Brain Zaps When Lying Down

[Deniseh]

Sometimes when I lie down in bed it feels as if every little noise gives me a 'brain zap' (as I call it).

For instance, the other night I was in bed going to sleep and my daughter (who sleeps in the room next to me) turned her light switch off, it wasn't terribly loud but I felt what I call a brain zap. It's a strange feeling inside my head.

It doesn't happen all the time though!

Anyone ever experienced this? Any ideas what might cause this?

Denise x

 

[Mcca3470]

I seem to be suffering with similar brain zaps.

Did these ever go away for you and, if so, was there something specific you noticed that helped?

 

[grate_biff]

Anyone ever experienced this? Any ideas what might cause this?

Typically withdrawing from ADs will have this effect. Other than that, I'm blank!

 

[buttercake]

Something similar happens to me. It's like some innocuous little sounds are super amplified. Especially sudden noises, like those random coming from the walls. They even produce a strange reaction in my body, like my whole body is about to react to a danger... you know that feeling. It happens only when I am about to fall asleep.

 

[Mcca3470]

Any updates here? I have the same thing and it's driving me crazy.

 

[Willlly]

This has happened to me on occasion. It's linked to my stress and anxiety, which I think sensitises my response to sudden noises. I use the headspace app to keep myself calm and don't worry too much about them, it will pass.

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

I have this. It's like electric buzz in my head when I go to bed. For me, this only came about with and after EHS (Electromagnetic hypersensitivity).

 

[Matchbox]

Anyone here taking SSRIs or Zopiclone? I found the brain zaps to be caused by withdrawing from the Z drugs.

 

[JasonP]

I think I have had them for four nights in a row and it's made it very hard to get to sleep. I also took a small amount of supplements or medications such as Lithium 50 mcg, Lithium Orotate, Neurontin, and some others. I hope my brain didn't get messed up by that stuff. My heart rate is going up and down from 60 to 100 bpm every thirty minutes. It started after exercising and getting a huge adrenaline rush I have been under a lot of stress lately but last night I was feeling more calm and better and still had them along with the fluctuating pulse. Propranolol got rid of the hypnic jerks and let me get to sleep but didn't end the brain zap but at least I got a little bit of sleep. I was calmer this afternoon but noticed I got one too and couldn't take a nap. I think the hypnic jerks are called Myoclonus if anyone's interested looking it up.

I have never had the brain zaps before. Do these go away? I hope I don't have to take some new kind of medication.

 

[Elmer B Fuddled]

I think I have had them for four nights in a row and it's made it very hard to get to sleep. I also took a small amount of supplements or medications such as Lithium 50 mcg, Lithium Orotate, Neurontin, and some others. I hope my brain didn't get messed up by that stuff. My heart rate is going up and down from 60 to 100 bpm every thirty minutes. It started after exercising and getting a huge adrenaline rush I have been under a lot of stress lately but last night I was feeling more calm and better and still had them along with the fluctuating pulse. Propranolol got rid of the hypnic jerks and let me get to sleep but didn't end the brain zap but at least I got a little bit of sleep. I was calmer this afternoon but noticed I got one too and couldn't take a nap. I think the hypnic jerks are called Myoclonus if anyone's interested looking it up.

I have never had the brain zaps before. Do these go away? I hope I don't have to take some new kind of medication.

I don't think the brain zaps go away. It's been going on with me for a number of years. I don't take any medication except for diabetes and high blood pressure. I do wonder if those zaps are harmful in some way but most of the time I ignore it.

 

[Óscar PP]

I had these even before tinnitus, but they were pretty rare and I only experienced them while trying to fall asleep.

 

[JasonP]

I don't think the brain zaps go away. It's been going on with me for a number of years. I don't take any medication except for diabetes and high blood pressure. I do wonder if those zaps are harmful in some way but most of the time I ignore it.

I didn't have them last night. I have a theory on what caused it for me. Some of the previous nights I took a medication called Corlanor which lowers heart rate but did not do it last night. Unfortunately, my Apple Watch heart rate program was not running while I was trying to sleep the first few hours but I did wake up and turn on the program and go back to sleep. I was having a very calm dream and just as things got "calmer" which is very rare, I woke right up. I immediately checked my watch and it said my heart rate had gone down to 52. Normally, it doesn't go past 56. My thinking is that my heart rate got too low for my system and then I got an norepinephrine or epinephrine surge to increase my heart rate which woke me up. I think the same thing is going on while drifting to sleep for me. The more calm and sleepy I get, the lower my heart rate gets and it is probably too low to maintain all body organs while sleeping.

This might be what is happening to you if you take a beta blocker for high blood pressure or something that controls your heart rate. If you do, let me know, because it would seem to give more backing to my theory.

 

[mcgregor]

I get brain zaps just before going to sleep, used to get banging noises also but haven't had these lately, a form of exploding head syndrome I believe

 

[Deniseh]

I seem to be suffering with similar brain zaps.

Did these ever go away for you and, if so, was there something specific you noticed that helped?

Hi, I think it may have been part of my hyperacusis that I suffered at the time from. It is much better now and I rarely have the zaps anymore.

 

[wrk2liv]

I experience brain zaps frequently. It is very debilitating and depressing. This tends to be more common after a poor night's sleep. Of course brain zaps cause poor sleep - so this can be a negative spiral. A long evening walk and avoidance of stimulants plus some sleep aids usually reverses this cycle.

 

[Bodycount2022]

I have had these zaps every few days since I ended Zopiclone after only 1 night and since then the zaps and hyperacusis have been getting worse every day. I don't know if that's a rebound effect. I haven't slept well at all for 3-4 weeks so I never have a normal 6-7 hour sleep and this is a real problem with tinnitus, hyperacusis and the brain zaps.

 

[DeanD]

Does anyone else, maybe new members, experience these 'brain zaps'?

I have them a couple of times a week, always just before sleep or just after waking.

This morning, about 1 minute after waking, I 'felt' an electric zap go from the left hand side of my brain across to the right, and that 'zap' started one of my tinnitus sounds.

 

[momus]

It may be related to more blood in your brain when you lie down? I did a little reading up on this, and it appears that when we lie down, our hearts, which don't know if we're lying down or standing up, end up pumping more blood more quickly because it doesn't have to deal w/ gravity. So more blood ends up flowing to your brain. This gives the brain more sugar and oxygen than it really needs.

Maybe try sleeping with your head elevated a moderate amount. If mine is too elevated I get neck cramps, but there should be a happy medium. Or go whole hog and figure out a way to elevate your whole bed. Some bricks or pieces of wood on one end should do the trick. I know that if I ride my bike a lot or do any sort of exercise my tinnitus goes up due to increased blood flow, and for all I know, more blood pressure. There are studies that say even Alzheimer's can be made worse in the long term from excess fluid in our brains.