Why don't you fall out of bed when you sleep

He said Marcel Proust that "when a man is sleeping he has, like a hoop, the thread of the hours, the order of the years and the worlds. When he wakes up, he consults them instinctively, and in a second, he reads the place of the earth in that is, the time that has elapsed until his awakening. " A great explanation of that function that all beings that we populate the earth We need to carry out to survive: Rest.

There are many questions that may arise when we sleep. For example, why do we have the feeling that we fall when we are falling asleep? It has all happened to us at some time, and the truth is that it has a name (horse shake) and occurs when muscles contract rapidly involuntarily, and it seems to come from old, when Our ancestors had to watch their surroundings.

Paralyzed

But in reality, we rarely fall. Many things can happen to us, from snoring to sleep paralysis (which arises from an interrupted sleep in the REM phase, a transitional period for the voluntary movement at the beginning of the dream or upon waking up and makes us have the horrible feeling that there is a presence in the room), but no matter how much we move , we don't usually wake up because we got out of bed, literally.

During the REM phase we do not fall out of bed because the trunk inhibits movement stimuli, to avoid dangers

we passed a third of our life between dreams, so it suits us enough not to fall to the ground and wake up suddenly while we do it. In the dream there are two distinct phases: the first, called 'short waves', which leads to progressive relaxation and when the heart rate and breathing decrease, in other words, when we go from wakefulness to sleep. Right now we can suffer episodes of bed falls, especially if some factors such as alcohol, tobacco or coffee They come into play.

The second phase is known as REM (Rapid Eye Movement), in which the trunk inhibits movement stimuli and muscle activity is practically nil. If not, and we had the ability to move, we could recreate what happens to us throughout the day, and that would put us in danger. However, although we do not move, the brain continues to work in many other facets and functions. If you have small children and want avoid fall hazards It is best to place your mattress near the floor or protect the bed with cushions.

Children fall out of bed because they don't have the proprioceptive system of human musculature as developed as adults do

However, as we have already indicated, some medications (such as antidepressants or hypnotics), as well as alcohol or drugs they can affect the inhibition produced by sleep and favor dysfunctions such as speak in dreams, get up or also fall out of bed. And if you're wondering why children throw themselves continuously and you have to put protective barriers, it is easy: adults have more developed the proprioceptive system of human musculature, which is what puts the brain on alert if you notice that there are chances of hitting.