Whole Body Jerks During Sleep

[Garetteimi]

Hello, you were wondering if anyone else has their whole limb jerk. You say that yours is not a huge jerk? Feel lucky about that. I have a right shoulder that comes right off of the bed!! The other night I fell asleep with my 11 yr old daughter on her bed and she kicked me out because of it. She asked me "Why does your arm keep doing that!" (wish I knew!) I also have my whole body jerk when I am falling asleep. Usually a few times a night. Depending on what position I am lying in I either look like a bucking bronco, or a contortionist!! I would not worry about your symptoms at all. My neuro told me to take two Ativan before bed. (cousin to Clonopin I think) I don't know if it stops my jerking, but I am in La La land and don't really care at that point! Chill out and have a great weekend!! -Stacy <><

 

[999ychelsea45999]

Although not often, my whole leg will sometimes shift, slighly left or right when at rest. BFS...what can you do?

Cheers.

 

[BandersnatchF]

Careful—entire limbs jerking is myoclonus, not clonus. There's a big difference. Myoclonus is the involuntary movement of several muscle fiber groups (up to one or more entire muscles). It's particularly common when falling asleep, and is often known as a hypnic jerk when it occurs then. There's a less common (but still harmless) syndrome called which involves limbs moving throughout sleep. Myoclonus is typically benign, and isn't related to A/L/S.

Clonus, on the other hand, is the continued movement of a muscle after a stimulus such as a reflex tap. It's a form of hyperactive reflexes, which are associated with BFS as well as (rarely) disorders such as A/L/S and MS among (many) others. It's not associated with twitching (that's lower motor neurons), but quite a few of us have had mild clonus discovered by neuro exam. It's darn near impossible to detect yourself, but I managed. In high school, I discovered that I could induce what I now know is clonus by propping my desk (one of those one-piece things with chair and writing surface) on my knee with the ball of my foot on the chair in front of me. This took the front legs of the chair off the ground. When I dropped my heel (the legs of the chair remained off the ground), my leg bounced up and down on its own for as long as I chose not to counter it. I can still do this. The good news (for me, anyway) is that, while clonus isn't typical, anything I've had since I was in high school (in the early 80s) is unlikely to kill me any time soon.