[Martin Reed]

Hello merbear1 — your experience could also be a heightened response to the normal bodily changes associated with sleep. More on that in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owKbQJOHezs

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Steve]

Hi Martin. I just came across this thread while researching something else and I have a question for you. This self-monitoring that you mention, is that the same as a parasomnia, such as a hypnic jerk? Sometimes when I am drifting off to sleep, I start hearing a bunch of static that pulls me back to the awake stage. It’s not as violent a sound as someone who experiences Exploding Head Syndrome but it is tough to get back to sleep after it happens, just like having a hypnic jerk. I know that hypnic jerks and EHS are not worrisome as they don’t cause any physical harm or damage so I presume CBT-i could still be used? (Especially since extreme fatigue can sometimes increase the chance of experiencing EHS, I think using CBT-i to increase sleep could reduce the chance of experiencing it.)

[Martin Reed]

Hypnic jerks aren’t parasomnias because they aren’t unusual. It sounds as though you may be in a light stage of sleep and you then hear a sound that may not actually exist, and your hyperarousal response to this is jerking you awake.  If this happens and you find it hard to fall back to sleep, stimulus control is usually the best response.

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[hazardcaution]

This Totally sounds like the answer i have been searching for, For the past few weeks i have been jumping up the very second i start to go into a sleep almost gasping for a breath… this doesn’t happen once, it happens all night… i’m exhausted with it, My anxiety is through the roof because of this… i had no idea what it was, or what was causing it, i went to the doctors and they forwarded me to a sleep clinic but warned a waiting list could take a very long time.

Is there any way to deal with this to get a decent nights sleep?, it’s a bit hard not to think about it especially as its causing anxiety, i dread it becoming night time because i know what i’m instore for

[Martin Reed]

Unfortunately, we don’t have a consensus on how to deal with hypnic jerks. The best suggestions I can offer at the current time are found earlier in this discussion.

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Insoluble]

Hi, I have stumbled upon this forum while trying to diagnose my insomnia. It have what seem to be hypnic jerks, except that I don’t think they are accompanied by a physical movement as such. It seems to be entirely mental. Does this still qualify as a hypnic jerk? If not, do you know what it is?

[Martin Reed]

In your case, Insoluble, this could still be a symptom of hyperarousal — you might be self-monitoring for sleep and, at the very moment you are about to (or do) fall asleep, your brain fires into action to tell you it was successful.

If you think I am missing the mark here, please describe your “mental hypnic jerks” in a bit more detail for me!

—

If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Insoluble]

Hi Martin, I have read that described elsewhere and it sounds plausible. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can stop it happening?

[delv-x]

I have had them and occasionally do. It tends to happen when anxiety is high and thus arousal is also there. It is what Martin calls self monitoring. You may be wanting to achieve sleep so badly that your mind is checking in “are you asleep?” and when you fall asleep, your awareness kicks in and then a surge of adrenaline rushes and wakes you up.

There isn’t a failsafe technique or trick or cure but what can help in my experience.

– Productive day. Have fun, work out, enjoy the day as best as you can. This will help you think and worry less about sleep and those jerks
– Wake up and go to bed roughly around the same time. Don’t be precise but about 30 minutes each way.
– Going to bed when you’re not sleepy or too sleepy may make it worse. If it’s 5PM you may feel tired and want to nap and you may or may not be able to. Probably best to defer it until 11PM or your bed time. Same with being too sleepy. If you are very exhausted, your body may really crave sleep but this may heighten anxiety which makes it worse.
– Try laying on your side and not your back when falling asleep. Trying to sleep on a plane, train or reclining couch usually will be difficult.

[Insoluble]

Yeah, I suppose researching sleep disorders all day probably isn’t helping me then.
Thanks for your suggestions. I think my sleep routine is good really. But I’m sure more exercise wouldn’t hurt.

[Joyous56]

The “hypnic jerk” thing used to scare me. It made me become more wakeful, wondering what had happened and what was wrong.

