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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bsi15 | @bsi15 | Jan 12 11:54am

In reply to @bscottya "No. Neither my PCP or Neurologist brought it up. What would an MRI show or rule..." + (show)

what's very fast ? (frequency in 1/s)
where is it ? (chest ?)
I'd try to attach a stethoscope-recorder and replay it to the doctor
(.. and to others here)

bscottya | @bscottya | Jan 12 12:23pm

In reply to @bsi15 "what's very fast ? (frequency in 1/s) where is it ? (chest ?) I'd try to..." + (show)

Approx 6-8/second. It’s in my scalp, face and back of neck. Auscultation isn’t possible as it’s a sensation and not audible.

bsi15 | @bsi15 | Jan 13 4:57am

thanks. Quite unusual, I think.

arthur57 | @arthur57 | Jan 13 7:10am

In reply to @bscottya "I have been searching for others with symptoms like this. I have a fluttering or vibrating..." + (show)

I have a feeling it is stress in your situation with your labs being good etc. Stess and anxiety can have various affects on one's body. Best to you!

pro123 | @pro123 | Jan 14 1:53pm

In reply to @bscottya "No. Neither my PCP or Neurologist brought it up. What would an MRI show or rule..." + (show)

According to my NEURO, the MRI is to look for any abnormalities of the spinal area that could relate to a nerve or nerve pathway setting off these vibrations (i.e., it could be indicative of a neurological disease or not a disease but some other acute or chronic condition related to inflammation, injury, etc.). For myself, I'm thinking it's going to be negative (this is not me sleeping in an odd way, pressing a nerve, etc.) since it's aligned to those 10-20 seconds of coming out of sleep. My NEURO is smart (I personally have a PhD in NEURO and feel a good judge of that) but he's never heard of internal vibrations and has no patients with them (and he originally confused our conversation with "tremors" related Parkinson's or MS, which is not surprising). But we'll see....my MRI is Friday.

bscottya | @bscottya | 6 days ago

In reply to @pro123 "According to my NEURO, the MRI is to look for any abnormalities of the spinal area..." + (show)

How did your MRI turn out?

Incidentally I think I stumbled upon the source of my internal vibrations and am currently experimenting to see if I'm correct. A number of months ago my wife started using nicotine pouches and lozenges to quit vaping. I started using them as well just for fun, because I like nicotine although I haven't smoked in close to 15 years. My use of the lozenges has become quite liberal. A few weeks ago I thought that my wakefulness was being caused by nicotine stimulating my nervous system. That didn't seem to be the issue as the problems continued. Last night I was awakened at 11:15 p.m. with these vibrations and then again at 2 a.m. Both times I took a half a lozenge and my body quieted down very rapidly after finishing them. I did some research and nicotine withdrawals can cause nerve twitching and sensitivity during the withdrawal process. So as of 2 a.m. this morning, I'm no longer using them. As I sit here I can feel my forehead, neck, and face lightly twitching and vibrating. Just thought I'd let you know!

arthur57 | @arthur57 | 6 days ago

In reply to @bscottya "How did your MRI turn out? Incidentally I think I stumbled upon the source of my..." + (show)

It seems to me any medication or in your case the nicotine patch that affects ones central neervous system can possibly cause these vibrations/tremors. I for one had tremors develop while on a benzo (klonopin) and continued to have them for over a year after stopping cold turkey. They can screw you up!

pro123 | @pro123 | 4 days ago

In reply to @bscottya "How did your MRI turn out? Incidentally I think I stumbled upon the source of my..." + (show)

So, the MRI was clean as I expected. Thanks for following up. There's nothing there to explain the vibrations that only happen during the seconds as I awaken and then stop. It's gotta be a "brain" / sleep thing. There are no true experts in the field of internal vibrations; even NEUROs are limited in their knowledge. I'm going to review the scientific literature one more time...I'm not expecting at this point for a doctor to be able to answer this for me, maybe a scientist....

bsi15 | @bsi15 | 4 days ago

In reply to @pro123 "So, the MRI was clean as I expected. Thanks for following up. There's nothing there to..." + (show)

here are these sleep-specialist and sleep centers m where they monitor your
sleep with ecg , breathing and maybe other detectors.
It's mainly for snoring, sleep-apnea , asthma and such but
could be useful for vibrations as well.
------------------------------------
(2020) Abstract—In this paper, a bed-mounted vibration sensor-based sys-
tem is proposed to monitor vital parameters during sleep, including
heartbeat rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR), body movements and
sleep postures.
(avoiding cameras for privacy)

pro123 | @pro123 | 4 days ago

Yes, I have an appointment in March! Unfortunately, I don't have the wakening vibrations very day so we'll have to see how that goes.....tough condition to get to the bottom of....