Why That Jolt at Bedtime Feels More Alarming Than It Is

It's late.

The kids are finally down.

You've answered the last message and set out what you'll need for the morning.

You lie down and you can feel yourself going heavy.

The day starts to blur at the edges.

And then, out of nowhere, your whole body jerks.

Your leg kicks.

Your arms flinch.

It feels exactly like you missed a step on a staircase that isn't there.

Your heart is pounding.

You're wide awake.

And maybe the person next to you mumbles, what was that? The jolt itself is over in a second.

What lasts is the question it leaves behind.

What was that? Is something wrong with me? And for a few minutes you lie there listening to your own heartbeat, a little more awake than you were before.

So let's answer the question.

That jolt has a name.

Sleep doctors call it a sleep start or a hypnic jerk.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine describes sleep starts as a very common part of falling asleep.

They're estimated to happen to somewhere around 60% to 70% of people.

They can come with a feeling of falling or a quick flash of something dreamlike, and plenty of them never wake you at all.

A medical review of the research points out that they often aren't remembered, which is one reason they can feel rarer and stranger than they really are.

That's also why the person next to you sometimes knows more about your sleep starts than you do.

Bed partners often notice the kick that you slept straight through, and sleep starts happen at every age.

If you've ever watched your child's arm or leg flinch just as they were finally drifting off, there's a good chance you were seeing the same thing.

It's late.

The kids are finally down.

You've answered the last message and set out what you'll need for the morning.

You lie down and you can feel yourself going heavy.

The day starts to blur at the edges.

And then, out of nowhere, your whole body jerks.

Your leg kicks.

Your arms flinch.

It feels exactly like you missed a step on a staircase that isn't there.

Your heart is pounding.

You're wide awake.

And maybe the person next to you mumbles, what was that? The jolt itself is over in a second.

What lasts is the question it leaves behind.

What was that? Is something wrong with me? And for a few minutes you lie there listening to your own heartbeat, a little more awake than you were before.

So let's answer the question.

That jolt has a name.

Sleep doctors call it a sleep start or a hypnic jerk.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine describes sleep starts as a very common part of falling asleep.

They're estimated to happen to somewhere around 60% to 70% of people.

They can come with a feeling of falling or a quick flash of something dreamlike, and plenty of them never wake you at all.

A medical review of the research points out that they often aren't remembered, which is one reason they can feel rarer and stranger than they really are.

That's also why the person next to you sometimes knows more about your sleep starts than you do.

Bed partners often notice the kick that you slept straight through, and sleep starts happen at every age.

If you've ever watched your child's arm or leg flinch just as they were finally drifting off, there's a good chance you were seeing the same thing.