Female Forum

No i havent been reading my medical terminology book, this title has been googled!.

Ever had the feeling, you’re drifting off to sleep at night and all of a sudden it feels like youre falling, with me its falling out of bed, but actually youre not (youre still in bed). Your leg jerks and you wake your self up in the process.

I thought i was the only one who suffered this from time to time, very embarrassing when you share a bed, i get some very funny looks. I thought i was the only one until i saw a facebook group dedicated to it with thousands of members saying they had the same thing happen to them.

how many of you have had this?

its something to do with youre body being asleep but your brain isnt quite (i think thats the right way around), not quite being in the unconcious state you should be for sleep

Well you learn something new everyday!I’ve not ever heard of this… but my hubby suffers from Restless Leg Syndrome(actually we both are suffering) there’s many a night when I’ve been startled out of a sound sleep when his legs take on a life of their own. The feeling is more like someone is jumping on the bed,not falling out of it.I tell him its like sleeping with the Exorcist with all the shaking and twitching going on. As Elvis said,"gotta a whole lotta shakin going on”.

nitey nite.

I do this all the time! A lot of people do.

I also can be having a dream, and in the dream i will trip on the stairs or something, and suddenly i feel like i’m falling and will jolt awake.

morphine - 12 Jan 2010 09:51 AM

I do this all the time! A lot of people do.

I also can be having a dream, and in the dream i will trip on the stairs or something, and suddenly i feel like i’m falling and will jolt awake.

yes! thats it, i can do the same thing in a dream too.

My husband finds it all very strange though!

i do that all the time. i sometimes feel like im falling and jerk up out of my sleep. my soon to be husband just laughs and then goes back to bed.

My wife experiences this, too - so you’re definitely not alone. I’ll just be drifting off to sleep and she’ll do a big jump and scare the life out of me! When I ask here if she’s OK, she tells me that she dreamt she was falling.

The strange thing is this normally only happens when she is first drifting off to sleep - I am always amazed how someone can fall asleep and start dreaming so soon after going to bed!

Martin - 15 Jan 2010 06:10 PM

My wife experiences this, too - so you’re definitely not alone. I’ll just be drifting off to sleep and she’ll do a big jump and scare the life out of me! When I ask here if she’s OK, she tells me that she dreamt she was falling.

The strange thing is this normally only happens when she is first drifting off to sleep - I am always amazed how someone can fall asleep and start dreaming so soon after going to bed!

i dont know how it happens, i doesnt happen most nights, just now and then, its supposed to be when your mind is asleep but your body isnt (i think thats the right way around). I get the impression it happens more to women than to men though.

I think the jolt we’re talking about happens as a result of the feeling of falling asleep feeling like falling, so your body goes into survival mode and jolts you awake.

You’d think that evolution would do something about it, wouldn’t you. Both me and my Boyfriend get this quite a lot. As you can imagine, it’s not the healthiest thing in a relationship as we keep waking each other up!

ItsNotMyTree - 16 Jan 2010 08:51 PM

I think the jolt we’re talking about happens as a result of the feeling of falling asleep feeling like falling, so your body goes into survival mode and jolts you awake.

You’d think that evolution would do something about it, wouldn’t you. Both me and my Boyfriend get this quite a lot. As you can imagine, it’s not the healthiest thing in a relationship as we keep waking each other up!

yes i have wondered if thats what it is, in our minds we see it as falling, but as you say its probably just us “dropping off”, i take it would survive sometime out in the wild !LOL

This has happend to me for as long as I can remember only I have always known it as sleep starts. It also happend to OH frequently. My dream is always about falling too it all happens in a split second there is a dark figure in a dark dingey ally and im pushed.

I too used to think I was abnormal until I met OH