1. < Sleep Health

Body vibrations when falling asleep or waking?

Posted by cricketlips @cricketlips, Jun 2, 2022

After many google searches for the reason I feel vibration in my head, shoulder and arm just before falling asleep and waking, I found nothing that satisfactorily explained it. Of course anxiety seems to be a common explanation but there was nothing specific enough to help me. I am currently reading Incognito by David Eagleman. It discusses the functioning of the brain as an organ. This morning, going through my routine to get ready for work, I thought of a way to understand the vibrations. Similar to the hypnic jerks we experience occasionally just before we fall asleep, I think the vibrations are intended to arouse me to stay vigilant. Which is the fight or flight mechanism in action. So there is the anxiety connection. Originating in the amygdala. I was thinking Parkinson's or MS but my symptoms don't indicate those conditions, thankfully. It seems counterintuitive to be anxious and sleeping at the same time but the brain can do that. The cerebral cortex sleeps but the life support systems of the brain must stay online, obviously. If you thought you were in danger, sleeping would put you at risk but at some point sleep becomes absolutely necessary. I think the vibrations I have been experiencing are caused by my sympathetic nervous system and not a neurologic disease. Thankfully !

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lindybowers | @lindybowers | May 14 7:18am
In reply to @carol1024 "I had all the heart related tests too. Not cardiac related. Mine has lessened over the..." + (show)
@carol1024

I had all the heart related tests too. Not cardiac related. Mine has lessened over the last few months to maybe 1 or 2 a month and then only about a 2 on scale of 1-10. I do take cholesterol meds and that depletes the body of coq10 so I started taking that several months ago. It is more annoying than scary for me and I might add also that I had a sleep apnea test done couple years ago only to see if it would pick up anything but it didn't. It did show I had mild sleep apnea and I have a nasal cpap. I used it religiously for first 6 months then slacked off. I might use it now about 4 times a week. Not sure why the vibrations have all but stopped but after having them for about 4 or so years, I'm not complaining. I might have 1 or 2 a month in the torso or pelvic area but that's it. I may add though that the upper rib area on both sides of my back has been very painful for a few months. Almost like I overworked those muscles. I have an MRI scheduled next month for back issues. I honestly believe it's a neurological issue with a certain nerve to do with the brain. Ask about a sleep test to see if it'll pick up something, mine didn't though. I also wore a heart monitor for a month and it didn't pick up anything either. I have palpitations bad and had to press a button whenever I had one. Although it seemed like I had a lot of them, he said I only had them 1% of the time. I take 1000mg of magnesium too. Cardiologist recommended it and they have been almost non existent for a few months. Hope you find some answers soon. Nothing like feeling like you have swallowed a vibrator. Also, it's the vibrations that wake people up. Most say they have them upon waking etc but it's the other way around. The vibrations are so strong that they wake you up. Used to, I could turn over and they would go away. They were worse when I lay on my back.

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My chiropractor said that our cortisol levels are the highest around 4 - 6 AM in our circadian cycles and the cortisol could be causing the vibrations. I take magnesium, 5 - HTP, Melatonin, and GABA before bed every night. And I sleep beautifully. My vibrations start after I wake up, roll over from my right side (in fetal position) and roll on my back, stretch my achy legs. It's like I'm trying to get the circulation in my legs started, and my heart begins to pump a little more causing these vibrations in my central upper and middle chest. I have venous insufficiency in lower legs. Also Raynaud's in feet/hands. 2 of my first cousins have Parkinson and M.S. My neurologist said I don't have either as I was tested twice. But we never discussed E.T. Essential Tremor. I had a bad concussion on my head in 2017. Now I have post concussive syndrome. Visional problems, needles pins in extremities. Gait and balance problems. High cholesterol & triglycerides. Borderline glucose /A1C prediabetes. I'm working so hard to eliminate sugar, gluten, all processed foods. Eating 99% clean whole foods, and working in my organic veg garden to grow healthy foods. I'm slow as a slug, and get SOB when I work more than 30 minutes clearing weeds and planting. I have zero tolerance gardening in the heat. I'm 74 years old. Hope this helps someone.

