You've probably been there a time or two; drifting off to a peaceful sleep and suddenly you're falling through the clouds as your body jolts you into an awake state. Falling dreams are common for people of all ages and can be indicative of a variety of emotions. Some experts believe that humans dream to help process emotions and solve problems, but researchers are still trying to figure out concrete reasons for dreaming.
Read on if you're interested in interpreting dream meanings and want to know how they potentially relate to situations in your waking life.
Stages of sleep and why we dream
"Falling dream" meanings and potential causes
Have you ever experienced a dream where a sound taking place in your room became part of the storyline of your dream? Many of us have seen the TikTok skits where the dreamer is dancing along to their cell phone alarm</a>; that is called an incorporation dream, where outside stimuli make their way into the content of your dream.
This is the same phenomenon that could cause a falling dream. Involuntary muscle movements called hypnic jerks often occur when the body is in between being awake and the first stage of sleep, or the hypnagogic state.
In this state, the brain may perceive the body as falling and, for safety, kicks you back into consciousness. If you happen to be dreaming at this stage of sleep, your mind could potentially incorporate that movement into your dream content.
Steve Jacques is the head of anatomy at Leicester Medical School. "My hypothesis is that it is related to the shutting down of the sensory system as we go through the stages of sleep. While awake, we are normally aware of the effect of gravity," Jacques told News Scientist. "If the brain doesn’t receive information on the direction gravity is acting, it may conclude that there must be no force pushing back against the body from the floor (or our bed). This is consistent with weightlessness or free fall."
How to have restful sleep
If disturbing dreams are keeping you from getting a good night's rest, there are some things you can do to create a more relaxing environment and potentially alleviate stressful dreams. Here are a few steps to take that might stop bad dreams in their tracks:
- Create a relaxing bedtime routine that includes quiet, calming activities
- Eliminate caffeine several hours before going to bed
- Journal about your disturbing dreams, perhaps rewrite them with a positive spin
- Tell someone about your dream to get it out of your subconscious
