For me, about 10 mg propranalol nips this in the bud. (It is a blood pressure medicine that blocks adrenaline.)
This reply was so insightful! And I have noticed almost everything you said in terms of how it’s caused. I’m so grateful that I’m not the only one that experiences this. I have been having really bad anxiety for a while now, and in the past month, this has started happening to me. I find what you said about going to sleep right away when you feel sleepy and not staying up after very interesting.
I actually just experienced the “jolts,” and after reading this, realized that was exactly what I did. I was laying in bed watching a video on my phone, and started to feel myself falling asleep. However, I tried to force myself to stay awake for a while so I could finish the video. Finally, I gave up because I couldn’t keep my eyes open, but I had to stand up to turn the lights off before going to bed, which woke me up a bit. Then, when I tried to go to sleep, I experienced the harsh adrenaline rush we all know and hate. I kept trying to sleep and couldn’t. After about 20 “jolts,” I gave up and decided to look this up. Quite frankly, I think the keeping yourself awake might be the primary factor in causing this. (At least for me) I actually kind of have a theory.
So, I have experienced sleep paralysis four times in my life, and am very acquainted with the sensation. Sleep paralysis occurs either when your body goes directly from being awake to deep sleep/rapid eye movement sleep. (REM) Normally, during sleep, you have a sort of sleeping cycle that begins and ends in a shallow state of sleep, with about 2 or 3 periods of deep sleep which last about 1 or 2 hours I think. The first time this “jolting” happened to me, I immediately recognized that I had been slipping into the sensation I had when I got sleep paralysis. I believe this “jolting” May be a sort of defense mechanism for our brains that prevents us from falling straight into REM and experiencing sleep paralysis. And perhaps when we try to force ourselves to stay awake, we put our brains to sleep in a way, somehow turning on a switch that tells it that it’s time for deep sleep.
So, as you said, it looks to me as though the best solution is to get up, wake yourself up again, and try to go to sleep once more once you feel the fatigue setting back in. However, if you’re doing these things and are still experiencing the adrenaline rushes, I would consult a neurologist and see if there is something in your brain or lifestyle that is causing your body to prepare for deep sleep each time you go to bed. Once again, this is only a theory, but I hope this helps someone. Good luck, guys, you’re not alone.
Forgot to finish a sentence in there. Sleep paralysis occurs either when going straight from being awake to REM, or when you’re woken up while in REM. So, for those of you experiencing being jolted awake once you’re already asleep, (which I have) it’s possible that something was waking you up, and your brain sent out that jolt to prevent you from falling into sleep paralysis. (Which is absolutely horrible, and a terrifying experience) Sleep paralysis also tends to happen more often when you’re under a lot of stress or anxiety.
So, my advice is, if you get these jolts, don’t panic. I believe it’s simply your brain protecting you from something far worse. Accept it. Be grateful for it, honestly. Stand up, wake up, and try again when you get tired again. I reiterate once again that this is just a theory, but I feel like I’ve really struck on something here. I wish you all sweet dreams and a good night’s rest.
Final sidenote: sleep paralysis can be induced by sleeping on your back. So, if you’re a back sleeper, I would recommend trying to sleep on your sides instead. I only ever sleep on my sides for fear of getting sleep paralysis a fifth time.
Hi Ruthie! You are definitely not alone in this!! I go through the same exact thing, and I have seen a psychiatric nurse practitioner for this who told me that I have major OCD.
Now before you say "How is this related to OCD?", I'd like you to think about what you do in the day before you try to sleep. If you have been trying to do something, but keep forgetting to do it due to someone or something distracting you from it, it will lead you to feel incomplete, right? If so, then you probably have the same type of OCD issue I have. And if not, then you should still consider asking a professional who works in the psychiatric department for your help. They don't have to force pills on you, so you can just get a therapist if that helps.
