Hypnogogic Imagery and the Myclonic Jerk

By: Jerry A. Greene

Sleep onset...one of those interesting things when you really think about it. We mainly don't remember the exact point that we fall asleep, but remember getting a little jolt just before we did.

What Was That?!?
Even if you have never heard of a "myclonic jerk", you certainly know the experience. You brain shoots a quick bolt of electricity through your nervous system and you "jerk", or "twitch" for a split second.

Many scientists feel that the reason for the myclonic jerk (something common to all mammals) is that as you fall asleep, your entire body starts to slow down. Your brain, not knowing for sure what is happening, shoots a bolt of electricity through your nervous system to make sure that you aren't dying!

You may have noticed that you usually only have one of them per sleep-onset. After your brain has received the signal that everything is "okay", you'll head off to sleep. Most people claim to remember them more when they have had a stressful day and are so exhausted that they plop into bed, and almost immediately start to fall asleep. You can imagine, that because of this, the body slows down so quickly and the brain thinks something bad has happened (compared to normal bedtime as you have a chance to relax first before falling asleep).

Add a Little Hypnogogic Imagery...
Some myclonic jerks are accompanied by quick, fleeting "dreamlets" as you are falling asleep. I specifically remember ones where I remember being in a baseball game and the ball was hit right at my head. Just as it hit me, the jerk accompanied it and woke me up.

Listen to Your Mind
It is very interesting to quiet your mind while watching the fleeting images go by. If you listen carefully, you'll often notice that you can hear things as well. You may hear people talking, or music, or just random sounds. I remember hearing someone talk about "Snoopy" on one of the last times I really payed attention to sleep onset...talk about completely random sounds!

Half-Awake...Half-Asleep
What I find most interesting about hypnogogic sleep is that you are half-awake and half-asleep. It's the exact point that you cross over from awake to dreaming. If you are particulary good at remaining aware on the "waking side" of the hypnogogic period (something that takes a great deal of practice), you may be really good at WILD's (Dr. Stephen LaBerge's acronym for "Wake Induced Lucid Dreaming")

Next time you fall asleep, pay attention to the images/sounds that pass through your mind. You'll find that it can often be a very interesting part of your consiousness since you are watching/listening to your subconsious mind!