# Do You Ever Get This Feeling Before You Fall Asleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567 "2012-09-13T02:38:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![festiva76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e8cbc/32.png) [@festiva76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/festiva76)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/41 "2012-09-21T16:30:58Z")
I had this happen to me a couple of times during nursing school. I was on no medications or any other mind-altering chemicals whatsoever. It was in the second bedroom of my grandparent’s house where I was staying at the time. I don’t remember the “pins” feeling, but remember the feeling of rising to the ceiling. Very disturbing, indeed. At the time, I associated it with something supernatural. After cracking the door when I slept (my grandma used to always stay up till 2am so I had to shut it somewhat), it never happened again. ---
**Author:** ![CoratDamar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@CoratDamar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoratDamar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/42 "2012-09-21T17:08:00Z")
Irregularly, but often, I get the conscious sensation of my bed being on a slow-motion pendulum, such that it feels 100% like I would be looking down at the floor if I opened my eyes and looked “up” from the pillow. This happens when I’m about 50/50 awake and asleep. IIRC it has happened more often after a trip to the amusement park, which makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/43 "2012-09-21T18:48:50Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Many years ago, when I was in my teens, I’d lie in bed, slowly fading toward sleep, and feel myself grow. > > (No, no, not there!) > > It felt as if I were vast; ten feet long, fifteen, twenty… Then, I lost the ability to estimate space; I became “spaceless.” > > (I felt a little like the old DC Comics cover of The Specter stretching between Earth-1 and Earth-2. Now that was a great comics story!) > > And, yeah, it sometimes came with a sense of levitation, or, more properly, leaving the material earth behind entirely. > > Stopped happening when I was 17 or so. Weird… I’ve had that one. Becoming many light years tall and wide and having a serous fear of losing track of where I “belong” locally in all this vastness. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/44 "2012-09-22T06:32:09Z")
I’ve had floating, “near the ceiling” experiences when I’m asleep. When I’m falling asleep, I sometimes “see”, or feel, light around me even when it’s pitch black. ---
**Author:** ![nion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nion)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/45 "2012-09-22T07:39:55Z")
On rare occasion, I have this weird reaction to sudden noises. If I concentrate too deeply (in the context of meditation) a sudden, somewhat loud noise has a profound effect on me. I liken it to what I’ve read about exploding head syndrome. I feel what for all the world feels like a physical blow to the head, accompanied by a loud metallic clanging in my ears. I have also experienced many of the other phenomena mentioned in this thread. My favorite sensation would have to be rocking side to side, or turning like on a turntable. I can get “sideways” completely if I am careful enough. Fun stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Silvorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Silvorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silvorange)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567/46 "2012-09-24T01:08:48Z")
My sister remembers levitation as part of her regular bedtime routine. She would slowly rise to the ceiling, then come back down to land gently on the floor. Then she would get in bed and go to sleep. The rest of us were asleep and knew nothing about it, of course. She knows now that it couldn’t have been real, but she remembers it like it was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-ever-get-this-feeling-before-you-fall-asleep/634567.md?page=2)