When I read more, I realized that, for some people, these “hypnic jerks” happen when one is about to fall asleep. Since then, and I’ve had trouble falling asleep, I welcome those little twitches that tell me…….ahhh, sleep is setting in.

[John2828]

Ok… let me explain this kind of insomnia I was having long time ago. The first time I had Insomnia I wasn’t able to sleep even 1 second, I mean… ZERO sleep.

Ok… the first time having insomnia was ”normal”, I mean… I wasn’t able to fall sleep cause I didn’t feel tired or sleepy. But the second day I was very, very, very anxious, and I was stressed too much. So… when the night came, I was tired and sleepy, so I said ”Ok, letsss sleeep again” But….. a new enemy came: Hypnic Jerks. My Hypnic jerks consisted in little Twitches in my hand, in my arm, in my legs, my head, my fingers , little jumps when I was in bed. All that happens only when I was about to drifted off… some people calls that ”Sleep Starts”.

So, I said in my mind ”What!? Now I m feeling tired and sleepy but can’t sleep because of these little twitches”? I was feeling very bad because that suitation, and I remember that
it took me time until finally sleep… like 2 hours fighting with these Hypnic Jerks.

So… that hypnic jerks happened to me to much until I knew the problem was the EXTREME anxiety and Extreme STRESS. To that people that is having this kind of Insomnia, my reccomendation is simple: STOP that anxiety and stress cause is causing that Hypnic Jerks. Yeah… When I stop my stress and anxiety, the hypnic jerks didn t go away the next day, it took me time and gradually the Hypnic Jerks dissapeared.

Sorry for my bad English…it s not my first language, but I hope this help people suffering with this kind of insomnia.

[Martin Reed]

Thanks for sharing your story. Can you tell us how you managed to stop your stress and anxiety? This is often easier said than done!

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If you are ready to stop struggling with insomnia you can enroll in the online insomnia coaching course right now! If you would prefer ongoing phone or video coaching calls as part of a powerful three month program that will help you reclaim your life from insomnia, consider applying for the Insomnia Mastery program.

The content of this post is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, disorder, or medical condition. It should never replace any advice given to you by your physician or any other licensed healthcare provider. Insomnia Coach LLC offers coaching services only and does not provide therapy, counseling, medical advice, or medical treatment. All content is provided “as is” and without warranties, either express or implied.

[Peggy]

I dealt with what you’ve described when I had anxiety and depression.
Just as I was finally falling asleep all of a sudden my heart I would jump awake and my heart would race…as if a loud clap of thunder crashed right over my house while I was dead asleep. This would literally happen all night every night for weeks.
I finally found a doctor that decided to try a blood pressure medication for only about 1 month. It worked wonders. It stopped the startles and racing heart and I was actually able to get some decent sleep.
Dont get me wrong…in the years every since the events that brought about that depression and anxiety and that strange “sleep/start/panic” I have dealt with degrees of insomnia. But it was an answered prayer to find that a simple blood pressure medication turned around the “sleep/start/panic”.

[nzorzi]

I am both comforted and saddened by the fact that others experience this horrible form of sleep anxiety. I have dealt with it several times in the past. For me they are not always connected with hypnic jerks. Sometimes it is a rush of panic (adrenaline) that occurs in a half-awake state right at the onset of actual sleep. I call them sleep jolts in my journal. I don’t know if there is a specific medical term.

Things that have helped me combat this in the past:

* Perform belly breathing as you are going to sleep
* Exercise immediately before sleep
* Intentionally clench your muscles, breathe hard and fast, etc. The idea is to accelerate the depletion of your adrenaline levels.
* Sleep slightly upright instead of flat
* If you get a sleep jolt, sit up and do something else for 30 minutes before trying to sleep again
* Remind yourself that you will eventually sleep regardless of what happens tonight or the next few nights. You will eventually sleep.
* Do not be afraid to share what you are going through with family, friends, co-workers
* Avoid ruminating about stressors during the day
* Take Xanax 0.25mg as a last resort

Presently I am experiencing the worst bout of this I’ve ever experienced. Even Xanax is not helping.

Sending love to you all. You are not alone.

[Author]

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