[harryneild (OP)]

Today i noticed that i quite often shiver randomly. It only lasts for a second or so but it is quite a big shiver, not like if i was cold. I think that it is quite common because i have heard people using the phrase 'someone walked over your grave' when it happens. The most common time i shiver like that is when im having a wee, but it does happen all the time.
Im sure that nearly everyone experiences these shudders and i'm wondering, do they have any practical use?? What causes them and are they beneficial?

Thankyou
"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." Peter F. Drucker


_{Mod edit - Formatted the subject as a question.  Please do this to help keep the forum tidy and easy to navigate - thanks!}

[elegantlywasted]

I too suffer from random shivers or shudders. I have no idea why, maybe we are sensitive to spirits or something?

-Meg

[ukmicky]

I too suffer from random shivers or shudders. and i also have no idea why. unfortuanatly though i dont believe in spirits but i do believe in something.[]

Does anyone get jerks[], everynow and again i can be sitting quietly whan all of a sudden my hand or leg will suddenly move, sort of uncontrollably jerk ,just the once but without any thought from me and may not happen again for 7 or 8 months

Michael

[elegantlywasted]

oh totally, but mine are more on a daily basis, more frequently in the summer months.
So Michael, whats your scientific opinion? Oh and PS I dont really believe in ghosts or spirits, its just the explanation Ive been given all my life.

-Meg

[ukmicky]

Dont know but it is something.[]

Michael

[elegantlywasted]

guys there may be help for us yet!!! I did some googling and came across this article. Its much to long to decipher the good parts to quote so check it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myoclonic_twitch
or
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/myoclonus/detail_myoclonus.htm
It does alot of talking about the twitch just before you fall asleep as well. Later in the article it explains that the twitches may be a type of seizure. Perhaps we have mild epilepsy? Lemme know your opinions on the article

-Meg

[Carolyn]

I occasionally have shivers/shudders, maybe once a year, but my 17 yr. old daughter has facial and vocal tics.  She's had this condition for years, and actually stopped for awhile but this year it's worse than ever.

Carolyn

[elegantlywasted]

Carolyn,

The symptoms you daughter shows are of Tourettes, from what I understand it is difficult to diagnose, so don't be worried. Just get it checked.

-Meg

[harryneild (OP)]

I have read about the myoclonic twitching but it doesn't seem to fit with the shivering. It says it it to do with the spasms when in bed.

I always thought that when i jump in bed that it was to do with me believing my dreams. I usually jump when i dream about something about to hit me. It is a reflex to jump out of the way. Also if i am semi-asleep and i roll over, thinking im going to fall off the bed then i jump. Im not sure if this is classed as myoclonic twitching or not. I would think that the twitching is more to do with things like hiccups and eyelids twitching. What is the reason for eyelid twitching? Ive noticed it occurs when i am tired. Is this a reason?



"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." Peter F. Drucker

[Carolyn]

quote:Originally posted by elegantlywasted

Carolyn,

The symptoms you daughter shows are of Tourettes, from what I understand it is difficult to diagnose, so don't be worried. Just get it checked.

-Meg

Doctors seem to think she has Transient Tic Disorder, and she will most likely grow out of it.  She did stop for awhile, but stress seems to be a trigger for the tics.  This being her senior year, she seems to stay stressed out.

Carolyn

[harryneild (OP)]

I have a few family members who develope weird compulsions when stressed out. My cousin had to spell every last word he said backwards and find the middle letter. Also he felt he had to see his reflection in all of the car windows he passed and would not carry on without doing so. This was around his GSCE exams so he was very stressed at the time.


"Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes." Peter F. Drucker

[Karen W.]

I get those unexplained shivers also and have since I was a child. I was also told is that, " A Goose Walked Over Your Grave!" Who Knows, but it is kind of a creepy kind of shiver, not like being cold, you know! The kind that make your shoulders rise to touch your ears and your body does this little squirmy wiggle! Then Bam its gone. So odd really. I have to check out the sites, but it doesn't sound like a twitch. It feels as if someone passed through you briefly.

[rawr6kira]

I have always experienced these chills ever since I was little. I'll even be hot when I shiver. It's always in my shoulders when it happens, too. It is really hard to explain. It doesn't sound like the myoclonic twitches though.

[RD]

The urination reflex is relayed through the ANS. The reflex is directly related in strength to the amount of stretch of the bladder.
Thus, the degree of shivering is generally related to how full the bladder is at the time of urination.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/01/the_odd_body_wee_shiver/

in one Internet poll, where about 83% of males and 58% of females reported experiencing it.
By 6 Jul 2007, more than 24,000 males and more than 1,200 females had responded to the poll on the syndrome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-micturition_convulsion_syndrome

[Karen W.]

Everyone gets pee shivers don't they? All of my children did this too right before they peed... I am talking infants you know whilst changing diapers and such... I agree with the pee thing...

[EatsRainbows]

I have a few family members who develope weird compulsions when stressed out. My cousin had to spell every last word he said backwards and find the middle letter. Also he felt he had to see his reflection in all of the car windows he passed and would not carry on without doing so. This was around his GSCE exams so he was very stressed at the time.

This sounds like OCD. It is an anxiety disorder so it makes sense that stressful situations could trigger a tendency....

Regarding shivers, i do that too! And people always laugh, its quite dramatic. Ill be just sitting there and all of a sudden I shiver, have done so all my life at random moments. I know that shivering generally is controlled by the hypothalamus so had a nosy round, all i could find was this idea:

Research shows that "random" shivers can be a result of crossed sensory readings, which are misinterpreted by the central nervous system. Like apparently stress mixed with a small temperature change will set off a severe shiver. But also they say that euphoria and a slight body temperature change can do the same.

http://azeekarin.blogspot.com/2005/09/dont-you-shiveeeeerrrrrr.html

Sounds reasonable, though not a legitimate source obviously!  [] and i have not been able to find this apparent 'research'.

[johanna_scream]

I have shivers but they are like all the time and jerks every day i get scared sometimes and everyone wonders but never asks last time i had the shivers something bad happened at my friends place while i was there and my friends moms boyfriend got drug hit them and went to jail i haven't had the shivers for a couple weeks after.....still wondering about it

[justinjohny9]

- This forum is just superb, i had been looking for this kind of forum for a long time.
Regards

[woodworking]

it happen to when i woke up everyday..after a few hours it get back to normal again..

[lishay224]

its weird, i always have random shivers, even if its not cold, but i have noticed whenever i hear someone singing good, or music, i shiver all over too, like crazy shiver. and plus i dont know if this has anything to do with this but i have muscle spasms a lot but they arent big at all, i can just see my skin moving and feel the muscle spasm inside very little but fast. another frequent thing that happens to me is random hiccups. i always have them. i have always wondered if something was wrong with me, can anyone help me out?  []