Hypnic Jerks

You just drifted off to sleep, and then suddenly you feel as if you are plummeting downwards, only to jerk awake before hitting ground. This sensation is a fairly common occurrence called a hypnic jerk. While science doesn’t know exactly why hypnic jerks occur, it is known that they take place during initial non-REM stages of sleep as muscles relax.

Folklore has suggested several spooky causes for falling sensations. Some suggest that the feeling is caused by one’s spirit or soul leaving the body then being pulled back, or returning from an out-of-body experience. Other pop culture myths state that a person will die if they hit the ground before waking up.

More scientific research has linked the falling sensations with stress, anxiety, caffeine, and irregular sleep schedules. Others theorize that this reflex goes back to the days when our ancestors slept in trees, and it may have served a purpose to prevent real falls.

it always happen to me