Are you a "foot shaker"?

In My Humble Opinion
1

In other words, when you are in a seated or rested position do you notice your foot/feet shaking rapidly?

My feet are always moving when I’m in a rested position. It’s a subconscious action. If I’m seated upright with my legs crossed my foot is moving. If I’m seated upright and my feet are flat on the ground my foot is moving/tapping. If I’m seated with my legs raised (ottoman) my feet are moving. Laying down, same thing. The movement is usually a pattern or a beat. I don’t know what causes me to do it but I’ve always done it. Maybe someone can add an explanation.

Just how common is this?

2

Meant to put this in IMHO. Can someone kindly move it?

Thank you!

3

I do it, but only if I’m sitting with my feet on the floor.

It drives my family nuuuuuuuuuuts, even though my sister does it, too.

4

Yup, guilty as charged. But only if I sit in a kitchen/office-type of chair. I really have to focus to note tap my feet then.

5

I am a bit more subtle. I just move my toes.

I was recently diagnosed with Periodic Leg Movements in Sleep. (a variation of Restless Leg Syndrome)

6

i do this as well. its like i’m listening to an ipod all the time.

i think it is genetic:

7

Apparently it helps keep my weight down, og knows I do precious little exercise as it is.

8

Yes, always have been. Only when seated in a chair with feet on the floor. My method is to rest the ball of my foot on the floor or on the chair base and sort of bounce my right (usually) heel up & down in the air, without my heel actually touching the floor or base. It makes the chair jiggle slightly.

The other night at dinner we were eating and I kept hearing a faint bumping sound, but when I told everyone to keep quiet it would stop. Then a few minutes later I heard it again, then it stopped. About the 4th time I realized my jiggling foot was shaking the floor just slightly and making the drop leaf on a table in the corner of the kitchen lightly bump against the table leg. Once again, I didn’t even realize I was doing it.

9

I’m doing it right now. Only when my legs are crossed, though. I don’t tap against the floor, I just shake the foot of the crossed leg. Especially if I’m wearing flip-flops. I know it’s super obnoxious, but it’s not really conscious.

10

I used to have hyperactive feet when I was younger. My first husband got mad because I would hang my foot over the side of the bed and shake it while I was sleeping. Apparently that bothered him.

I have no idea why my feet are no longer hyper, though, or when it went away.

11

Exactly the same thing here. I’ve been chastised for it more than once.

12

Oh yeah! I can even get the whole car shaking by doing it. It drives Nashiitashii insane!

13

I bounce my leg up and down when I’m sitting and bored. Less nowadays than when I was younger.

14

Totally. Though I can voluntarily and comfortably stop if I choose.

15

Same here. People think it means that I’m nervous but I do it all the time without noticing it until someone points it out. I’m doing it now and my first cup of coffee hasn’t even kicked in yet. I’m not fully awake, never mind nervous.

16

Yes, constantly. I’m doing it now. I’ve actually tried breathing and relaxation excercises to help alleviate it, but to no avail. I guess I’m just too tightly wound.

There it goes again…

17

I do this a lot, but I also snap my toes, which drives my wife bonkers.

18

Yup. Constantly. I actually jiggle my knee because it’s quieter, and so long as my leg isn’t resting against anything, it doesn’t make anything else jiggle. It’s significantly better when I take my ADD meds.

My understanding, so far as ADD goes, is that my brain is trying to stimulate itself so that it can filter out distractions more easily. When I take my ADD med, that provides the needed stimulus, and I don’t jiggle all day long.

I also kick my feet at night, especially when I have trouble getting to sleep. It’s not the same thing, but I wonder if it’s related. My doctor officially diagnosed me with Restless Leg Syndrome thanks to that one.

Interesting to me is that a lot of people, including myself, can treat the nighttime Restless Leg Syndrome, by drinking a small glass of tonic water before going to bed. Apparently, the quinine has a beneficial effect.

Doesn’t help the daytime jiggles, though.

19

I read the OP as I was bouncing the heel of my foot up and down, with the ball of my foot on the floor. It bounces my knee. Sometimes it’s both feet. I must like the rapid rocking it provides. Or, maybe I just need some Ritalin.

20

Usually, yes. If I’m nervous or over caffeinated, the frequency can increase, sometimes even throwing my other foot into the mix to jig a brisk counter-rhythm.

It’s always fun when you manage to nail the resonant frequency of some random object in the room and start rocking it back and forth, often with a high-pitched squealing to accompany it. I’m not very popular in morning lectures.