Topic: Jerk!

So, this is in 2 parts, both to do with sleeping.

Firstly - you know when you are falling asleep... falling... asleep... fall... ing... as... leeeeeep... whatsthat!!!1!1111!, you suddenly jerk all your muscles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk

Lots of good ideas on what this is, my fav being it's from the time when we were monkeys, sleeping in trees, and we might fall out, and it's a reaction to grab a branch, or something.

So yeah, do you ever get the hypnic jerks?

Secondly - you know in the movies, sometimes you have a nightmare sequence, and the actor suddenly awakes, and goes AAARGGGHH!!!! and sits bolt-upright in bed... I reckon that this never happens in real life. I've had lots of nightmares, and I've never woke up, sitting bolt-upright in bed, sweating.

So has this ever happened to you?

And yes, I am very drunk.

I've actually woken up from a nightmare and found my self boxing in the air. This has happened two or three times. Really funny

Drunk browsing is dangerous...

Anyway. I don't recall having one of these.

Maybe this is because you are a crab! Not a human but... a crab!

The first bit is amusing. I'm glad to know that if I ever do sleep in a tree, my reflexes ought to be prepared.

As for the second bit, I imagine it's just to visualize the emotion for the viewer. Lots of things in film are exaggerated. My favorite (though unrelated to natural reactions or sleep) is when actors drive a car and constantly turn the wheel left and right to show that they're driving. I think that film has fortunately moved beyond this by now, but old TV shows used to do this a lot, and it always made me laugh, whether that was the intended effect or not.

I was talking about a Jerk in the chat earlier. I do it all the time and it FREAKS ME OUT.

Not me.

Hypnic jerks, yes.
Waking up sweating, yes (I think I actually developed Sleep Apnea for a bit but it seems to have gone away).
Though I don't recall ever waking up "bolt-upright in bed."

So... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... do a lot of jerkin'... ... ... ... do ya?

Trin, you're awesome.

I know, dude.

I know.

Yes, i get these frequently. I'm probably too tense, and i know i don't get as much sleep as i should.

On the sit upright thing, i think it's actually been proven physically impossible for a human to sit bolt upright like that - straight up, not favoring one side or the other - from unconciousness. I can't give a source or anything, but i could swear i saw that on some sort of "Mythbuster" show or article.

And cheers on the drunk browsing. Still a bit early here in the States, but i'll be into my own pints soon enough! =)

I haven't woken from a dream completely upright and screaming (like in the movies), but I did have a dream I was on a motorcycle and when it crashed, I jerked awake.

I dreamt that I tripped off my gym's stairs, and it actually felt like I was falling in real-life.

Ive never actually jerked awake before, except the time I had a dream that I was playing Team Fortress, and this guy shot me in the game, but I felt it in real life (in the dream, I mean) and when I woke up I jerked and bumped my head on the wall.

I get it occasionally. I actually like the feeling.

My wife has very vivid dreams or night terrors.. She's actually still asleep but she's standing up, or she jumps up on the bed, or she'll just sit there swinging at stuff and she talks, yells, etc too. They happen very rarely, and were a bit unnerving in the beginning, but now I like to have a little fun when she does it. For example: she woke up once and she was looking over in the corner of the room and she was like WHA WHA WHAT IS THAT?!?!?! WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!

And I was like, OH EM GEEE IT'S A MONSTER....RUUUUUUUUUUN. She never budged though. She went almost immediately back to sleep like nothing had ever happened. ::shrugs::

I hate when that happens! And no, I'm not even slightly drunk

Yes, I'm not the only one who gets these.

ive never jerked awake but i did do the other thing yelling NOOOO