Have you ever been so tired that the moment you hit the bed, you feel like you are sinking in your mattress? Or did you ever feel your leg twitch in middle of your sleep? Did you feel like you moved your leg to prevent yourself from falling down? If yes, then you are in for a great read!

Why does this happen?

You are not alone, this happens to around 70% of the total population in some way or another. Although these are signs of sleep disorders, it can also happen to people who are otherwise healthy. Sleep disorder specialists believe that there are certain common triggers that leads to such a sensation.

Our brain is exceptional and sometimes when we dream, it makes us believe that we our part of the dream. And if you are falling from somewhere in your dream, chances are, you would feel like you are falling in real life. This experience is known as hypnic jerk, the movement of your muscle that helps you be safe from that fall, or the imaginary one.

What causes it? When we sleep, our bodies become paralyzed, but that does not mean that our muscle control is not totally off. Rather, a slow, dimmer switch. When the dim switch randomly is turned on, we get jerky movements in our sleep.

This involuntary muscle movement is also called myoclonus or hypnic myoclonus, that transitions as you shift from one sleep phase into another.

ALSO SEE: What is sleep paralysis?

What Could Cause It?

There are many theories on what might be causing it. One of them is that when you are at this stage of sleep, you are still not in deep sleep and your brain misinterprets it as wakefulness, however, at the same time your brain does not recognize your muscles to be moving. This is what leads your brain to send a message to your muscles to check-in. It is a way your brain tries to protect you.

Another theory is of course that of stress. When you are stressed, your mind might be racing, while your body is in stationary. This can also affect your sleep cycle and your sleep can be disrupted.

If you are on stimulant drugs or alcohol, it too can prevent you from achieving a good night sleep. If you have consumed too much caffeine then too your muscles can twitch to make you stay awake.

Furthermore, lack of sleep could also be the reason why your mind is used to staying awake even if your body really needs the rest.

Periodic Limb Movement Disorder

While the falling sensation in sleep is quite common, and happens to healthy people, a severe form is the Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). PLMD is a repetitive cramping or jerking of legs during sleep. It is a movement disorder that happens only during sleep. It is called "periodic" because the movements are repetitive and rhythmic, which means it occurs in every 20 to 40 seconds. It is also often linked with restless legs syndrome, however, the two are not the same thing.

Restless leg syndrome on the other hand is a condition that involves strange sensations in the legs and arms while awake and an irresistible urge to move the limbs to relive the sensations.

What causes PLMD may be more severe things, including diabetes, iron deficiency, spinal cord tumor, spinal cord injury, sleep apnea, uremia, anemia, narcolepsy, or certain medications.

Did you also wake up with a mild cold? A sneeze, blocked nose and a sore throat. It is worse because you had just shaken off the miserable cold and your energy was finally coming back and then now again you are sneezing. So, now the question is, could you really get the same cold twice, or is it just your bad luck?

As per the National Health Service, UK (NHS), adults could get an average of 2 to 4 colds a year. The NHS, UK notes that the viruses behind them behave in a complicated way. This is because some mutate quickly, and some stay in your system. This is why your body's ability to fight them off can differ depending on how well does your immune respond.

Catching The Same Cold, Twice

Conventionally, it is believed that once you have a virus, your body recognizes it and does not let you catch the same virus again. However, this is not the case, always.

Professor Brain Ferguson, who is the professor of viral immunity at the University of Cambridge told Yahoo UK, that it is possible to catch cold twice. This is due to the levels of antibodies that we have in our system.

Ferguson says, "It depends on the quality of the antibodies that your body generates when you get infected the first time. Sometimes your body might make really good ones, and that will stop you being reinfected with the same virus later. But another person might not, and they can catch the same virus, exactly the same one, again later."

The expert further added, "It is also down to the actual molecules, and the constituents of the virus, like proteins and things you make antibodies against. The longer they exist in your body, the better the antibody response tends to be."

This means that the cold can stay in your system, and the longer it stays the better your immune system will be prepared to build up a stronger defense.

Reinfection Time: How Long Does It Take?

If you had two colds very close together, you may not have had enough time to build immune response the first time. Ferguson says, "Reinfection can be very fast."

"It can be as soon as a couple of weeks if the antibody response is very weak... You might pick up a virus and get a few minor symptoms, but fight it off really quickly. In that case, you get much weaker antibodies that fight the virus, which means the same virus appears in your system again very quickly."

This means your body only has a "fleeting encounter" with the virus and thus it won't remember it well enough to protect you the next time. However, a more severe cold may trigger a stronger immune response, which can work as a longer-lasting protection.

Why Some People Catch More Often?

This has something to do with genetics. This is because of their immune system, how good it works against different infections. As Ferguson says, "Some people are just naturally better or worse at fighting off viruses or bacteria due to their genetic makeup."

While it is believed that multivitamins and supplements can help "boost" immunity, Ferguson says that the evidence is mixed.

There’s not a great evidence base for [vitamins] for repeat infections," he says. However, Ferguson adds there is evidence that people who spend more time outside and get more vitamin D tend to have a slightly better-functioning immune system.

"I wouldn't use the word hide," said Dr Sue Goldie to NPR, she is a professor at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who has finally told the world after four years about her Parkinson's.

She learned about her diagnosis in 2021. She told NPR, "I think I was really trying to give myself room and time to fall apart, to panic, to think about what it meant for me.” For Goldie, silence wasn’t secrecy, it was self-preservation.

She revealed she needed space to understand to first accept that it is happening with her, and secondly to understand how to live with a condition that would alter her movements, her voice, and even her sensing. So she calls the 4-year-gap of not telling anyone as a "process of figuring out how I could be OK."

