I’ve been sleeping just about every night since I was born and can count on one hand the number of times I have actually rolled out of bed while still sleeping. I was once in the top bunk at age 10 and ended up on the floor after a great thump and my parents claim I was still asleep when then came in to see what had happened! I haven’t fallen out of bed since so what’s the deal? Are we programmed somehow not to roll out of bed at some point? I know people who thrash all night long yet never fall out of bed. Is this a result of evolving in trees?
Uggh. Good question. I searched all over and only found stuff on falling out of bed because of sleeps disorders. I remember discussing this in a psych class years ago and, IIRC, it involves a couple of things:
First, we always have a sense of our surroundings, even in our sleep. This is evidenced in sleepwalkers, some of whom can even navigate short distances with their eyes closed. So, we know where we are in relation to the bed.
Second, we can still feel in our sleep. If the body feels a limb, or whatever, with no support under it, the natural instinct is to back away from it.
Looking forward to a more definitive answer. This may be a good question for Cecil. I didn’t see anything in the archives.
I’ve rolled out of bed a couple times in my life, and to the best of my recollection, I dreamt of falling just prior to waking up when I hit the floor. Some of these dreams seemed to last longer than it took for me to hit the ground from my bed, but they are dreams, so I’m not exactly sure. Did my body decide that I needed some extra emphasis on my dream, thus subconsciously rolling out of bed on purpose? Or did my body start the dream when a part of my body was unsupported, and not react to this feeling by retreating? Anyone else have any possible explanations?
I’ve fallen out of bed after waking up, but I’ve only fallen out while asleep once, when I was a kid and I was sleeping on the top level of a bunk bed. I didn’t wake up when I fell, I just woke up on the floor beside the bed the next morning.