Categories: Sleep disorders.

Aug 20, One theory suggests that these jerks prevented your primate ancestors from falling out of a tree. Another theory suggests that these jerks wake you up so you can double check there are no predators nearby that could gobble you up.

Read more about these theories here. Limbs preparing for REM “Brain deactivates limbs in preparation for REM”. Image by author. Nov 20, Recent research suggests a potential evolutionary origin for hypnic jerks. The theory goes like this: as primates were falling asleep, typically in trees, their brain interpreted that transition to relaxation as a threat to their survival.

If they relaxed, they might fall out of the tree. Jun 08, You’ve fallen victim to a natural phenomenon known as a hypnic jerk or a sleep twitch. While it may be entirely normal, it doesn’t make it any more pleasant. Hypnic jerking is nothing more than an involuntary twitch that usually happens just as you are about to step into stumpcutting.barted Reading Time: 8 mins.

May 13, Hypnic jerks - also called sleep starts - are sudden, involuntary muscle contractions you may experience as you are falling asleep stumpcutting.bar jerks are a type of myoclonus, which is a category of rapid, involuntary muscle movements. Hiccups are another type of myoclonus. Hypnic is short for hypnagogic, a word that describes the transition between wakefulness to sleep, which is when.

Jun 04, Under normal conditions, you can’t fall asleep at a moment’s notice, because sleep is not just an on or off process. The body must surrender motor control as it enters sleep paralysis, and the hypnic jerk is what happens when there is a burst of lingering energy that needs to get out.

Control over hypnic jerks. Jun 04, In most cases, a hypnic jerk or two is a harmless part of the process of transitioning from being awake to asleep. They aren’t usually a sign of a sleep disorder, but if they regularly wake you up in the night or are very severe, it might help to speak to a medical professional. Even if they aren’t severe, it’s understandable that you might wonder if something is wrong with you if it happens on a regular basis.

Nov 12, Research from the University of Colorado suggests the origins for this sleep phenomenon go back further, to our evolutionary ancestors. They propose the hypnagogic jerk was a way of helping.