Why do my legs twitch and shake when I fall asleep

When we are asleep, we may occasionally feel our legs twitching and shaking suddenly. I believe many people have experienced this situation. Sometimes we feel as if we have fallen into an abyss and are suddenly startled. In fact, most of these situations are physiological and there is no need to be afraid. Common causes of leg twitching and shaking during sleep include being too tired or having an incorrect sleeping posture, or it may be caused by calcium deficiency in the body.

1. What is physiological muscle twitch?

A muscle twitch is an involuntary, rapid twitch of the muscle, at an extremely fast speed, like an electric shock. Physiological muscle twitches are a normal physiological phenomenon. Usually, the limbs occasionally shake suddenly while sleeping. It is an instinctive nerve contraction when a person falls asleep. This is because the brain will also inhibit the activity of the limb muscles in the sleeping state, but the inhibition is very low, and the blood circulation in the body is extremely slow. At this time, the muscles of the limbs will temporarily not be "commanded" by the brain, and some involuntary conditioned reflex nerve movements will occur.

2. Causes of physiological muscle twitching (sudden shaking of limbs during sleep)

1. Overwork

High stress during the day, excessive anxiety and tension, extreme physical fatigue, or severe lack of sleep can cause people to enter the dream stage early during sleep, resulting in the physiological phenomenon of sudden shaking of the limbs.

Why do my limbs suddenly shake when I sleep? How to prevent it?

2. Incorrect sleeping posture

Sleeping on your back, sleeping on your stomach, covering your head with a quilt, putting your hands on your chest, using a quilt that is too thick, etc. can increase the burden on the heart, slow down blood circulation, and cause breathing problems, leading to conditioned reflexes in the limbs that are not controlled by the brain.

Why do my limbs suddenly shake when I sleep? How to prevent it?

3. Calcium deficiency

If the body lacks calcium and the calcium content in the blood is low, the muscle nerves will become overexcited, causing occasional twitching of the limbs.

Why do my limbs suddenly shake when I sleep? How to prevent it?

3. How to prevent sudden shaking of limbs during sleep

1. Eat a light diet

You should pay attention to a balanced diet, mainly light food, avoid spicy and irritating food, and try to drink less alcohol.

2. Sleep on your right side

If physiological muscle twitches occur, you can change to sleeping on your right side to reduce the burden on your heart and prevent sudden shaking during sleep.

3. Regular work and rest time

Develop good work and rest habits, don’t stay up late, go to bed early and get up early, ensure adequate sleep, and at the same time, do some exercise during the day.

4. Get more rest, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, and maintain a happy mood

Arrange your work, study and life reasonably at ordinary times. You can go out for a walk after dinner, pay attention to the combination of work and rest, so that your whole body and mind can be greatly relaxed. At the same time, you can also soak your feet in hot water before going to bed to speed up your metabolism.

5. Drink a glass of milk before going to bed

In addition, if the sudden shaking during sleep is caused by calcium deficiency in the body, you can supplement calcium by drinking a glass of milk before going to bed to make up for the lack of calcium in the body during sleep.