| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 12:33:49 AM | I was curious if any other posters could share their thoughts on what is going on during this situation. It has only happened to myself a few times lately, but I imagine it is common enough, that at least a few other posters can relate.
It begins where the mind becomes aware that the image center of the brain is cycling through random information and attempting to make sense of it. The mind is also becoming aware of the body's heart rate slowing down.
Next there is this sensation of the consciousness beginning to wane. And this is where the anxiety kicks in. The body feels like it is kicking out a short burst of adrenaline. Then the whole process of falling asleep is abruptly rebooted back to stage one.
It may be during the onset of sleep spindles.
During the whole time consciousness has yet to leave the building. 
Does our conscious state have to be subtly coerced into falling asleep, and in situations where it is too aware of the process, the process can be perceived as a threat? | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 12:39:43 AM | | IMHO, it's usually due to additional stresses and anxiety in the Real World. Once your pump is primed to experience anxiety, the whole falling asleep thing can take on its own anxious state... less that your consciousness feels threatened, more that your mind doesn't want to let go of all the things you're hanging onto due to the external anxieties. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 12:55:18 AM | desertrhino, there was one occurrence of this where it makes the most sense to look at it that way, as I was experiencing a lot of anxiety daily.
But this also happened last night, and there is a disparity in that yesterday I wasn't anxious about anything. It was really quite the contrary, as I was living a natural high all that day. Perhaps it only matters whether or not the conscious state feels an urgency to clinging to being.
I got up to go to the washroom twice throughout the night, and I noticed the phenomenon only persisted as long as I sleep on my right side. Really odd. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 1:12:43 AM | http://ehealthforum.com/health/spasms-before-falling-asleep-t144995.html
Just a quick link that appears to explain that very thing. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 1:25:16 AM | Thanks desertrhino.
I was trying to think of various google searches to learn more about this, but was having a real difficult time of it. The part in your link discussing myoclonic twitches, might very well be what I mistook as an adrenaline surge.
My body may have just been tensing up briefly as part of the natural transition, and because it was after the moment my conscious began to enter the waning stage, I may have been making an assumption here thinking that the former was actually caused by the latter. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 2:32:14 AM | I'm pretty sure I know what you're talking about.
I used to get that as well and the only thing I could think of was to focus on something I really enjoyed. For example , I have an interest in architecture so I try and envision buildings I might construct if I had the opportunity. I suppose the key here is that the mind is kept engaged without keeping it conscious of the physical environment.
Or you could just buy a bong.  | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 1:30:20 PM | | I know what you are saying. I've had the same or similar thing happen. What helps me is to concentrate on each breathe, just your breathe and the anxiety passes. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 1:40:44 PM | When I'm stressed, I "fall off a cliff" as I'm dropping into deep sleep, what I mean is, in my dozy state i I actually feel like I'm falling off a cliff, sometimes it completely wakes me up, sometimes I settle really quickly. For anyone who's watching, they observe me jump vertically upwards off the bed, like I've been electrocuted, and extend all my limbs simultanoeusly, sometimes I shout as well. I haven't found anyway to overcome this, and to tell you the truth I quite enjoy the feeling (thrill seeker maybe). Tis it any wonder I choose to sleep alone ? | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 2:08:54 PM | Yup, get that all the time. that feeling of falling, the sudden "noise" that wakes you up, etc. I was once in that state between waking and sleeping and suddenly had an image of an "explosion" of, of all things, a bunsen burner. I still haven't figured where that came from.
It's nothing unusual. However, it can become a problem as, as rhino points out, you let it become a source of anxiety. If it happens, laugh it off and let yourself go to sleep. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/29/2009 2:28:43 PM | "When I'm stressed, I "fall off a cliff" as I'm dropping into deep sleep, what I mean is, in my dozy state i I actually feel like I'm falling off a cliff, sometimes it completely wakes me up, sometimes I settle really quickly. For anyone who's watching, they observe me jump vertically upwards off the bed, like I've been electrocuted, and extend all my limbs simultanoeusly, sometimes I shout as well. I haven't found anyway to overcome this, and to tell you the truth I quite enjoy the feeling (thrill seeker maybe). Tis it any wonder I choose to sleep alone ?"
Nothing sweet about me, do you think you might have a nerological problem. That is how my epileptic fits began. I mention this out of concern. I am very fond of you.
