Why Do We Have Dreams We Fall Into?

It happens quite often to have dreams in which we fall. It seems that at least 95% of us have dreamed of such a thing. At that moment, a state of anxiety is created that makes us startle and wake up. But why do we have such dreams?

Possible explanations for those dreams we fall into

It is a common occurrence. You have just fallen asleep and start dreaming when, suddenly, you fall into emptiness; the earth disappears from under your feet or you fall off a rock or building, causing you to go through moments of panic because of the fall.

Your heart starts beating hard and you wake up startled. Suddenly, the mind and heart are full of agitation. You may think you’ve fallen out of bed, and sometimes it does. What can underlie this phenomenon?

1. It takes place in the early stages of sleep

If you remember these dreams, you will realize that they take place a few minutes after you fall asleep. This phenomenon was studied in the sleep research laboratory at the Hospital of Madrid, Spain. The researchers concluded that these dreams occur due to a small imbalance between the vestibular system (located in the inner ear) and the kinesthetic.

Our body has not adapted to the lying position and makes us wake up with the sensation of falling. This even makes some people fall out of bed.

2. Stress is an important factor

Try to remember what kind of emotional state you were in when you had such dreams. Dreams we fall into are associated with a state of stress. We subject our brain to a high level of activity, cortisol accelerates basic functions, and brain waves are at their maximum. However, when we lie down in bed, the body relaxes, but the mind remains active longer than normal.

At this point, there is another imbalance: a superactive brain in a relaxed body. This translates into the feeling of falling out of dreams, which makes us start and wake up.

3. The phenomenon of sleep paralysis

Sleep paralysis is one of the disorders that can occur while sleeping. This phenomenon occurs when we become aware that we have a nightmare, but we cannot wake up. The feeling is very vivid and strong, sometimes it can be scary. When we have dreams in which we fall, we live an unpleasant experience from which we want to wake up before we hit the ground.

In conclusion, the main cause of the dreams we fall into is stress. The brain is very active, which leads to an imbalance between body and mind, in the first moments when we fall asleep. The brain reacts to this imbalance by producing restless dreams.

There is also the theory that such dreams in which we fall are an ancestral legacy of the instinct of our hominid ancestors who slept in trees and had to wake up suddenly to avoid falling. Interesting, isn’t it?