Many people often dream of tripping and then waking up with a start. So what does this dream mean?
Many people admit to experiencing the phenomenon of tripping and falling freely when they begin to fall asleep. More rarely, some people feel like they are dreaming and clearly see themselves falling into a deep well or hear very strange noises around them.

In fact, the feeling of tripping while sleeping is also known as Hypnic Jerk. Simply put, it is a condition in which muscles twitch while sleeping. Although muscle twitching occurs throughout the body, we often have a distinct feeling in the legs. This is a controversial phenomenon in the scientific community and many hypotheses have been put forward to explain this issue.

Explaining the cause of this seemingly strange phenomenon of leg loss, some people believe that it is because:

The brain checks to see if you are "dead" or not

There are explanations given to explain this phenomenon. One explanation in particular is that: The nervous system recognizes that you are about to fall asleep, so it sends a signal to arouse you, checking to see if you are... "dead" or not.

Scientists at the University of Medicine in Freiburg in Germany have researched and come up with many guesses about the cause. One of them is that the brain does not recognize that your body is sleeping. Because while you sleep, your breathing and heart rate slow down, your body temperature decreases and it relaxes to rest.

The brain now receives the stimulus and can misjudge the cause, thinking that you are… in free fall and immediately sends a signal to balance, making you startled and awake.

Body fatigue, prolonged stress

In addition, body fatigue, pressure, stress, and prolonged heaviness can also be the reason we often startle when sleeping. But don't worry too much because this is a completely normal phenomenon and does not harm your health. This is a signal from the body for you to rebalance your life, rest more, and reduce stress.

"Today, many people have unscientific sleeping habits. They stay up late watching TV, surf their mobile phones all day long, or play games regardless of the time. In addition, they abuse coffee and alcohol. All of these habits will eventually put a lot of pressure on the body when we go to bed and easily cause the above phenomenon of leg cramps," said Dr. Claire Leconte, who specializes in human biological rhythms. Doctors advise that if you often experience this condition, you should limit your coffee intake before bedtime. The reason is that high levels of caffeine make it difficult for you to sleep deeply. Do not use your phone or electronic devices 2 hours before going to bed.

Drink enough water, exercise regularly to improve your health. You should sleep in a quiet, airy, comfortable sleeping space with limited light. You can do relaxing activities such as yoga or meditation before going to bed and should not play sports after dinner.

In particular, a nutritious diet is very important. A lack of nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, and iron will make you more likely to have leg cramps while sleeping.