What causes the feeling of falling while falling asleep?

If you’ve ever had a feeling of falling or your body suddenly contracted while you were falling asleep, you’re not alone. This is quite common. Feeling twitching, cramping, or falling or gliding during sleep is a condition that can be experienced by perfectly healthy people.

Although these feelings can arise for a variety of reasons, sleep disorders expert Dr. Reena Mehra explains some possible causes, common triggers, and advises when it’s time to see your doctor.

WHAT IS THE FEELING OF FALLING WHEN SLEEPING?

This involuntary movement during sleep is described as “sleep myoclonus” and occurs as you move from one sleep stage to the next. The resulting muscle movements are also called “hypnic twitches” and are most likely to occur when you first fall asleep and during the light sleep phase that follows.

WHAT CAUSES THE FEELING OF FALLING WHEN SLEEPING?

So, what causes the feeling of falling while falling asleep?

• One theory is that because sleep is so light at this stage, the brain can mistake it for wakefulness and also realizes that your muscles aren’t moving. As a result of this, our brain tries to wake up the muscles for protection or to keep them active or reactive by sending a message to the muscles for control purposes. The result is a feeling of movement, falling, or twitching.

• Dr. According to Mehra, it is beneficial to reduce the triggers of this condition in order to increase the quality of sleep. These triggers include stress, stimulants and alcohol, caffeine and insomnia.

• Being stressed disrupts our comfort during sleep, as it does in almost every stage of life. When we are stressed, our brain may not stop working, so we may not get enough rest when we sleep at night. Doing what works to reduce your stress level before going to sleep and trying to sleep as comfortably as possible will help you have a more restful and nutritious sleep.

• Both stimulants and alcohol can prevent you from experiencing or completing parts of your sleep cycle, causing you to stay in the lighter stages of sleep. This can result in hypnic twitches or other sleep disturbances. In addition, in the case of addiction, the lack of these substances can trigger muscle responses.

• Consuming too much caffeine is another known cause of muscle twitching. It can also affect your sleep cycle in general and prevent you from having a quality sleep.

• Similarly, when you don’t get enough sleep, your entire sleep cycle can be affected, increasing your chances of having myclonus. As you can imagine, you may find yourself in an ever-increasing cycle, as the above causes also cause you to not get enough sleep.

Dr. Mehra says that if you experience these involuntary movements very often during sleep, myclonus may be a sign of more complex sleep disorders. So, if these movements regularly cause you to stay awake, worry about sleeping or become more frequent, and you have various concerns, she recommends that you consult your doctor to find the best treatment for you.