Jeff Ricker wrote:
> Kirsten Rewey wrote:
>
> >Why is it that we sometimes dream we are falling and, at the moment of impact,
> >jerk awake?
>
> Although he doesn't mention it in the context of dreaming, the sleep researcher
> Peretz Lavie (1996) stated the following with regard to jerking awake:
>
> "The muscle relaxation that signifies falling asleep is sometimes interrupted by
> a sudden start called a 'hypnic jerk' for which we have no well-established
> explanation, although we may assume that it results from a change in the brain to
> decrease muscle tonus. Like the sudden forward jump a car makes after a clumsy
> gear change, this could cause an 'error' in the activation of a group of muscles,
> thus resulting in a sudden start." (p. 14)
>
I think I saw someone doing the "hypnic jerk" at our college's Holiday party in
December!
Sorry folks, I just couldn't resist. And I figured at this point in the semester
with the first round of papers and exams looming, we could use a little levity.
Cheers,
--
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Steven M. Specht, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Psychology Department
Utica College of Syracuse University
1600 Burrstone Rd.
Utica, NY 13502
(315) 792-3171
*** be fruitfly and multiple
