Falling Again

Dear Peregrin,

As far as I can remember, I've only had one re-occurring dream (if you can call that a dream). Ever since I was little I would dream of falling. Sometimes I'm in a car that's tumbling down the cliff, but most of the time I just have that annoying "falling" feeling and then I wake up abruptly thinking that I'm falling, did I mention that it's annoying?

Anyhow, just wanted to know your insight on the matter. Thanks.

Grace

Good morning, Grace.

I've seen a couple of explanations of this falling sensation - one is firmly rooted in the physical world, while the other delves into the metaphysical. I'll give you both.

One school of thought holds that many people actually leave their bodies on a regular basis (astral projection) but do not remember it. If this is the case, then the feeling of falling is the soul re-entering the body.

The purely physical explanation of this feeling is that it's a normal part of waking up. When you sleep, most physical sensation is "cut off" from conscious thought, including the sensation of weight. When re-awakening, then, you regain feeling, and this is a part of it.

I have another theory, myself, based purely upon my own personal experience. I also had this sensation for most of my life - not constantly, but fairly regularly. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and had corrective surgery performed, and the falling feeling has not plagued me since. So I think that the sensation was caused by lack of oxygen to the brain, and was signaling me to wake up and breathe.

Which theory you choose to believe is entirely up to you. However, if you have other symptoms of sleep apnea, you may want to have that possibility checked out, for your health.

Pleasant dreams,

Peregrin