Everyone who’s ever met me knows I move about a lot! My motor tics (involuntary movements) are frequent, varied and for the most part very obvious. You can’t miss my constant chest banging, erratic head movements, wiggly spine, and my arms and legs that shoot out dramatically in all directions.

But there are some motor tics that are more discreet – movements I know go on in the background but that other people are unlikely to notice. One of these is a slight momentary tensing of my calf muscles, and at the moment this is happening almost constantly, probably almost as frequently as my flagship chest banging. Most of the time it’s not something that bothers me, but last night this tic was making it extremely hard for me to get to sleep.

I’ve got strategies for minimising most of my other tics when I go to bed – I lie on my arms, use a weighted blanket, and pack pillows around my body to limit my wiggling. But the calf-tensing carries on regardless and last night it was moving just enough to stop me sleeping.

It was as if my calves were waving, and not in the friendly greeting way but in the unstoppable ocean way. I eventually dozed off but as I lay there struggling to ignore my waving calves it made me reflect on all the other discreet tics I rarely mention.

So here’s a friendly wave of acknowledgement to my calf tensing, bum clenching, toe curling, foot flexing, side spasming, wrist bending, lip wriggling, and eye blinking. Thanks guys. I wouldn’t be the same without you!