9 year old twitching in sleep

Sleep myoclonus is defined as a “brief, involuntary twitching or jerking of a muscle or group of muscles.” It typically occurs as a person is falling asleep or during sleep.

It's more common in childhood but can linger through adulthood. Newborn hiccups are a form of myoclonus. Most of the time, sleep myoclonus is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

This article discusses the symptoms, causes, and types of myoclonus.

It also addresses treatment, which is necessary only if the myoclonus interferes with sleep and diminishes quality of life.

What Are the Symptoms of Sleep Myoclonus?

The symptoms of sleep myoclonus are difficult to miss.

Child twitching in sleep all night

In addition to twitching and jerking, the signs might also be called shakes, spasms, or contractions. And they can happen in all sorts of ways: once or many times in a row, a single episode or many times a night, in a pattern or not.

The symptoms are similar in that they are:

• Brief
• Involuntary
• Localized to one part of the body or all over the body
• Shock-like
• Sudden
• Involuntary
• Vari
  my son jolts in his sleep
  my child is twitching in his sleep