tone is increased for a long time, and even rest does not lead to their relaxation. To reduce tone, the brain sends electrical impulses, which leads to the fact that the muscles gradually reduce tone. But at the same time they twitch, the contractions alternate with relaxation, as a result of which the person twitches in a dream. Often myoclonus - involuntary muscle contractions - may be accompanied by moderate pain.
To get rid of the pain that has arisen, you can do some light sparing exercises for those muscle groups that are tense. To do this, perform rotation in the joints, sipping or raising legs. Such exercises lead to muscle relaxation, the pain subsides, twitches and cramps stop.
Chronic stress
The answer to the question - why are you jerking in a dream - may be a mental overstrain, to which a person was exposed all day. Acute and chronic stress and overwork lead to the inability to fall asleep quickly. People in a state of mental exhaustion suffer from insomnia. This is due to the fact that with fatigue and nervous overloads, the phase of falling asleep lengthens. Impulses produced by the brain lead to trembling and awakening. After this, the process can be repeated: prolonged falling asleep, involuntary twitching of muscles, sudden awakening.
With constant daily stress and overwork, any external stimuli in the form of sound, light or movement are perceived to be exaggeratedly strong. In this state, any factor insignificant in its effect can cause sleep disturbance.
Impaired blood supply
Another reason why you jerk in a dream is a violation of blood supply in the vessels of the legs and arms. This is the so-called Ekbom's restless legs syndrome, or nocturnal myoclonus. With an uncomfortable position, the vessels may subside, and then the blood circulation is disturbed, and the legs or arms go numb in a dream, paresthesia occurs. The brain immediately sends an impulse to a change of position - a person jerks sharply, begins to wake up, move, turn. Such trembling in a dream leads to a change in body position and at the same time to an improvement in blood supply.
Sleep phases
Changing the phases of sleep is another factor in why you jerk in a dream. When a person falls asleep, the state of complete relaxation that occurs during the period of falling asleep goes into the phase of REM sleep - rapid eye movement. At this time, the brain processes all the accumulated information. This is a kind of protective function. A signal from the brain can suddenly interrupt this relaxation process, the person starts, the sleep phase changes again - the process repeats.
Rapid growth in children
Excessively fast growth in children of asthenic type leads to a sudden twitching of various muscle groups in a dream. Over time, when the child grows up and gains sufficient body weight, it will pass on its own.
Pathological causes
In addition to the physiological reasons why you jerk in a dream, a number of pathological processes can occur in the body that lead to a sudden contraction of some muscles and a sudden awakening. These include:
- sleep pathology;
- hypokalemia and hypocalcemia (low levels of potassium and calcium in the body) - in this case, it is necessary to consult a specialist who will prescribe the necessary drugs based on the tests performed;
- lack of magnesium in the body leads to a sudden muscle contraction, which is why a person twitches in a dream and wakes up;
nervous tic is in many cases a pathological condition requiring examination by a neurologist and an ophthalmologist to help cope with the problem.
Pathological reasons leading to such phenomena most often include the following:
- hypoxia of the brain;
- abrupt cancellation of certain drugs (barbiturates, benzodiazepines);
- neurosis;
- mental disorders;
- epilepsy;
- degenerative changes in the cells.
Pathological nocturnal myoclonus is more pronounced than physiological, and more polyetiological, as indicated above.
All these violations most often occur in old and old age - they constitute a risk group. Although this process can occur in any person at any age.
How to get rid of jerking in a dream
In the treatment of both physiological and pathological myoclonus, not only drug therapy, which is prescribed last, but, above all, the correct lifestyle and bedtime behavior, plays a role:
You need to do quiet, quiet activity, read a few pages of an interesting book.
You can drink green tea - it slightly reduces pressure and soothes.
It is recommended to take a warm shower or bath, listen to calm music, make a light massage.
During the day, you need to try to do without stressful situations and physical stress.
Avoid a hearty dinner at a later time, especially before bedtime. Three to four hours before bedtime, you can eat something light in small quantities.
It is important to go to bed at the same time, setting yourself up not to fall asleep, but to relax.
In the event that all the applied independent efforts do not bring results, and trembling and twitching continue, it is necessary to visit a neurologist. Perhaps he will prescribe medication.
For the treatment of myoclonia (both physiological and pathological) are used:
Clonazepam in a dosage of 28 mg per day or more - as directed by a doctor;
Valproate (Depaxin, Convulex, Apilepsin) - 10 - 40 mg per day;
tryptophan precursors (L - tryptophan, Kalma, Senadot).
But drugs are a last resort. If possible, it is necessary to pay attention to the problem at its first manifestations and tackle its solution, calming the nerves before bedtime with available drug-free methods. In this case, it will be possible to get rid of these unpleasant phenomena and establish a normal sleep.
