Why Do We Jerk in Our Sleep? M’sian Surgeon To-Be Explains What is ‘Hypnic Jerk’ & How to Manage it

Have you ever experienced the feeling of momentarily jerking in your sleep? Or have you slept beside someone that had a sudden movement that shook you awake?

Well, you should keep in mind that it isn’t something necessarily harmless or unimportant.

Malaysian surgeon to-be Dr Nazreen Nain has made a notable presence for himself through his TikTok account @doktorpotong. Discussing timely and relevant medical issues on his page, one particular video of his has been making waves online for the discussion of what most people believe to be a regular occurrence, twitching in one’s sleep.

Providing insight to the motion, Dr Nazreen stated that this is known as an involuntary contraction of muscles in the body called hypnagogic jerk or hypnic jerk.

“It is a benign physiological condition and usually does not have any life-threatening affects. However, about 10% of the population may experience this every day,” said Dr Nazreen in the TikTok video.

Explaining why individuals tend to experience this, Dr Nazreen stated that stress and extreme bodily fatigue can trigger this condition.

Giving examples of things people can do in order to prevent this occurrence from happening, Dr Nazreen said that one should not doing heavy exercises before bed, reduce the intake of caffeine, nicotine, and coffee before going to sleep, and thirdly, try to reduce one’s stress and anxiety.

Reacting to Dr Nazreen’s post, many Malaysians also expressed that they have had this occurrence happen to them before, while others opined that it is a pretty normal phenomenon to happen.

Watch the full TikTok video below:

@drnazreennain

Replying to @azeemjamaluddin Part II : badan terkejut waktu tidur #hypnagogicjerk #hypnicjerk #medicalreview

♬ original sound – doktorpotong – doktorpotong

Have you ever experienced this jerk before? Let us know!

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