Tag: #anxiety
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The Curse of the Hypnic Jerk
Have you ever been drifting off to sleep, when you suddenly feel a jerk somewhere in your body, like a muscle doing a huge twitch. Maybe you feel a sudden hit of anxiety as a shot of adrenaline shoots round your body waking you up and putting you on alert … and then you have to go through the process of getting back to sleep all over again.
Annoying isn’t it? And yet it is quite normal. It is estimated that around 70% of people experience the “Hypnic Jerk” at some time in their lives, and around 10% of people experience it almost every night. It is more common among people with anxiety.
What Is A Hypnic Jerk?
A hypnic jerk is an involuntary muscle spasm that occurs as you are drifting off to sleep. It is sometimes accompanied by a sensation of falling. The heart rate, which was just slowing down as you drift into sleep, suddenly increases. Breathing rate increases and you move very rapidly from that nice relaxed, almost-fully-asleep state to being awake again.
Hypnic jerks are more common among people who are anxious or highly stressed, who are sleep deprived or fatigued.
Why Do I Get Hypnic Jerks?
To be honest, no-one really knows why hypnic jerks occur. Of course, people put forward theories, but no-one knows for certain.
The main thing to understand is that they are quite normal and do not physically harm you. They need not be of concern. The only real issue is that when someone gets a lot of them every night, they might get a little sleep deprived.
What Can I Do To Reduce My Hypnic Jerks?
If you get so many hypnic jerks that you want to do something about it, here are a few things to avoid:
- Avoid stimulants like caffeine and nicotine in the evenings.
- Avoid doing a lot of exercise just before bedtime – move your exercise to earlier in the day.
- Avoid alcohol in the evenings – even though alcohol is not a stimulant, it still upsets your sleep cycle.
One of the key things you can do is to reduce your stress and anxiety. For more information about this – check out my other blog articles and My YouTube channel.
Hypnic Jerks And Antidepressants
A rare side effect of some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant medications, is an increase in hypnic jerks. If you think your medications are effecting your hypnic jerks, talk to you doctor about it.
DO NOT stop taking the medication without consulting your doctor.
The Key Takeaway
Hypnic jerks are quite common and there is nothing to be concerned about if you have them. If you wake up suddenly with a hypnic jerk, just remind yourself that this is a normal phenomenon, even if it is annoying, and allow yourself to drift back to sleep again.
And Finally …
If you want to reduce the negative impact of stress and anxiety, there are many things you can do for yourself. But if you want to get help, you might like to consider hypnotherapy. I see people in my hypnotherapy clinic every week, helping them reduce their stress and anxiety levels to a point where they can live their life as normal again.
If you would like to find out more, check out my website for details. Contact me and I will be happy to have a chat for a few minutes and answer any questions you might have.
References
Hypnic Jerk: Why You Twitch When You Sleephttps://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/hypnic-jerk
Tim Maude Hypnotherapy YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@TimMaudeHypnotherapy
SSRI induced hypnic jerks: A case series
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37645359/
Photo courtesy of MART PRODUCTION on Pexels
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Anxiety Attack First Aid
A little technique to help you calm down in those peaks of anxiety. Watch the video on YouTube.
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Please Find An Alternative Route
Let me ask you a question: What is your reaction when your plans are disrupted? You know what you want to do, but someone or something unexpectedly stops you.
The other day, I went out on an errand in the car for a couple of hours, and when I got back, the end of my road was blocked off. A notice said, “Road closed – please find an Alternative Route” and I couldn’t get to my house. So I drove round the streets until I got to the other end of my street. A few yards up that way was another notice: “Road closed – please find an Alternative Route”. Both routes to my home had been blocked off.
Let me ask you that question again: What is your reaction when your plans are disrupted? Do you get angry. Do you swear? Do you shout at the people who are preventing you from carrying on? Do you quietly fume, holding it all in? … If you do any of these, you are simply adding to your stress. No matter how indignant you feel, developing that righteous anger will not make the situation any better.
I found a place to park on the street some way off, and walked home. If something upsets my plans, I put it aside and find a way round the problem. I have learnt not to get angry, or tense. I just say, “It is what it is and there is nothing I can do about it.”
You see, getting angry, upset or stressed when someone or something upsets your plans is a response that you have when you already have a lot of stress in your life. When your “stress bucket” is already full, adding another difficulty will push you into anger, anxiety, depression or some other negative emotion. Of course, the negative emotion does not help solve the problem.
Later on that day, the workmen had gone and I walked back to the car and drove it home. I looked for the positives: 1) I got an additional walk in the fresh air, 2) the pot holes at the end of the road were (at last) filled in, and 3) I got an idea and a photo for this blog.
So if your road is blocked, don’t get mad, simply find an alternative route.
And Finally …
I have just made a very glib statement – “simply find an alternative route.” I know that it is not that easy for some people, especially those suffering from anxiety. I help people with anxiety using hypnotherapy to help them regain normality in their lives. You can Contact Me if you want to find out more about how I can help you.
