In my opinion, there are two types of people when it comes to dreams: those who want to not only tell you every detail of their dreams but also want to decipher every last part of them, and then those who don’t think dreams are interesting or that they mean anything.
Personally, I believe that dreams have plenty of meaning and can tell you a lot about where you are mentally and what your current fears are.
Of course, this has been debated widely for centuries but Calvin S. Hall, an American psychologist that specialised in dream research, similarly believed that dreams had meaning and considered them part of the cognitive process.
Put simply: he thought that dreams were a type of thinking that occurred during sleep.
So, with all this in mind, I wondered what my current recurring nightmare could mean.
Here’s how it goes. I’m in the neighbourhood I lived in over 20 years ago. I have no shoes on, I can’t remember where I’m supposed to be going and then, suddenly, I fall.
This fall usually results in waking me up which I have to be honest, is very annoying. I’m all about self-love but when my brain is giving me dreams that cause me to WAKE UP WITH A RAPID HEARTBEAT, I have to ask myself whose side my brain is really on.
So, what do dreams about falling mean?
So, before we get into this, it turns out that the jolting awake sensation that I experience is actually a separate phenomenon called a hypnic jerk. According to The Sleep Charity, a hypnic jerk is ‘nothing more than an involuntary twitch’.
These can happen during dreams like they do for me or, if you’ve ever had that weird twitch that happens JUST as you’re about to drop off, that’s also a hypnic jerk! Fun! They’re harmless, if just so annoying, so don’t worry if you also experience them.
As for falling dreams themselves? Well, it turns out, it depends on the type of falls you’re experiencing in your dreams because of course, nothing is simple.
Types of dreams about falling and what they mean
The experts at Psych Central have helpfully explained the different types of falling dreams and what they can mean for you.
Dreams where you fall from the sky
So, if you regularly dream about this, first of all, are you OK? Because that sounds terrifying. Anyway, if this is your most common ‘falling’ dream, it’s likely due to feeling out of control in your personal life.
Dreams where you fall into a body of water
These are quite straightforward: they signify a fear of swimming or the ocean. Psych Central adds that if you’re suspended in water, this may be because you feel like you’re in limbo or unsure on where you stand in your personal or professional life.
Dreams where you fall through the floor
This is likely because you feel like, forgive me for this, the rug has been taken out from beneath you. It likely signifies that you feel unsafe or uncertain. This could be a job termination, a relationship ending or losing somebody suddenly.
Dreams where you trip up
Dorothy Chambers, a sleep expert at Sleep Junkie discussed this particular dream with Bustle. According to her, this recurring nightmare of mine indicates a feeling of worrying about falling behind in life. No comment.
Sweet dreams!