Anyway, I was just having a rough day today and I thought I should see if someone else has this issue. And luckily I have! Hope you get the help you need, regardless of my 10 month late response
I have a very similar experience which has been going on for nearly 4 years.
Every time I drop of to sleep at night, 10 minutes (more or less) later I wake up with a start. My heart is racing and I feel a sense of dreadful depression and fear. This only last a minute or so and I realise it’s just that ‘thing’ again. The realisation reassures me and I usually drop off to sleep again after 10-15 minutes, though sometimes it wakes me completely and I get angry with it all. It never happens a second time and even if I wake in the night it doesn’t recurr. Eventually I’ll drop off again.
I eat reasonably well, am not overweight, have no major health problems, post menopausal, don’t drink or smoke, I do moderate exercise. Nothing has changed in the past 4 years to trigger this. I have no idea why it all started. I’ve never suffered with OCD, anxiety or depression, or any other mental health issue. I also am not currently having any worries which cause insomnia and never have had insomnia apart from an odd poor night.
So basically no reason outside the unexplainable spurt of adrenaline.
Does it affect me? No, because I won’t allow it to. I’ve never bothered seeing the doctor or having tests. I know my heart is fine and my general health good, so what’s the point? There’s not going to be a treatment that doesn’t leave me drowsy or medicated 24/7 for something that lasts a few minutes.
I could very easily become wound up and neurotic about it. It sometimes feels like a torture to know you are nice and cosy and drowsy and about to drop off to sleep but know you will jerk awake 10 minutes later. However I know it won’t kill me and I know I will eventually go to sleep for the rest of the night so I won’t allow it to cause me any more trouble than it already does.
Hi all, I get this problem every so often when I'm stressed. Just as I feel myself drifting off to sleep, I have a big adrenaline rush that makes my heart jump out of my chest and I kick myself awake, this would happen all night and I'd literally get no sleep for several days. Of course once you have this issue, it's a cause of stress and anxiety in itself, so you can get stuck in a vicious circle where your anxiety is causing you a sleep issue and your sleep issue is causing your anxiety. For anyone else who suffers with this I'd recommend asking your doctor for propranolol (a beta blocker that blocks adrenalin) I have to take 40mg because my symptoms can be quite severe. They have worked wonders for me.
I have this as well! its been going on for about 2 years now. Almost every evening before going to sleep, I sit in bed with my iPad, either reading, watching YouTube, or Netflix. At around 10 pm, all of the sudden I feel totally exhausted, and I can barely keep my eyes open - I often fight the feeling but at some point I have to give in, put the iPad down, and sleep. I start to drift off right away and then right at the point where sleep is upon me, I wake up with a jolt, that is usually accompanied with a sense of dread or doom and gloom. Sometimes right before the jolt, I have what feels like a dream where i am not quite awake and not quite sleeping, and its always a disturbing dream, with more thoughts than images, and sometimes with the sensation that I am sinking or falling, with a tinge of nausea. Like i am going a bit nuts! After the jolt, I feel totally awake, zero fatigue, like its 9am. Then i read for another 30 minutes, and when I go back to sleep I easily drift off, and often have a lovely sleep. The odd thing is that this almost never happens when I am in a hotel or visiting relatives. I think this is all stress related. I have a demanding, stressful job and I think my body has forgotten how to turn the stress trigger off when the workday has ended. This all used to freak me out but now I just find it annoying.
