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I am glad to welcome you, dear readers of my blog! Has it ever happened that when you fall asleep, you shudder sharply because of the feeling that you are falling, stumbling, or, for example, kicking a ball with your foot? This sometimes interferes with loved ones or even frightens, very clearly imprinted in the mind. I have had such situations a couple of times, and I decided to study in more detail why this happens. As it turned out, the factors due to which the body twitches during sleep are many, and some of them require medical intervention. And the involuntary twitching itself has received the name — Simmonds nocturnal myoclonus.
Main theories and probable causes
Require no intervention
- When a person begins to fall asleep, his breathing and heart rate slow down, and his muscles relax. And the brain regards such a state of suspended animation as the onset of the death of the organism, therefore, to check, it sends a signal to contract the muscles, thus “waking up” the sleeping person.
- Also because of the conflict phases of sleep. Stages have different features of the manifestation of the activity of cells of both the nervous and muscular systems. And since they replace one another, sometimes a failure occurs, which causes twitches.
- The process of blood supply in the limbs is disturbed. The walls of the vessels are filled with blood, and if there is a change in pressure in them or the level of fullness, information goes to the brain that it is necessary to slightly change the position of the body. This is often due to an uncomfortable posture, especially men who have their loved ones sleeping on their chests, squeezing their hands in this case and disrupting the blood supply.
- Banal snoring, due to which the level of oxygen in the blood decreases, so the brain again tries to wake up its “owner” in order to correct the situation.
- Due to intense physical exertion, since the muscles were actively involved in the work process and cannot relax, they need a long time for this or a sharp shake in order to relieve tension and finally relax.
- Due to the stresses that have accumulated during the day, our nervous system also experiences excessive stress, which should also be eliminated in order to preserve the body.
- It often happens in children during the period of maturation and development of the nervous system, which simply cannot cope with the amount of information that comes in during the day. So do not panic if the child twitches every night and wakes up as a result.
- Nightmares, harsh sounds, or even touch can be frightening, especially if the person is just napping at the moment.
- Due to low levels of potassium and calcium in the body.
All these factors do not require a doctor’s consultation and, accordingly, treatment.
Require intervention
If moments of startling become more frequent and exhaust you, leading to chronic fatigue syndrome, I wrote about it in an article about astheno-depressive syndrome — it’s time to sign up for a consultation with a specialist, as this may be a sign of diseases such as:
- Bruxism — in addition to twitching, a person begins to “grind” his teeth because of this disease;
- Epilepsy, only seizures occur exactly when a person falls asleep;
- Nocturnal myoclonus is when the legs periodically involuntarily bend at the knees, ankle or hip joints, while the thumbs, on the contrary, unbend. A person with this disease sometimes does not even wake up and is not aware of its presence.
- Due to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, senile dementia, etc…
- Paroxysmal dystonia — causes the same involuntary movements, moreover, a person may well be injured, because, for example, a hand can jerk sharply, hitting the face, or a leg flying into the bedside table. This happens due to the fact that the movements are very sharp and active, and in terms of duration they may well last an hour and a half.
- It also occurs as a side effect due to taking medications, especially if they are antidepressants.
- Pinched nerve, problems with the cardiovascular system, etc.
Top 10 recommendations
- To understand why you have experienced them, first try to analyze the events that have happened to you over the past few days. Any stress, even positively colored emotions, can provoke one-time involuntary twitches. If they took place, then breathing exercises, massage and relaxation will help you, it will relax and help you cope with the consequences.
- Avoid too active workouts at the end of the evening, they can have a negative effect if not properly organized. I recommend reading the article on human biological rhythms, there is a detailed daily schedule, following which a person can greatly simplify his life without interfering with the natural processes in the body.
- Do not overeat, especially in the evening. And in general, review your diet, it should be rich in vitamins, magnesium, calcium and potassium.
- Also, do not abuse the use of coffee and smoking, and especially alcohol. How to cope with alcohol addiction, I described in this article.
- In the evening, take a hot bath, drink warm tea or milk, so you will help the muscular system to relax, and then it will not need to relieve tension at night. If there is no way to take a bath, you can simply steam your legs, this will bring the same result.
- Keep your feet warm, especially in the cold season.
- To prevent your arms or legs from becoming numb or twitching when you wake up, take care of a comfortable body position in advance, for a while refuse to fall asleep in hugs, due to which blood circulation in the limbs is disturbed, if only to investigate the cause of their occurrence.
- Start practicing yoga, it will help to cope with the effects of stress, improve the quality of sleep, help fight depression and calm the nervous system. It is quite possible to master it even without going to group training, but on your own at home.
- After a hard day, it will be more effective not to think about problem situations and how to solve them in the process of falling asleep, but, for example, alpha visualization. Using this technique, you will not only relax your mind and prepare for rest, but also attract auspicious events into your life.
- Turn on music that brings you pleasure and relaxation. Usually recommend the sound of the surf, rain and other sounds of nature.
Conclusion
I found the reasons why I twitch in my sleep, and I hope you also managed to find them. After all, if you know the enemy by sight, then this is already half the battle in his victory.
Sleep well, take care of yourself! And subscribe to the blog so as not to miss new interesting publications.