REM Sleep
Rapid eye movement sleep
Hypnic Jerks
Hypnic jerks are basically involuntary sleep movements that occur as you transition from wakefulness to sleep. They are sometimes referred to as hypnagogic jerks or sleep starts. They are not very well understood, however, they do tend to occur more often when you’re trying to force your brain to engage in an activity when you’re sleep-deprived. Rafael Pelayo, a sleep specialist at the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, says that it’s because certain parts of your nervous system are awake, while others are asleep.
Essentially, you can think of a hypnic jerk as a misfire caused by your nervous system sending your body mixed messages. Generally, they occur when you’re transitioning from wakefulness into stage one of sleep. As explained, REM sleep typically occurs ninety minutes after falling asleep. When you’re really sleep-deprived, however, you go straight from stage one to REM sleep. You basically skip right over stages two and three. Paleyo says that a hypnic jerk is a clear sign from the body that you need to sleep. “Nothing else is going to satisfy that urge.” [3]
occurs about ninety minutes after you fall asleep. Your eyes move rapidly from side to side and your brain wave activity becomes closer to that of wakefulness. Your breathing becomes faster and irregular, and your heart rate and blood pressure increase, almost to waking levels. This is when most of your dreaming takes place. You cycle through these stages four or five times every night. Depending on what cycle you’re in, the stages will vary in length [2].
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