It may have been your eyelid, your thumb, your jaw, or your calf that suddenly started twitching and you were like— huh?
You wouldn’t be the only teen to wonder. Here’s the story behind muscle twitching.
We can consciously control many of the muscles in our body and tell them just how to move and when to contract (tighten up) — making a fist or clenching your jaw, for example. Other muscles are not in our control; your heart muscle, your digestive muscles, and other muscles work all the time, with no conscious awareness on our part.
A muscle twitch happens when a muscle that we’re used to controlling contracts on its own, moving without your command. A little weird, but usually not a reason to worry.
Muscle twitches can be caused by stress and anxiety. Some people have a twitch that is very clearly related to their emotions, and their friends or family members can tell how they feel when they notice that muscle jumping (also known as a “nervous tic”). Other causes for muscle twitches include too much caffeine, a poor diet (in which you may be lacking important vitamins and minerals), physical activity, or even a side effect of some medications.
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