Sleep - The Final Frontier.

[TofuMama]

I'm trying to sleep.

For the last month or so I've been having a pretty standard set of symptoms. I'll lay down, my heart rate will increase, I will become exceedingly breathless. My heart will thump. I will not feel scared, or out of place. I will just become very aware, and eventually I will turn over and convulse/shake strongly for a good 20 minutes or so.

Has anyone else had this? It happens every time I try to get a little bit of sleep. And I'm not all too sure what to do.

My main concern is that there's a physical cause of this, given that I really don't feel awfully anxious. (Although I am most certainly obsessively concerned about having this issue right now.)

[NotCool]

Convulsing/shaking in what way? Could it be just a panic attack shaking after you start obsessing about your initial heart palpitation?

[TofuMama]

Convulsing/shaking in what way? Could it be just a panic attack shaking after you start obsessing about your initial heart palpitation?

Perhaps. I'll feel a sense of calm. But then I'll also feel slightly depressed. Like I knew what just happened and it angered me.

Then I'll just shake really heavily all over and it won't end until I've sat on my laptop looking at anything that can distract me.

[HoneyLove]

The fast heart rate when you lie down could possibly be down to acid reflux which happens more easily when you're lying flat and can have an affect on your heart rate (although this is harmless). The feeling of your heart going faster can act as a trigger for your anxious feelings then, because you assume it's from an ominous reason.

It could also simply be anticipatory anxiety because you expect to feel that way when you lie down.

The next time it happens you could try an antacid to see if it helps, and avoid eating food in the two hours before bedtime. Acknowledge that it's your own reaction to the heart rate that's sending you into a panic, and do a breathing exercise or progressive muscle relaxation while you are lying down to hep calm your body and mind (there are plenty of these types of videos for free on YouTube).