I was laying in the bed this morning with my cat Peachy laying in the crook of my left arm. I was moving in and out of sleep and wakefulness. I went into a sort of hypnagogic vision in which I was standing in the shower in the bedroom's bathroom. I slipped and started to fall. In the bed, my body jerked sharply.
These bodily jerks are known as Hypnic jerks, and occur probably while the body is relaxing, sending signals to the brain that make the brain think the body is falling due to a misinterpretation of the signals. Studies have linked occurences of hypnic jerks with sleep anxiety, discomfort and fatigue. These are not dreams, since dreams only occur in R.E.M. sleep, but rather they are daydreams, hallucinations or hypnagogic imageries.
Sources:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070619182734AAew54g
http://www.discovery.com/area/skinnyon/skinnyon971114/skinnyon.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnic_jerk
4 comments:
"hypnagogic imageries"
I just love words !!!
Alex,
I know. That "hypnogogia" word is too cool. :) I love saying it. Maybe it's so fun to say because not too many people know what it means. hehee!
Even its synonyms are cool:
somniferous & soporiferous
Somniferous is similar to somnolent, so it must have something to do with sleepiness. Hold on, I'll look it up.......................................... Yes, it's similar. And soporiferous, I've never heard that word before, either!
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