As for how to deal with it, i have noticed that it is less likely to occur when I dont have anything that heightens the stress, like coffee or chocolate, before dinner, when i have an active day with lots of physical movement, when i have a relaxed day, when i meditate regularly, and when I have taken a magnesium tablet. I actually just ordered a magnesium lotion that you rub into your skin before bed - its supposed to help with sleep. it arrives tomorrow and cant wait to try it.
wow, I'm so glad i found this! makes me feel not alone. I've been suffering with the same "Jolts" and insomnia for more than 10 years now, started with surgery that had me in a full arm cast for 6 months, then having a colicky baby the following year, and then another baby. i am a light sleeper, and when i do manage to fall asleep and im woken up for any reason (a light sound) i cannot go back to sleep again. it's so distressing.
has anyone tried CBD? Or therapy? any success stories?
wow, I'm so glad i found this! makes me feel not alone. I've been suffering with the same "Jolts" and insomnia for more than 10 years now, started with surgery that had me in a full arm cast for 6 months, then having a colicky baby the following year, and then another baby. i am a light sleeper, and when i do manage to fall asleep and im woken up for any reason (a light sound) i cannot go back to sleep again. it's so distressing.
has anyone tried CBD? Or therapy? any success stories?
also, you and i sound so alike, ruthie! very very healthy, and not into taking unnecessary pills. also, i normally have great sleep hygiene: blackout curtains, no TV or electronics in the room except for my phone, which is turned off at night. so i dont know whats going on. it's a vicious cycle of sleep anxiety, it makes my heart race and my brain throb and im cranky, cant focus, and i feel like a zombie. :(
Ask your doctor for propranalol. It works wonders for me.
Hi @josh59910
i have the EXACT same issue. Have you found any relief for this issue . I need sleep soon! Thanks in advance :)
hi Ruthie143, For the last year I have been experiencing these adrenaline rushes as well. They are literally ruining my life and consume my day and night. Even with sleeping pills I get still get no sleep because every 30 seconds all night long, I get them. It feels like the same sensation of looking over the edge of the empire state building. Like a horrible rush of complete and utter horror. I get them during the day as well, even when I am driving. I feel like I am going insane as zero specialist or Dr have a clue what I am talking about and they look at me like I am bonkers. I started getting them aboit a month after having the right lobe of my thyroid removed. I am not on meds for thyroid as my tests say normal, although I have every symptom of hypothyroidism. I also have SVT which also started around this same exact time. Its frustrating and I have read on some other sites its linked to menopause but I am 39 and just had a baby so I am not meno yet. I was put on a beta blocker as I had asked for it after reading this. No change. I do nit suffer from anxiety except when these rushes happen as sometimes they scare the hell out of me when I am trying to sleep. I can lay in bed and count the seconds between them all night long. I can feel them coming now as I get this strange sensation in my under tongue jaw area and then BAM. I am at my ropes end as it seems there is no answer. I have been reading that a pituitary tumor or adrenal tumor can cause this, its getting someone to listen ans check for u. I hope soon one of us gets a real diagnosis to this nightmare because it really is a living nightmare.
thank you for this thread. i have been dealing with this problem for many years and it has led me to turn to alcohol for sleep relief. It was the only thing that worked for me.
for me it always comes just as i am about to fall asleep. i am 95% sleeping when boom, that strange rush of adrenaline (fluttering in chest feeling) hits. it is not palpitations, nor do i feel my heart is involved. the closest thing it feels like is an adrenalin rush focused in my mid chest region. no matter how much i try to ignore it, the sensation keeps returning until i have to sit up wide awake.
reading this thread i saw a post from michelle who suggested propranalol. i tried it (15 mg) and it worked! i still get the sensation sometimes but it is far diminished and i can power through it. have been using for a month now and have not had one bad night. i can sleep again and it is amazing.
Try 50 mg of quetiapine before bedtime. Also 5 mg of bisoprolol a day can be usefull. Go for CBT!!!
Georgemiller, I have been dealing with this similar feeling for the better part of a month now and have struggled to find any info until this forum.
For me, its just as you describe but with a slight variation. Climb in bed, not anxious, nervous or excited. Just damn tired. Good thoughts and ready to sleep.
Just as a feel that "drift" into unconscious sleep, I get this rush that starts in the chest and flows right into my arms and legs. Feels like a jolt of electricity (buzz) and slight warmth. It takes about 15-20mins before the process repeats itself. After 3 or 4 cycles, there is so much energy and anxiety that its impossible to sleep at that point. Taking even strong meds is 50/50 whether you can get to sleep. I am guessing this is an adrenaline rush / panic attack.