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1 reply
wleamaster | @wleamaster | Jun 14 6:52pm

A few months ago I started have a quivering of my entire body, I can see the bed covers moving, when I drift off to sleep and it wakes me up. Some nights I cannot get any sleep. Other times it does it once or twice before I actually get to sleep. When this happens I do deep breathing for a few minutes and I shake my legs too. And if I don't, the quivering continues. I feel it in my heart. I have tried to take my blood pressure, even an hour later, and the blood pressure machine pumps us and when going down, it start pumping up again. I cannot get a blood pressure reading. I went to primary care doctor and he thought it was anxiety, too many things going on in my life, and he prescribed LORAZEPAN 0.5 MG TAB AUR, only ten pills, and it did relax me and I went to sleep. He has referred me to a Doctor of Psyciatry. To date I have not gone. My heart doctor said it did not have anything to do my heart.

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eileendobrien | @eileendobrien | Jul 26 11:50am

Can 5G towers cause this type of problem? When in the early phase of falling asleep (at night or while napping during the day), I feel a drumming, vibrating sensation coming from my head/chest. The sensation is at times (not always) accompanied by a feeling of dread and a snap awakening.

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1 reply
Scott R L | @scottrl | Jul 27 2:41pm
In reply to @eileendobrien "Can 5G towers cause this type of problem? When in the early phase of falling asleep..." + (show)
@eileendobrien

Can 5G towers cause this type of problem? When in the early phase of falling asleep (at night or while napping during the day), I feel a drumming, vibrating sensation coming from my head/chest. The sensation is at times (not always) accompanied by a feeling of dread and a snap awakening.

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@eileendobrien , I have heard anecdotes from people that the recent installation of a 5G tower nearby has caused them distress.

In my own case, when I go to a cell phone store, the presence of so many active 5G devices can give me a headache pretty quickly.

I don't have any actual scientific data to support this, but I have trouble believing it's imaginary.

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kayraymat | @kayraymat | Jul 28 2:10pm
In reply to @lindybowers "My chiropractor said that our cortisol levels are the highest around 4 - 6 AM in..." + (show)
@lindybowers

My chiropractor said that our cortisol levels are the highest around 4 - 6 AM in our circadian cycles and the cortisol could be causing the vibrations. I take magnesium, 5 - HTP, Melatonin, and GABA before bed every night. And I sleep beautifully. My vibrations start after I wake up, roll over from my right side (in fetal position) and roll on my back, stretch my achy legs. It's like I'm trying to get the circulation in my legs started, and my heart begins to pump a little more causing these vibrations in my central upper and middle chest. I have venous insufficiency in lower legs. Also Raynaud's in feet/hands. 2 of my first cousins have Parkinson and M.S. My neurologist said I don't have either as I was tested twice. But we never discussed E.T. Essential Tremor. I had a bad concussion on my head in 2017. Now I have post concussive syndrome. Visional problems, needles pins in extremities. Gait and balance problems. High cholesterol & triglycerides. Borderline glucose /A1C prediabetes. I'm working so hard to eliminate sugar, gluten, all processed foods. Eating 99% clean whole foods, and working in my organic veg garden to grow healthy foods. I'm slow as a slug, and get SOB when I work more than 30 minutes clearing weeds and planting. I have zero tolerance gardening in the heat. I'm 74 years old. Hope this helps someone.

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I wonder if our ancestors just worked so hard they fell asleep
regardless of anxiety. Or is our society part of the cause of so many,
especially women, having anxiety. I take Lorazepam 05 & a chewable
melatonin 10 which seems to help sometimes. Kayr

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bsi15 | @bsi15 | Jul 29 1:25pm

I had it in 2015 in half-sleep, going away within 10sec on awakening,
too fast to do tests, to record it.
I slept with stethoscope but couldn't record it.
I slept with ECG, but it's not visible in ECG, not heart-related,
the frequency was a bit higher.
I searched the web at that time, several people had vibrations
but none were heart-related.
I felt it in the chest , and even below the bellybutton, but weaker.
Physical activity like stretching the legs made it worse.
I think alpha-blockers before my prostate laser surgery made
it worse.
It's almost gone now, only sometimes I feel it a bit.