Parkinson's Disease: How Does It Start?

We often read about Parkinson's disease, what is it, and what it does to someone. However, what we do not talk a lot about is how it starts. We don't talk about the subtle signals one's body sends.

Goldie says it started with a tremor. It was so slight, that it was almost invisible. Then, a running coach mentioned her off cadence. The New York Times (NYT) reports that a trainer noticed her left arm did not lift properly in the pool. Eventually, afterwards, her fingers began twitching. Goldie, then was 50.

She was also at the height of her academic career and was newly obsessed with triathlons. She was in fact, training for Ironman races, reported NYT.

When tests confirmed Parkinson’s, a degenerative neurological disease that affects movement and coordination, her first reaction was disbelief. Then fear. Would her students notice? Would colleagues see her differently?

The diagnosis left her confronting an identity crisis. At what point, she wondered, does a disease become who you are?

Sue With Parkinson's, Who Lived Two Lives

Goldie began to divide her world. At Harvard, she was the confident professor and global health leader, still producing intricate teaching materials and mentoring students. In triathlons, she was freer, surrounded by people who saw her as an athlete, not a patient.

But the effort to maintain that balance came at a cost. As reported by NYT, early mornings were the hardest: walking unsteadily to the bathroom before medication took effect, hiding tremors from colleagues, managing the dopamine pills that controlled her symptoms. “You have no idea how hard it is to trick you into thinking I’m OK,” she later said.

Eventually, she could no longer keep it private. “Starting today, I am Sue with Parkinson’s,” she decided. Most of the people in her professional life would learn about it through her story.

The Camera For Healing

When Goldie's hand tremors made writing impossible, she began to record thousands of video diaries. They were often short, unfiltered glimpses of her daily struggle, which were filmed in her office, car, or home. Sometimes, calm, sometimes in tears.

Her videos began with a "Hello Sue", talking to her future self. In one video as posted by the NYT from 2023, she confessed, “I’m trying hard to do all this stuff that will help, but I’m not feeling OK... I just need to not be alone with it.”

Goldie refused to stop training. Her research had shown that exercise helps manage Parkinson’s symptoms. So, she doubled down, calling herself “an N of 1” — a one-person experiment. She adapted creatively: pink tape on her hands to guide her swim strokes, modified gear on her bike so she wouldn’t lose balance.

In 2022, she completed the Lake Placid Ironman, a 140.6-mile challenge. She crossed the finish line after collapsing, crying, and reapplying lipstick. Her small team called her S.F.G., with the middle initial standing for an unprintable word that captured her spirit.

As her symptoms progressed, Goldie’s fears shifted from physical decline to the erosion of identity. Parkinson’s, she realized, isn’t just about tremors; it’s about dignity, perception, and the quiet grief of being misunderstood.

She worried about whispers at Harvard, about whether others would still see her as capable. When she finally told university leaders, she felt both vulnerable and relieved.

Still, her mission remained unchanged. “I can’t change this,” she told The New York Times in 2024. “So what happens when I get worse?”

She continued teaching, designing, and mentoring. Her hands might tremble, but her mind stayed sharp. “I want to get things done while I’m still the best me,” she said.

Flu season has arrived, and while the summer wave of COVID-19 has subsided, a winter increase is expected. Vaccines are available for both viruses, prompting many to ask about timing, especially if they haven’t received their shots yet. With the CDC updating guidelines, rules around vaccination are constantly evolving, so the most common question is: can you get your COVID and flu shots at the same time?

Can You Get Your Covid And Flu Shots At The Same Time?

The COVID-19 vaccine can be administered alongside a seasonal flu shot for those who prefer to get both at once. It is considered completely safe. “There are no recommendations against it; it mainly comes down to personal preference,” Dr. Mike Ren, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine explained. He added that some people may experience mild fatigue with vaccines, and getting multiple shots at the same time could slightly increase that effect.

Many people are already familiar with how their bodies react to flu and COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID shot can sometimes cause soreness in the arm, so it’s recommended to avoid getting both vaccines in the same arm if that happens. For those who experience minimal side effects, there’s no disadvantage to receiving both shots at the same visit. Some choose to space them out simply based on convenience.

Which Covid Shot To Get?

For individuals who have experienced strong reactions to the Pfizer or Moderna mRNA COVID vaccines, the Novavax shot, which uses a more traditional protein-based method may offer an alternative with fewer temporary side effects, according to Caitlin Rivers, an infectious-disease epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Males aged 12 to 29 may particularly consider Novavax, as it carries no known risk of myocarditis, a rare heart inflammation sometimes associated with mRNA vaccines. Andrew Pavia, a pediatrics infectious-disease physician at the University of Utah, noted that myocarditis cases linked to mRNA vaccines are generally mild, and COVID-19 itself poses a higher risk of heart complications.

Pavia also explained that there are no major differences between the current Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, so people can choose whichever is more convenient or available.

When Should You Get A Flu Vaccine?

The ideal time to get a flu vaccine is generally from late September through October. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, recommends aiming to be vaccinated before Halloween, in line with CDC guidance.

While many pharmacies begin offering flu shots as early as July or August, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, advises waiting a bit longer. This is because vaccine protection can wane after a few months, and flu cases often peak between December and February.

Even if you miss the early window, it’s still worthwhile to get vaccinated. “Some protection is better than none,” Dr. Chin-Hong emphasizes.

Staying up to date with both COVID-19 and flu vaccinations is an important step in protecting your health during the respiratory virus season. Getting the shots at the same time is safe and convenient for most people, though minor side effects like fatigue or soreness may be slightly increased.