Since the I came home from the war I don't sleep well. For a varity of reasons. I don't stress, about it too much, as long as I get 4 hours of continuous sleep. That is all the human body needs. When I can't sleep I do other things like clean, read, or star gaze. My mind settles after awhile of doing this and I am able to rest. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/30/2009 12:40:46 AM |
Nothing sweet about me, do you think you might have a nerological problem. That is how my epileptic fits began. I mention this out of concern. I am very fond of you
In the context of falling asleep, this is actually quite a common occurence...the term is "falling" asleep after all:) | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/30/2009 1:08:43 AM | Would the falling sensation be a dreamlike presentation of the conscious state receding?
I am only asking because I have yet to feel the falling sensation. The few times this has happened, there is instead a distinct awareness of awareness itself withdrawing. Just too weird to really describe that well in words. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/30/2009 8:04:32 AM | | On those occasions when I have had trouble sleeping, it has always been explainable by worries in real life (most commonly money worries.) | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 6/30/2009 11:58:09 PM | | The mind is a tool not the master. Remind your recalcitrant mind that it needs to stop with a good verbal slap. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/1/2009 1:48:28 AM | I feel like this falling asleep anxiety happens to me only in certain situations.
Situations where I shouldn't be/dont want to fall asleep, like in class, or where I am in a strange surroundings.
Sometimes its a cycle of random shit, then a very clear sensation of falling, or a sense of something intense about to happen. When I hit the ground, or something explodes, or whatever I was ready for happens, I jerk awake. Like, literally, seizure style into consciousness. And my heart is always beating hard and feeling doesnt fade for a while. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/1/2009 12:23:14 PM | I think not so much a threat..my feeling on this is you have had issues w/ insomnia before, maybe only slightly, too. and so during your waking hours, subconciously you're wondering probably many times throughout the course of the waking period, if tonight you'll be able to fall/stay asleep. Therefore when sleeping time comes you're subconsciously still wondering, so when you become aware that YES, sleep IS coming now, you are then jolted awake by the thought : I'm falling asleep......
It's really fun, huh?  | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/1/2009 5:45:20 PM | It seems more like you are flling into a hyppnotic trance and resisting it - having what is called an "abreaction"- which jerks you back to awareness.
People fall asleep instantly, not gradually, we're awake and then we are not, but many people are acustomed to trancing themselves to sleep in a natural way. If you have some reason to be uncomfortable with a trance, or, like many people who have abreactions, your subconscious has a reason to view it as a threat, then yoursubconscious will kick in an abreaction to end the hypnotic state and shift your brain waves back to normal. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/2/2009 3:33:15 AM | Have you experienced any temporary paralysis when this happens? Any shakiness? Odd visuals or sounds (hallucinations)?
I know what you're talking about. Just asking a few questions before I proceed. The realms between wake and sleep are indeed bizarre to say the least. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/2/2009 9:31:18 PM | | hi... I have had occurences where I am aware that I am awake but I am unable to speak or move... anxiety is one way to describe the feeling, loss of control is another way for me... I am aware of my helplessness and it seems that the episode just has to pass naturally.. that falling feeling has happened to me as well but I used to have these states more often in my youth and early adulthood .. I have come to believe that forces try to control our consciousness, our will and even our confidence when we are awake or asleep.. I believe that we make this process too easy by "drugging" ourselves with too much food, drink, substances, lack of sleep and worry .... fear and worry is common yet in my experience learning to trust that God has my back in every way and since making healthier lifestyle choices I can not remember the last time that my ~will~ felt unprotected or vulnerable to these states... many blessings, warmly Mona | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/2/2009 9:42:36 PM | Sleep is a very interesting phenomenon. No one really knows why exactly we need sleep. Why do we get tired and need to rest? Alot of theories out there, but no definate answer.
Next there is this sensation of the consciousness beginning to wane. And this is where the anxiety kicks in. The body feels like it is kicking out a short burst of adrenaline
what you are likely describing here is something known as a Hypnogognic Jerk. Its a fancy name for a sudden arousal accompanied by muscle contractions while in the first stages of sleep. Its common, and usually does not mean disease. However, in some sleep disorders, notably Narcolepsy, these Jerks can become much more frequent and severe. In some cases, they CAN be accompanied by anxiety. Other sleep disorders have an increase in Hypnogognic Jerks also. If it continues, especially if you are feeling daytime fatigue, i would see a sleep specialist.
I myself suffer from restless leg syndrome which occasionally gives me similar jerks. I'm lucky however, my symptoms usually only act up when i take anticholingeric drugs like diphenhydromine (Benedryl). I NEVER take benedryl now. IF i do, i spend the next 6 hours experiencing agonizing sensations in the lower legs, which can only be temporarily helped by getting out of bed and walking, or something running around my neighborhood. The sensations are not pain.....they are almost indescribable....the best analogy i can come up with is imagine the sensation of having to pee really really bad, but you were strapped in bed. Other people describe it as a sensation of worms crawling under the limbs....i dont really think i feel that.
