Why do people twitch when they are falling asleep? Sometimes I am told by my gf that I am twitching when falling asleep and I don’t even know I am doing it.
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While I don’t know the exact scientific process’ name, I can explain it to you like you’re five. Your body is going into shutdown mode and your brain is having your muscles make sure that you’re still alive/ everything is as should be.
Hey it happens to me too sometimes! I heard that these are called hypnic jerks. They happen when your body gets a little confused while you’re falling asleep. When you’re awake, your brain sends signals to your body to move and do things. But when you’re going to sleep, your brain starts sending different signals to relax your body and make it calm down. Sometimes, while your body is relaxing, it gets mixed up and sends a signal to move, even though you’re supposed to be sleeping. That’s why you feel that sudden jerk or twitch.
I think the behavior is related to sleep paralysis as well.
Your brain shuts down large muscle movements when you go to sleep.
This is to stop you acting out your dreams.
Imagine being fast asleep and punching the dream bad guy and it is your GF
Or just thrashing about and letting the sabretoothed beasties know where you are.
So your body has to stop you moving but your primate bit of the brain essentially misinterprets the relaxation as a sign that the sleeping primate is falling out of a tree, and causes the muscles to quickly react.
In other words – no one really knows why it happens but there are many theories.
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