Why does my body suddenly shake when I sleep at night?

Have you ever had this experience: you are about to fall into a sweet dream, but suddenly you feel an electric shock, or you kick involuntarily and wake up instantly. Or you think you have slept for a long time, but find that you just took a nap. What is going on?

Some say it is due to calcium deficiency, some say it is still growing, and some even say this phenomenon is caused by brain hypoxia, brain degeneration, etc. Is this true?

Scientists have discovered that this involuntary shaking of the body is called hypnic jerk. This is an unconscious muscle twitch, which is a sudden jerk of the body when just falling asleep, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of falling or stepping on air. Sleep usually goes through several stages, starting with light sleep and gradually entering deep sleep, and then entering rapid eye movement sleep after 45 minutes to 1 hour. During rapid eye movement sleep, sleep twitches occur. Data show that about 70% of people have shaken in their sleep, which is actually a normal physiological manifestation.

Why does this happen? There are mainly the following reasons:

1. Overwork. This situation is more likely to occur when work pressure is high and the body is exhausted. When we are about to enter a dream, the brain's reaction will restore the balance of the muscles that have been tense all day, so it will cause the body to shake suddenly.

2. It may be related to calcium deficiency. Calcium is one of the most important minerals in our body and is also recognized by the medical community as one of the most easily deficient minerals. Calcium is involved in the synthesis of many hormones and neurotransmitters in the body. If the body lacks calcium, it will lead to hyperexcitability of muscles and nerves, which can easily cause spasms and convulsions, and symptoms such as sudden shaking or cramps.

3. Liver and kidney deficiency. If the muscle twitching phenomenon is not very severe, but the frequency is high, it may be caused by liver and kidney deficiency and insufficient qi and blood.

4. Symptomatic muscle twitching. Accompanied by headache, dizziness and other conditions, brain CT or MRI examination is required to determine whether this muscle twitching is a symptom caused by brain lesions. Causes include: metabolic or storage diseases of brain cells, degenerative diseases of the brain, sequelae of cerebral hypoxia, sequelae of brain trauma, basal ganglia lesions, encephalitis, etc. In other words, frequent sudden shaking of the body while sleeping may be a signal from the brain to tell you that your health has begun to flash a red light, and you should go see a doctor.

These methods can reduce hypnic muscle jerks:

1. Maintain a regular work and rest schedule. Pay attention to timely adjusting your life routine. Pay attention to strengthening physical exercise during the day, and get up on time at night even if you don’t sleep well. If you persist for several days, you will gradually get better.

2. Drink enough water before going to bed, and drink less coffee and tea. Proper water intake before going to bed is good for your health, and there will be no adverse consequences as long as you maintain the right amount. Liquids help dilute the concentration of sodium in the blood, while drinking too much coffee and tea can cause nervousness, anxiety disorders, etc.

3. You can do muscle stretching exercises before going to bed, stretching your gastrocnemius and foot muscles, which will help prevent cramps.