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1 reply
arthur57 | @arthur57 | Jul 30 9:18am
In reply to @bsi15 "I had it in 2015 in half-sleep, going away within 10sec on awakening, too fast to..." + (show)
@bsi15

I had it in 2015 in half-sleep, going away within 10sec on awakening,
too fast to do tests, to record it.
I slept with stethoscope but couldn't record it.
I slept with ECG, but it's not visible in ECG, not heart-related,
the frequency was a bit higher.
I searched the web at that time, several people had vibrations
but none were heart-related.
I felt it in the chest , and even below the bellybutton, but weaker.
Physical activity like stretching the legs made it worse.
I think alpha-blockers before my prostate laser surgery made
it worse.
It's almost gone now, only sometimes I feel it a bit.

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I;m chalking my tremors up to Benzo medication a sleep doc put me on which really messed with my central nervous system. I had body vibrations just 4 to 6 weeks into medication, day and night. After 7 months I stopped taking medication cold turkey (which is a complete no no - but it was already messing with me badly anway) as I came to suspect that was the issue and saw it was a potential side effect. Took months for the vibrations to slowly subside and are gone during the day but still persist exactly like you describe at night. They are not as intense as they used to be at night though and definitely subside completely once I wake up after a few seconds, just like yours. Very odd. I am completely healthy otherwise, other than sleep issue nobody can figure out.

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dloos | @dloos | Jul 30 10:04am

I’ve been told by Neurologist that these feelings have to do with cortisol levels. Someone else also mentioned this in the posts above. The key is to get your cortisol levels back in balance. Much easier said than done is my experience. You need cortisol to awaken you, but sometimes it goes haywire for a variety of reasons.

A regular schedule, stress control, good diet, etc, etc. is supposed to help. I’m trying, and perhaps my sleep is a little better, but I still have this “rush” of adrenaline at various times. It does disrupt my sleep.

I think the trigger for me was Covid, but I’m not sure.

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george20000 | @george20000 | Aug 21 5:16am
In reply to @edornton "I am having a very similar condition. About 9 months ago I started having a vibrating..." + (show)
@edornton

I am having a very similar condition. About 9 months ago I started having a vibrating sensation in my upper chest around the area of my collar bones. It would only happen when I was just drifting off to sleep, when briefly waking up during the night, or when waking up. It would never happen when I was awake. It scared me at first so much that I was afraid to even go to bed but over time I realized it didn't seem life threatening and just accepted that it would happen. It happens every single night with no exception. Sometimes it is continuous all night long or comes and goes throughout the night. Having some medical background I ruled out a heart problem (EKG, Stress Test and Chest X ray); most medical issues (normal Hemotology, Chem, B-12 , Blood Glucose an Blood Pressure) and any supplements or medications. I have seen my Doctor and he doesn't know what it is. It happens no matter what position I am in. It always it is same rate but intensity varies during the night and night to night. I can reduce the intensity by stretching and changing position but it only goes away completely when I am fully wake up. I am a female 74 years old, still playing soccer so active, retired veterinarian and not under any stress. Got my third Covid vaccination shortly before signs started and have never had Covid that I know of. I would love to find out what this is and be in any study if one was available.

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Hello this is George,I have this problem i went to many doctor cant solve it.Finally the last doctor give me Asentra 50 again is not efficient.my feeling is like this Reflux acide come out and hurt my lung.I am not sure.I am suffering this.When i sleep there is nothing when morning wake up exactly this tremor happen in upper chest close to the bone ( exactly same place you mentioned.I dont know how to solve this issue. Kind Regards,George

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george20000 | @george20000 | Aug 21 3:28pm
In reply to @dustycat52 "I get brain zaps that seem to be related to acid reflux." + (show)
@dustycat52

I get brain zaps that seem to be related to acid reflux.

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I have Acide reflux problem come up to UES and my voice changed.Do you think this probem come to Acide reflux ? George

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