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 !

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Sleep Health Support Group.

@johnbishop

Hi @arthur57, It looks like @vitaminnd only posted the one time in Sept 2022 and may no longer be following Connect. I did find some possibilities that you can discuss with your doctor or maybe a pharmacist.

"What supplements reduce neuroinflammation?
Vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin D, and riboflavin are key dietary antioxidants which simultaneously protect against excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation."
--- Micronutrients May Be a Unique Weapon Against the Neurotoxic Triad of Excitotoxicity, Oxidative Stress and Neuroinflammation: A Perspective:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8492967/

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Thanks so much John. Appreciate your feedback!

All the Best!

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@sierrafiedeffect

It still happens from time to time but never when I'm fully awake. I sure don't want to jinx it but it's very rare it happens as long as I continue to take my vitamins. I've also stopped drinking alcohol altogether.

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I don't smoke or drink. Having internal vibrations for 3 years. I did a sleep study and I didn't have vibrations for a week and a half after sleeping with cpap. They started back slowly and now are back to every night. Last night they were in lower abdomen, pelvic area. My neurologist wanted me to take Fycompa but I read up on it and decided not to. I don't see him again until May. They wake me up between 1-4 am. Thing is, I can lie on bed for 4 hours watching TV and not have any. They happen ONLY AFTER I have been asleep. I don't understand why, after using cpap, they stopped. I told neurologist that I think I injured my phrenic nerve taking my morning meds and swallowing a huge gulp of air. That's a symptom. It started within 2 days of that happening. My neurologist thinks I'm crazy, don't they all?, I KNOW it's my diaphragm which makes sense having air forced into my lungs with the cpap and the diaphragm controls your breathing. The cpap is on back order. I'm calling them today. If it'll stop these vibrations, I'll sleep in it. It's the nasal one so I don't feel like I'm suffocating.

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@arthur57

Thanks John for asking about this. I would love to know what supplements the neurologist recommended. My doctor laughed when I asked about seeing neurologist, he's really not taking this seriously and frankly just doesn't understand it and is in the dark just like everyone else I guess at this point. I continue to have vibrations anytime I sleep. Very frustrating. I'm praying one of these national long hauler clinics figures out something in the not too distant future.

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Mine happen only AFTER I have been asleep too. I posted elsewhere that I had a sleep study and slept with nasal canula and didn't have vibrations for a week and a half after. They started back slowly and are now every night. I told my neurologist I think it's from injury to phrenic nerve when I swallowed a huge gulp of air taking my meds. That'll do it. The diaphragm controls your breathing and it makes sense that having air forced into your lungs, then they stop. He wanted me to take Fycompa but after reading up on it I decided not to. I've got a cpap on back order and if it'll stop these vibrations, I'll use it. I can lie on the bed for 5 hours watching movies and not have any. I go to sleep and 3-4 later, I wake up and I can't go back to sleep because they don't stop until I get up. I've been keeping journal and rating them on scale. When they are a level 8-10, I have to sit on the edge of bed a minute because my whole insides are shaking. I wish to God someone would take this seriously and do study or something. My neurologist said he thinks it's from overactive central nervous system but I want to know what EXACTLY what is going on in my body to cause it.

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@carol1024

Mine happen only AFTER I have been asleep too. I posted elsewhere that I had a sleep study and slept with nasal canula and didn't have vibrations for a week and a half after. They started back slowly and are now every night. I told my neurologist I think it's from injury to phrenic nerve when I swallowed a huge gulp of air taking my meds. That'll do it. The diaphragm controls your breathing and it makes sense that having air forced into your lungs, then they stop. He wanted me to take Fycompa but after reading up on it I decided not to. I've got a cpap on back order and if it'll stop these vibrations, I'll use it. I can lie on the bed for 5 hours watching movies and not have any. I go to sleep and 3-4 later, I wake up and I can't go back to sleep because they don't stop until I get up. I've been keeping journal and rating them on scale. When they are a level 8-10, I have to sit on the edge of bed a minute because my whole insides are shaking. I wish to God someone would take this seriously and do study or something. My neurologist said he thinks it's from overactive central nervous system but I want to know what EXACTLY what is going on in my body to cause it.

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Carol, I totally understand and feel bad for you. Mine happen every time I sleep whether at night or during a daytime nap lol. You don't mention if you think your's might have been related to Covid or Vaccine as mine I'm pretty certain are related as they started up shortly after having Covid and then having booster a few weeks later. It just seems odd if it is related to something else as the timing was very perfect for one of these to have caused my issues.

Best to you!

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@arthur57

Carol, I totally understand and feel bad for you. Mine happen every time I sleep whether at night or during a daytime nap lol. You don't mention if you think your's might have been related to Covid or Vaccine as mine I'm pretty certain are related as they started up shortly after having Covid and then having booster a few weeks later. It just seems odd if it is related to something else as the timing was very perfect for one of these to have caused my issues.

Best to you!

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No because mine started in 2019. I never had covid or the covid shot.

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@sierrafiedeffect

I also experience this buzzing during waking moments. It seems to center around my upper chest/abdomen and mostly only happens after I’ve been asleep but not yet fully awake. It is a very alarming sensation, usually it occurs for 3 seconds and stops, then 3 seconds again and stops, this pattern repeats until I choose to wake up or fall back asleep fully. I as well experience a noise when closing my eyes harder than normal, a user above referenced, but that has always happened while awake. I’ve seen multiple doctors and was referred to a neurologist who was very hateful and not helpful, and that’s where my journey ended. This didn’t occur prior to contracting Covid however I don’t know if it’s related. I’ve read both articles regarding Brain Zaps and Sleep Myoclonus and neither of these point to my experience. I would love to know the cause and how to treat.