I have tried as others mention, tell yourself its going to be ok, relax, breathe, meditate..etc. It helps calm you down faster but there has to be a point where there is so much adrenaline/cortisol in your veins nothing is going to work.
This is slowly and steadily been ruining my life and my family. I am praying that a beta blocker can at least take the physical symptoms away. I have the mental part (anxiety) under control and do not want to have to rely on meds for this to blow over.
Please let me know if this is still working for you. Anyone else taking Propanolol and have it work, does this eventually subside? Does the brain just right itself?
Thanks!
this this happened to me just over a year ago and it happened out of the blue. it develops into full-blown anxiety but it didn't start with anxiety. after months and months of trying to figure out what was wrong I eventually came to the conclusion that it was caused by prolonged stress. the body's nervous system can't handle it when it's continuous. and it comes out in your subconscious in our case as we are about to drift off to sleep. you cannot get better in a day it's a gradual process but you can get better! i did. i also found this podcast helpful 'Anxiety coaches podcast' search it in a podcast app or on Google. it's with Gina Ryan.
hi all
i still suffer from this albeit randomly with months apart. For me it can happen for up to three to five nights in a row then tends to settle again. i am totally convinced after speaking to the doctor here in the UK and after noticing its pattern of occurence that it is stress and anxiety related. i suffer with anxiety and panic attacks and this is another form of those things that happens when i try to sleep. i will tell you what works for me to keep this at bay and to reduce its frequency: ok so here it is.....i stopped drinking any caffeine drinks after 2pm. i rarely have a cup of coffee now if i do its one and its before 2pm. I walk 2 miles each day about half an hour with my dog more on weekends and hour each day. i do not drink too much alcohol before bed finish drinking at 9pm and never more than either 2 pints or two glasses of red. i drink during the day more water. i take a multivitamin with b complex and magnesium in it every other day. i have found sticking to this every day has helped alot. what i have learnt is that you must change your behaviour in positive ways slowly as this seems to form new habits over time which you then see the benefit from. once you have put in the work to change you will start to value getting out in the pissing rain and walking the dog for an hour on a sunday morning because you know it will halp you feel better that day and help you get to sleep that night without these rushes happening. also they are harmless and you have to make peace with them before you can truly ignore them when they happen. that takes time and hard work but you can get to a point where they happen and you almost ignore them and eventually fall asleep. they cycle of them once it happens can rarely be broken in one night usually it takes me 2-3 nights to break the pattern and then they slowly subside. its important not to get angry or stressed further by knowing your not getting any sleep just accept you wont get any until they subside getting all worked up about not sleeping and having them will make it all that bit worse. i cannot stress how important it is to start changing your habits to good ones it has taken me a year to form a walking habit and a no caffeine after 2pm habit etc but it all helps
i have been following this for years since i have suffered these "jolts" for over a decade. i have had them for years off and on while pregnant all they way into menopause. the day after i feel shaky and kind of hungover. i am otherwise healthy although suffer hypothyroidism which is under control with meds. i finally decided to join the discussion because i am desperate for answers (and sleep). once it starts it lasts 1-2 hours and i am helpless to stop it. i get up and go read till im exhausted eventually. i had a sleep study where it happened but did not register on any of their monitoring devices. i saw a cardiologist who had me wear a holter monitor for a week. it happened then and again did not register on the device. after all these years i have to assume it wont kill me, but the jolts seem more intense lately. does anyone have any new advice beyond the beta blockers. that may be the next step for me. i hate to take meds, but something has to give.
i posted about this 8 or so months ago. i dealt with it for 2 years. i had a very demanding job but left for a much less stressful job 3 months ago - a job i actually enjoy. And guess what? No more adrenaline jolts at bedtime! Like magic.