# Why don't you fall out of bed when you sleep? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 26, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570 "2010-02-26T21:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/21 "2010-02-27T04:49:49Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > I’m pretty aware when I’m sleeping and I don’t think that’s too uncommon. Agreed - your brain and sensory system don’t shut off when you’re asleep. One example would be the phenomenon of sleeping soundly through routine noises (which may be loud) but waking up to a strange noise (even if somewhat faint). IOW, I think you learn how to stay in a bed, and it becomes a skill your brain handles with no difficulty. Perhaps falling out of one a time or two when young is part of how you learn. ---
**Author:** ![opmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@opmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opmike)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/22 "2010-02-27T07:11:41Z")
> [@rhubarbarin](#): > > I’m pretty aware when I’m sleeping and I don’t think that’s too uncommon. I can wake up at a set time if I convince myself hard enough before I go to sleep, I can stay in one position all night (if needed), avoid physical contact if I’m sharing the bed with someone I don’t want to cuddle with, or make sure I don’t steal the covers. I slept in a top bunk with no railings most of my life, and I’ve never fallen out of any bed. You have enough concept of time when sleeping to actually wake up at some previously “chosen” time 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/23 "2010-02-27T20:35:08Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > Because I sleep on the floor. Heh. A college buddy of mine who sometimes drank to excess once told me, with the air of someone imparting timeless wisdom, “Remember, you can’t fall off the floor!” I don’t think I ever fell out of a bunkbed when I was a kid, and I’ve never fallen out of a regular bed as an adult. I sleep pretty soundly and tend not to move much. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/24 "2010-02-27T21:28:28Z")
> [@opmike](#): > > You have enough concept of time when sleeping to actually wake up at some previously “chosen” time 😕 I can do that, too. Despite a weekend of staying up to all hours and sleeping in late, come Monday, I usually wake up just before the alarm goes off. ---
**Author:** ![opmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@opmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opmike)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/25 "2010-02-27T21:44:05Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > I can do that, too. Despite a weekend of staying up to all hours and sleeping in late, come Monday, I usually wake up just before the alarm goes off. Okay, but I assume that your alarm is set at the same time during the weekdays, and that you usually get up around the same time during the weekdays. My confusion is coming from the “choosing,” or at least to what extent. Say that you usually have an alarm set for 6 AM. Say that you will often wake up at 5:55 or something, before the alarm ever goes off. I can understand that. But the other poster was sounding like he could, before bed, choose to wake up at some arbitrary time, say 7:00 AM or even 4 AM, and convince himself to wake up close to those times. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/26 "2010-02-27T21:51:22Z")
> [@opmike](#): > > My confusion is coming from the “choosing,” or at least to what extent. Say that you usually have an alarm set for 6 AM. Say that you will often wake up at 5:55 or something, before the alarm ever goes off. I can understand that. > > But the other poster was sounding like he could, before bed, choose to wake up at some arbitrary time, say 7:00 AM or even 4 AM, and convince himself to wake up close to those times. I have an irregular schedule and it is very rare that my alarm clock wakes me up. In my case I tend to wake up an hour to a half hour early, check the time and then drift in and out of light sleep until I have to get up. The more often I need to wake up at a particular time, the better I get at waking up close to that time. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/27 "2010-02-27T22:10:45Z")
> [@opmike](#): > > But the other poster was sounding like he could, before bed, choose to wake up at some arbitrary time, say 7:00 AM or even 4 AM, and convince himself to wake up close to those times. I can do that too. I can’t explain how, but I can. Probably lots of others can too. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/28 "2010-02-27T22:11:59Z")
> [@opmike](#): > > But the other poster was sounding like he could, before bed, choose to wake up at some arbitrary time, say 7:00 AM or even 4 AM, and convince himself to wake up close to those times. I think you are reading too much into this. That wasn’t the impression I got, but I guess I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2010, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/29 "2010-02-27T23:38:33Z")
In the winter, I have flannel sheets and a flannel nightie. Couldn’t fall out if I wanted to. Can barely get out when the alarm goes off (and it’s soooo nice and warm in there.) Summer, silk nighty, cotton sheets. I may very well fall out of bed, in fact, I have. I usually catch myself before I go over. My kids’ bunkbed had a rail. Even so, they managed to fall out about once apiece. I believe there was some horseplay going on and the kid in question wasn’t really asleep at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/30 "2010-02-28T01:47:59Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I saw a woman faint at a Navy change of command ceremony. 400 people all standing in the hot sun for an hour and she keels over face first. She hits the ground and her short-hair wig flies off. The wig rolls across the ground between two of the guys standing in the squad in front of us, one of whom (possibly thinking he was being attacked by a rabid animal of some sort) began screaming like a little girl. Pandemonium erupts while the rest of us are laughing our asses off at the guy who’s screaming. Meanwhile, the poor woman is still lying on the ground bleeding. Ah, memories. A woman? Hah! We had bets before every big ceremony (HQ has a lot of thsoe) on how many would fall out. The medics gave us a count afterward. For 500 people, I’d guess 6 or 7. > [@opmike](#): > > You have enough concept of time when sleeping to actually wake up at some previously “chosen” time 😕 I can wake up at a given time withing a half hour. It’s particularly easy if it’s something important, like an early tournament, meeting, or flight. 3 hours after bed seems to be my most accurate time. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570/31 "2010-02-28T03:31:02Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I saw a woman faint at a Navy change of command ceremony. 400 people all standing in the hot sun for an hour and she keels over face first. She hits the ground and her short-hair wig flies off. The wig rolls across the ground between two of the guys standing in the squad in front of us, one of whom (possibly thinking he was being attacked by a rabid animal of some sort) began screaming like a little girl. Pandemonium erupts while the rest of us are laughing our asses off at the guy who’s screaming. Meanwhile, the poor woman is still lying on the ground bleeding. Ah, memories. She must have locked her knees up. I always thought the women had it worse in inspections and ceremonies because they were usually in some type of heels. Actually, though, in our 1-2 hour long inspections in NROTC, I used to pray that one of the women near me would start to sway, so you had an excuse to break ranks and keep them from hitting the deck. (Because I had been standing at attention or parade rest that whole time, and any change of position was blessed relief.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-you-fall-out-of-bed-when-you-sleep/530570.md?page=1)