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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otisbeans | @otisbeans | Nov 28, 2025

In reply to @ckevlin "Hey all, this might seem kind of out there… but I had the same experience the..." + (show)

@ckevlin yeah. It always happens for me in the morning around 4:00am as awareness is transitioning from dream state to physical waking state. It’s a very interesting sensation. Very loud in a full body energetic way. Obviously there isn’t any actual sound but static / humming and ringing sounds might be the best way to describe the sound. Floating and weightless would be the physical feeling that accompanies the vibration. It does feel as if one could float away.

kn5577 | @kn5577 | Dec 21, 2025

For me, I think it's my body telling me I'm laying in a weird position for an extended period of time, as that's usually when it happens to me. I think it's sort of an anxiety thing as well, because it's connected to a buzzing noise, which is often correlated to a bee being nearby in my dream.

bsirrah | @bsirrah | Dec 24, 2025

I started having this problem of "vibrations" seeming to radiate from my brain stem when falling asleep and waking up about 1 year ago. Doctors didn't offer much in terms of explanation or solutions. Suspecting that a prior head injury (hit my head on the bottom of a swimming pool) I went to a special type of chiropractor that focuses on the Atlas (top vertebrae C1) and the condition improved. Recently it has come back full force and like many here I have gone through countless lab testing, scans, evaluations, and found more that is normal than abnormal; which is comforting in some ways and frustrating in other ways. I have read this entire thread and my thoughts are that I'm dealing with some internal inflammation - perhaps due to a virus/long COVID effects as well as some low levels of Vitamin D and B12 and other nutrients so I am making adjustments to my diet and taking supplements. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone in this experience and I will follow up if I find a solution or ways to reduce it.