Your thoughts begin to gently drift off the plane of reality and you’re about to transition from that dreamy state to complete sleep. Then — suddenly — a part of your body twitches and you’re ...

Hypnic jerks, also known as sleep starts or hypnagogic jerks, are abrupt muscle contractions or twitches that happen as soon as you fall asleep. Up to 70% of adults will experience this at least once.

You’re gently drifting off to sleep when suddenly your arms and legs convulse and you jolt yourself awake. Or, perhaps you’re relaxing in bed when, out of the blue, your dozing partner does an ...

That sudden jolt or twitch just as you’re drifting into sleep isn’t your imagination. It’s a real physiological event. One moment, you’re fading into slumber, and the next, your arm or leg flings out ...

Hypnic jerks are common, sudden muscle twitches that happen when you fall asleep. Stress, anxiety, and fatigue can increase the chances of experiencing sleep starts. Sleep starts are harmless but can ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty Images It tends to happen when you’re just about to drift off where your legs or ...

Yaqoot Fatima receives funding from NHMRC, MRFF, Beyond Blue and in-kind support from ResMed. Alexandra Metse has received funding from the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre, the Waterloo ...

Sometimes when I’m dozing off at night, something weird happens. I feel like I’m falling, and every now and then, I even dream that I’m stumbling backward off a curb. A second or two later, my body ...

Holly has a degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester. Her scientific interests include genomics, personalized medicine, and bioethics.View full profile Holly has a degree in ...

You’re drifting off to sleep, floating in that hazy realm between wakefulness and dreams, when suddenly—BAM!—your body jerks violently as if you’ve been dropped from a height. Your heart races, you’re ...