Anyway, bottom line, if it continues....see a doctor...may be as simple as getting a PRN sleep medication.
greg | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/3/2009 12:19:40 AM | Have you experienced any temporary paralysis when this happens? Any shakiness? Odd visuals or sounds (hallucinations)?
I know what you're talking about. Just asking a few questions before I proceed. The realms between wake and sleep are indeed bizarre to say the least.
In2wishen, it is just the feeling of slipping away, and then the muscles tense up briefly and a short surge of anxiety is felt. I cannot think of anything else out of the ordinary that accompanies it.
The only auditory hallucinations I've ever had in my life, are quick "whoosh/suck" sounds. Like a wee truck was speeding past, but happening in the center of the brain, rather than through the ears.
Totally unrelated I think, as it happened long before.
I myself suffer from restless leg syndrome which occasionally gives me similar jerks. I'm lucky however, my symptoms usually only act up when i take anticholingeric drugs like diphenhydromine (Benedryl). I NEVER take benedryl now. IF i do, i spend the next 6 hours experiencing agonizing sensations in the lower legs, which can only be temporarily helped by getting out of bed and walking, or something running around my neighborhood. The sensations are not pain.....they are almost indescribable....the best analogy i can come up with is imagine the sensation of having to pee really really bad, but you were strapped in bed. Other people describe it as a sensation of worms crawling under the limbs....i dont really think i feel that.
Ahhhhh! Greg, that sounds really aggravating. Damn, now I'm gonna be worrying about how that feels. :( | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/4/2009 3:56:47 AM |
I have had occurences where I am aware that I am awake but I am unable to speak or move
That's exactly what awareness sleep paralysis (ASP) is. I have it too. Been studying it since it first happened nearly 30 years ago.
It may seem like some unforseen force is trying to control our consciousness, but it's just a neural quirk in a transition between wake and sleep and is benign.
What happens is the brain becomes stuck between wake and sleep. You can either wake up still under sleep paralysis (which is a normal function during REM sleep) or go into sleep paralysis while still awake prior to going to sleep. The latter is usually an indication of a genetic origin and commonly related to narcolepsy in some way, though there are many other medical conditions that can produce ASP.
ASP is indeed a frightening experience and if anything could ever define the feeling of evil, this is it, but it's just a momentary confusion of electrochemical impulses in the brain. You're fine. You can shrug them off as a free acid trip.
BTW, my mother's name is Mona and my middle name is Lee Really. Nice to meet you.
Cheryl | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/4/2009 4:08:11 AM | Interesting and Greg pointed out a name for it. It's almost as if the body attempts to fall into an REM sleep from wakefulness, which is not supposed to happen. Reasons for these things are still unknown, but a guess is perhaps the brain attempts to realign electrochemical impulses with the hormones responsible for the transition into the first stage of sleep rather than continuing to jump straight into REM sleep.
Greg...does the restless leg syndrome feel like you get what I call "the stretchies"? It's a feeling that when your legs and/or arms are still you feel the need to stretch them. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/4/2009 11:21:02 PM | At first I thought this thread would be about the anxiety about falling asleep as in where do we go when we are asleep?
Does our conscious state have to be subtly coerced into falling asleep, and in situations where it is too aware of the process, the process can be perceived as a threat?
Yes! Mine needs to be roofied!
I get those jerks too. Sometimes it's from falling dreams and sometimes I think I'm just surprised that I was relaxed enough to fall asleep and my body is fighting it. Sometimes I make a noise and scare myself awake.
Once your pump is primed to experience anxiety, the whole falling asleep thing can take on its own anxious state...
I think desertrhino is right. It's stress related.
And once your pump is primed you are screwed and not in a good way!
Or you could just buy a bong.
If only I didn't have asthma...I could sleep like a teenager again!
I have had occurences where I am aware that I am awake but I am unable to speak or move...
You mean like sleep paralysis?
That would scare the hell out of me!
I don't think I'd ever sleep again if that happened. | |
|
| Falling Asleep Anxiety
Posted: 7/5/2009 12:23:49 AM | "Or you could just buy a bong. "
If only I didn't have asthma...I could sleep like a teenager again!
Instead of buying a bong, you could make tea and drink it  | |
|
Home
login 
