You snuggled into bed after a hard day and began to drift off to sleep…
However, you suddenly wince because you feel like you’ve started to fall. What causes this phenomenon?
This question is one of the most frequently asked on google.com, so all the curious can find out the answer here.
The unusual sudden movement is related to a phenomenon called the hypnagogic state, which is a transitional period between waking and sleep. Accordingly, the twitch is called a hypnagogic twitch.
It is about myoclonus, that is, fast, involuntary muscle movements, writes “Independent”. As you drift off to sleep, two different brain systems balance their roles to bring you into the unconscious state. One of them is the reticular activating system (RAS). This network of cells is located under the cerebral cortex (cortex) and helps maintain alertness.
The second is the ventrolateral preoptic nucleus, located in the lower part of the brain, which controls sleep. Scientists believe that these two systems fight for supremacy during falling asleep. At that moment, the level of the serotonin transmitter also drops so that all the major muscles in the body can rest. However, it does not affect the smallest muscles, such as those around the eyes or in the joints, as a result of which the whole body can twitch, writes “DNews”.
According to other theories, it is an evolutionary atavism – it is a system that made the monkeys safe when they fell asleep in the trees. According to the BBC, hypnagogic twitches are most common in children, but most people experience them. However, people are usually not aware of them because they are too deeply asleep at the time of their occurrence.
Unlike the rapid eye movements that occur during REM sleep, this type of twitching does not reflect dream visions.
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