issues falling asleep

[james1321]

i get this on and of a lot lately my sleep pattern is awful i tend to sleep on the sofa until like 4/5am which isnt deep sleep i also wake up here and there as i leave the tv on. anyway when i am nodding of i get like a jolt or missed breath and gasp for air and when i sit up it goes away. it doesnt do it when i am laying in bed falling asleep though which i find a bit weird. any ideas?
cheers guys

[petrified]

Hi James

I used to suffer a lot from the jolting awake thing and I agree it's pretty scary and annoying. I found it was just my body finally relaxing after being so tense due to my anxiety.
I would suggest if you don't get this in bed try and sleep there more often. Also darkness with no distractions may help you sleep better.
If you go to bed and find you aren't tired get up and read or something until you feel tired again and go back to bed. Having anxiety often gets us into some strange habits and sleeping is usually one of the big issues.

Hannah

[AliasEQ]

Hey James

I had this problem too. You obviously need some rest to be able to beat and overcome your anxiety. The process will be much harder if you don't get enough rest.

First and foremost, you need to deal with your anxiety. Medications, supplements, meditation etc. That's the source of this problem, getting rid of it will make your symptoms fade away.

Second, are you on any meds? Because that can help you out alot. If you for any reason have choosen not to, it's not the end of the world. Meds will make it a bit easier though.

What you're describing, I think is hypnic jerk(?): Your central nervous system is slowing down and your mind isn't following. Basically, your mind is still working way too much, while your body is saying f*ck it. So your brain sends out wrong signals and BOM, you wake up.

So to avoid this, you need to make that relaxing state, the standard state. I would highly recommend meditation 10-20 minutes/day. Try it. Wish you the best! :)

Elias

[Dahila]

Alias knows his sh**** , you better listen the profesor deReal:)) Hi Alias:)

[ab123]

Dang alias!! Boy have you grown. Kudos my friend. And to op, yep...hypnic jerks. Very common with anxiety.

[MrsJ88]

i get this on and of a lot lately my sleep pattern is awful i tend to sleep on the sofa until like 4/5am which isnt deep sleep i also wake up here and there as i leave the tv on. anyway when i am nodding of i get like a jolt or missed breath and gasp for air and when i sit up it goes away. it doesnt do it when i am laying in bed falling asleep though which i find a bit weird. any ideas? cheers guys

Last year around this time I got the whole jolt awake, gasp for air almost every night so you are not lone!

[willheal]

I've had these since I was a kid and still getting them too. Horrible feeling :( They seem to happen more when I sleep less, ironically enough.

[AliasEQ]

Haha thanks guys! I've learned from the best!! :)

[Anne1221]

My friend, who does not have any anxiety, has that gasping for air thing. She'll just wake up out of a sleep and that is happening to her. She was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and it may be that, or it may be all of her awful allergies.