Question
my wife gets startled is sleep quite often -like she shudders and goes back to slep. more often than not she is not aware of this happening. what could be the reason? Is it indicative of anything wrong elsewhere in the body?
Answer
It could be usually the mind and body tend to go to sleep together and awaken but sometime there is a lag of a nano second and so ones brain is still asleep but body awake so one is dreaming with their eyes open dreams canbe very startling and vivid. If it only happens once in a while its natural phenomenon, unless her daytime alertness is affected then it could be a sleep disorder. Now if she trembles that could be a sleep seizure, for which she should see a neurologist, but that i dont think is what you are describing. tell her 3 hours before bedtime stay away from choclolate, caramel colored soda like coke, and pepsi or ginger ale, exercise, tea, coffee, caffeine, or alcohol all this make for restless sleep. 30 minutes before bedtime take a hot bath to relax, and l5 minutes drink a glasss of plain warm milk. Milk when heated contains trytophan a natural amino acid sleep inducer to make for more restful sleep.feel free to email again karel
