When we think about falling, why does our body feel like we’re falling sometimes?

Question

This happens to me occasionally in bed. I think about falling and my body gives a sort of response to it by making me actually feel like I’m falling. How does this happen?

In: Biology

Answer 1

If you mean when you are sleeping, there’s an old belief that that’s the precise moment the soul is leaving your body. You jerk awake to bring it back. I know this is poppycock, but when it happens to me, I get a little freaked.