I have exaclty the same thing. It happens 2 or 3 minutes before I fall asleep. Now it has become part of my sleeping routine: When I have the spasms, I now I`m about to fall asleep. It does not wake me up though (only very rarely). I have been experiencing numbenss in my left index finger for about 2 months now, and I have done an MRI of my neck to look for a pinched nerve. It was found that I have multiple mild bulgind discs. I wonder if this has something to do with the spasms. Have you experienced any numbness in fingers ?

everytime i drink too much .. when body is dehydrated my body twiches like that at least 20 times as im falling asleep.. i noticed it only happends when i drink too much the night before..

This falling sensation, together with a body movement known as a "sleep start," is what doctors and scientists call a hypnic or myoclonic (say: my-eh-kla-nik) jerk, and it usually happens right before going into deeper stages of sleep.

Here's why doctors think the falling feeling and myoclonic jerks happen. When you fall asleep, normally your body temperature goes down and your heart starts to beat just a little slower. This is because your brain signals your body to relax to prepare for sleep. When your muscles are relaxed, you go into the very first stages of sleep, but you're not sleeping too deeply yet.

This brain activity may cause your larger muscles to contract a little bit. In response, another part of your brain will make up a very quick mini-dream to go along with what is happening. You might think this would take a while, but your brain works so lightning fast that it makes up the story almost at the same instant that your muscles jerk.

During this light sleep, you can be easily awakened - like if the phone rings or if your dog licks your face. A lot of people who do wake up during this light sleep believe they haven't really fallen asleep yet. That's why you may think that your body jerked right before you were about to fall asleep, but really, you were lightly asleep the whole time - just not deeply asleep.

Myoclonic jerks are a normal part of sleep. Most people (80%) have them at one time or another. But many people do not realize their muscles are jerking at times during light sleep and it doesn't wake them up.

Try watching someone who is in the early stages of sleep. If he's twitching a little bit, it means he's experiencing a myoclonic jerk but isn't being startled awake.

In reply to what was said by Benny, I'd like to add that my lady-friend has experienced some pretty severe ones, and all-too-frequently usually when she's attempting to drift off to sleep. They result in some quite serious headaches too, and prevent her from a sound rest. From reviewing the web info on this matter, I'm fairly confident in saying that this condition may be a symptom of something potentially quite serious, and may require a physicians diagnosis, as the possibility of any of MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or particular types of Epilepsy may be a possibility. My friend has seen neurologists in the past, but hasn't received any conclusive diagnosis, yet I'm concerned for her, and do yet understand her reluctance to be further poked and prodded. She has managed through the use of certain prescribed barbiturates, and Tylenol 1's, but I know this isn't the answer. I do encourage her to be tested more though, but when the medical community here repeatedly seems to have substantial difficulty in coming to any one particular conclusion, thereby pointing up the best state-of-the-art treatments, I'm quite sympathetic. This condition really does, as you may imagine, affect this lady's quality of life, and it would be so nice to have her on appropriate treatment finally. All feedback appreciated, and considered. Thank-You.

The same thing happens to me, i also have numbness in either my hand or my left index finger, really annoying, wakes me up very rarely though

I also have severe body jerks when my body is relaxed. It can affect just one limb or a finger, or it can cause my whole entire body to jump off of the bed! At first, (they started almost 2 years ago) they would only happen when I was trying to fall asleep. Then about 10 months later, they would happen in a part of my body that was relaxed...example, when drivig a car, my left leg might ocassionally jerk. NOW, I can get them at any time. They don't happen very often when I am active, but they I have had ocassions when I was holding something and it would fly out of my hand because my hand or arm jerked. I am to the point where it is interfering with my everyday life. I have a Neurologist but haven't seen him in a while. He had put me on an anti-seizure drug called Keppra, and that worked pretty well, but I had to stop taking it because it was too expensive and I lost my insurance. I am also being tested for Lupus. Has anyone ever heard of this happening to someone that also has Lupus??? Also, does anyone know any other less-expensive drugs that may help reduce or eliminate this??? It has also interfered with my sleep tremendously!!