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Hello! I have this same thing. It's just the weirdest. I just got a CT scan and bloodwork, and they found nothing. Any update on your end. Sorry your Neurologist wasn't very nice, but you're not alone! And if I find anything more out on my end, I will let you know. I am a 37 year-old female.

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Sorry to be specific. CT Scan of my pelvis & Abdomen. I did read your other posts, and I did have low Vitamin D in my blood panel, so will give the Vitamin D and Iron a try. I also noticed you stopped drinking. Seems to happen for me whether I drink or not, but I am definitely more restless when I drink, so I do notice it more.

Let me know if you have any other new discoveries or tips! Thanks again.

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I am a 59 yo female, significantly overweight. I have had internal vibrations now for over a decade. Prior to perimenopause beginning in my early 40's I slept like a rock, 8+ hours a night. Once my hormones started fluctuating I began having trouble sleeping, and my coping mechanisms for stress vanished. My alcohol intake increased, and I finally went on prozac to cope with stress at work, and gained massive amounts of weight. I've gone on a CPAP to deal with the subsequent sleep apnea from the weight gain. The vibrations started around the time I began taking prozac, but I do not precisely recall when they started. I stopped taking prozac after reducing my life stresses significantly by retiring early, but the vibrations continue to this day. I fall asleep relatively easily most nights, but wake up after 4-5 hours, usually vibrating, and have a horrible time falling back to sleep, if I can at all. I have reduced my alcohol intake significantly (in addition to vibrations I would have heart palpations if I overindulged). I am quadruple vaccinated, and have had covid. The vibrations preceded Covid and associated vaccines by a decade, they neither increase nor decreased after covid. I had only minor reactions to the vaccines, nothing like actual covid itself, which made my entire body feel like it was shutting down while I was still alive. My biggest problem after covid is how my sense of taste has been significantly altered so everyting i eat tastes oversalted. I have not bothered to discuss these issues with my primary care physician, when I have asked questions regarding other related medical issues he indicates my problems are due to 'normal aging' and recommends the mediterranean diet as a cure all. I am actively seeking a new PCP. I am so glad to find this group, I've been trying to figure out this vibration issue for years on my own. I do take multivitamins and am on blood pressue and cholesterol medications. I try to exercise but the lack of a good nights sleep makes it very difficult to have the energy.

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@clkehn

I am a 59 yo female, significantly overweight. I have had internal vibrations now for over a decade. Prior to perimenopause beginning in my early 40's I slept like a rock, 8+ hours a night. Once my hormones started fluctuating I began having trouble sleeping, and my coping mechanisms for stress vanished. My alcohol intake increased, and I finally went on prozac to cope with stress at work, and gained massive amounts of weight. I've gone on a CPAP to deal with the subsequent sleep apnea from the weight gain. The vibrations started around the time I began taking prozac, but I do not precisely recall when they started. I stopped taking prozac after reducing my life stresses significantly by retiring early, but the vibrations continue to this day. I fall asleep relatively easily most nights, but wake up after 4-5 hours, usually vibrating, and have a horrible time falling back to sleep, if I can at all. I have reduced my alcohol intake significantly (in addition to vibrations I would have heart palpations if I overindulged). I am quadruple vaccinated, and have had covid. The vibrations preceded Covid and associated vaccines by a decade, they neither increase nor decreased after covid. I had only minor reactions to the vaccines, nothing like actual covid itself, which made my entire body feel like it was shutting down while I was still alive. My biggest problem after covid is how my sense of taste has been significantly altered so everyting i eat tastes oversalted. I have not bothered to discuss these issues with my primary care physician, when I have asked questions regarding other related medical issues he indicates my problems are due to 'normal aging' and recommends the mediterranean diet as a cure all. I am actively seeking a new PCP. I am so glad to find this group, I've been trying to figure out this vibration issue for years on my own. I do take multivitamins and am on blood pressue and cholesterol medications. I try to exercise but the lack of a good nights sleep makes it very difficult to have the energy.

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Welcome @clkehn, I know it's a daily struggle when you don't get enough sleep. Hopefully you can find a new PCP soon and figure out what may be causing the internal vibrations. Here is some information that may be helpful:
--- What’s Causing My Internal Vibrations?: https://www.healthline.com/health/internal-vibrations.

Also, wondering if this might be helpful for your sense of taste due to COVID. This site talks about the problem and things that might help:
--- Long COVID: Loss of smell or taste: https://www.nhsinform.scot/long-term-effects-of-covid-19-long-covid/signs-and-symptoms/long-covid-loss-of-smell-or-taste

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I have had this since 2012. I had a viral infection of sort. I have had extensive blood work done. I found that vagus nerve stimulation has a reduction in symptoms. Mainly, breath work that really extend the belly outwards and pressing out. My viral stemmed from the gut. Vibrations disappeared after many years of working on Vagus nerve. I got Covid in January and presto, vibrations and symptoms are back. Now working at vagus nerve protocol again more than ever. Also, I found that I had stool checked and have almost zero of butyrate, which is a necessary transporter from the gut to the neurotransmitter via vagus nerve. I think that has a bearing in why the vagus nerve isn't performing to its necessary function. Also, my norepinephrine is high which us also up the same neuro pathway. I have done extensive research which has been vetted by my team prior to finishing my book. The link between gut/brain axis to heal from this is high.

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