Dreams about falling and the jolt as you fall asleep

Two different phenomena

Dream interpretation is not prediction and not diagnosis. This article separates what sleep research observes from what popular interpretation associates with the theme.

One is the falling dream, which happens during sleep and is among the most reported themes in the population. The other is the jolt that happens exactly in the transition between awake and asleep, with a sudden muscle contraction and the feeling of stepping into thin air.

Source: Nielsen et al., The Typical Dreams of Canadian University Students, Dreaming, 2003.

Read also: Dream meanings: what science and culture actually say and Dreaming about death: why it happens and what it does not mean.

The jolt has a name

That jolt is known as a hypnic jerk. It is considered benign and appears more often after extreme tiredness, late caffeine and irregular sleep.

Freud, Jung and faith on this dream

In Freud's psychoanalysis. Beyond childhood games, Freud gathered in the first chapter of his book reports of bodily stimuli that find their way into dreams. One author cited there dreamed as a young man that he was falling from a high wall and woke up on the floor: the bed frame had collapsed. Another account says that someone sleeping crosswise, with feet hanging off the bed, may dream of standing at the edge of a cliff. Freud, however, held that these sensations are part of the dream's content, not its source.

In Jung's psychology. Jung counted falling among the typical motifs that recur in very different people. In his view, those with unrealistic ideas, too high an opinion of themselves or grand plans out of step with their real abilities often dream that they fly or fall: the dream compensates and, at the same time, warns. The book tells of a vain patient who dreamed of a drunk man rolling in the gutter and remarked how awful it was to see how low a man can fall.

In symbols and faith. A Dictionary of Symbols, by Chevalier and Gheerbrant, notes that in dreams the abyss, whether fascinating or dreadful, evokes the vast unconscious, and recalls that in Sumerian tradition the god Enki kept his temple set above the abyss. In the Bible, Psalm 37:24 offers comfort to anyone who fears falling: though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down.

Bringing both views together. The body explains the jolt; psychology and faith speak of the fear of losing your footing. If falling dreams show up in a demanding season, it helps to ask what is weighing on you, without treating the dream as a verdict.

Sources: Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; Jung (ed.), Man and His Symbols; Chevalier and Gheerbrant, A Dictionary of Symbols; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

What reduces it

Since the trigger is usually sleep deprivation and overstimulation, the basics help: similar bed and wake times, less caffeine in the afternoon, less alcohol at night and a screen-free gap before bed. If the jolt comes with shortness of breath, chest pain or repetitive leg movements, get it assessed.

See also: Dreams about being chased and Dreams about teeth falling out.

When the fall happens in the middle of a dream

Falling is also one of the most reported themes in surveys of typical dreams, alongside being chased and flying. In this case it is no longer the jolt: it is dream content, and it tends to show up in periods of insecurity or a feeling of losing control.

Source: Nielsen et al., The Typical Dreams of Canadian University Students, Dreaming, 2003.

If the jolts are very frequent, come with pain, happen in the middle of the night or disrupt your sleep, it is worth talking to a health professional to rule out other causes, as the clinical literature on hypnic jerks recommends.

Source: Hypnic Jerks, Sleep Medicine Clinics, 2015.

What dream dictionaries record

Freud grouped falling with flying among typical dreams and proposed the same origin: childhood games in which an adult pretended to drop the child, mixing fright and fun. Livro do Sonho, a popular Brazilian dream dictionary, reads falling as a call for caution: think carefully before making a decision. Falling from a high place, such as a roof or a mountain, would point to plans that may not go as expected, and falling into a well to a moment of distress. The Brazilian dream book O Livro dos Sonhos, by L. P. Baçan, has entries for falling (fruitless work in life, anguish in love) and for the abyss (enemies in life, uncertainty in love).

Freud described dream books as a kind of dictionary that translates each image into another with a fixed meaning. Artemidorus of Daldis, author of the oldest complete Greek dream book that has survived, advised looking at the dreamer's life before interpreting. If you see the dream as a message, both paths suggest the same thing: ask what this image brings to mind in your life right now. See dream meanings according to science and culture.

Source: Livro do Sonho, Brazilian dream dictionary; Freud, Die Traumdeutung, 1900; L. P. Baçan, O Livro dos Sonhos, 2014.

Popular beliefs about this dream

Popular readings link falling to losing control or to failure. It is symbolism, not prediction: falling is simply one of the most common dream themes there is.

See also dreams about flying.

Read also: frequent nightmares can be treated; when the falling dream keeps repeating; another loss-of-control dream: the car accident; the plane crash dream; falling down the stairs in a dream; the collapsing bridge dream; falling from a building in a dream.