Does anybody else experience this?

When you're fast asleep and then you suddenly feel like you're falling and wake up and feel a bit surprised. What is this? And why does it happen?...

monkeyface	Perfectly normal. Just resistance to falling asleep.
perdu dans mon esprit	i'm pretty sure this happens to everyone from time to time.
vic	It is your subconcious telling you that you are feeling insecure. Dreams are your subconcious thoughts. Every dream has a different meaning.
philjtoh	I get the falling or flying thing a lot. I think there are some things that just raise the emotions too much in your dream and it makes you wake up. Actually I really like those sort of dreams unless they're really upsetting as opposed to scary. Probably due to eating too much rich stuff before bedtime (cream or cheese).
stud2k6	yes all the time but cnt explain it
janine s	Yes i have felt this too,but not so often these days..i did when i was in my late teens.Have you recenlty been through a rough patch? I cannot expain your feeelings,only when i experienced them i was having problems myself sleeping a lot because i worked at night and slept most of the day.
athomemommy_4	Yup been there a few times. Have heard if you don't wake up well that is it!
scott j	yes i do but i dont know what it is
Diane L	yer that's completely normal don't worry about it good luck
catzrme	Yes, it will scare the begebes out of me, too.
lovelygirl	dream normal
CHRIS S	everyone who dreams this seems to wake up before they hit the ground. The theory is if you hit the ground that's it
Jon Boy	Yes I have experienced this, but not for some time. I remember someone explaining to me that it is because the heart skips a beat. This could of course be rubbish, but I like the idea that it caused by some other physical peculiarity!
Ley	I believe it could be the same as what I get. I wake up and can't move, like I'm pinned down by something or someone. Also that there's someone in the room. Its due to the mind waking up before your body. It has a name but at mo can't remember it. Yours could be along the same lines so not to worry.
arnouba	it happens to me too and usually it leaves physical unease in my chest afterwards same like that feeling you get after riding Aladdin carpet in the carnival. sometimes i have it as if im falling down the stairs as well. i don't know why it happens but i think it comes before bad news or a failure in life.
whoisit??	yes i have had that i read that as your falling your soul is going to astral travel when you wake up with a start that is your soul coming back to your body!!!
myra	I have experienced this quite a few times. But don't know why.
Mandy D	I get that sometimes. It may be because you were in a deep sleep so the feeling of falling may have something to do with your dream.
cherub	it happens to me very occasionally and isn't too pleasant. i think it happens from passing from one sleep cycle or level to another.
Slick	yeah, i wake up jerking my body. Don't know why it happens, probably because you think it is really happening when you are asleep.
sasha	yeah, usually i feel like I'm tripping up. I'm not sure what it is but everyone gets it. i think it happens only during the first few minutes when you fall asleep
Orchid	i get that! it's freaky isnt it?
loz	What your experiencing maybe 'sleep paralysis'. This is when your muscles fall asleep before the 'mind' (body fell asleep but you are not quiet there yet) causing a strange sensation through the body. The muscles fall asleep to stop you acting out your dreams, this doesn't always happen and this is why people sleep walk, and its most common between the ages of 15 to 30 year olds. I know you said 'fast asleep' but you think you are but you aint. I agree with you when you said you wake up surprised its quite frightening! If its not this it could be a minor panic or anxiety attack. I hope i've helped you.
Charlie Kicksass	The sense that you just fell and the shudder is common. I think something brought you to consciousness a bit too abruptly. (In my case a screeching noise coming from the outside water hose as that faucet was turned on. It was 2 feet away, under the window.) Sudden thunder or heavy wind buffeting the house could wake anybody and a twitch of a muscle or a sharp pain would jar you. In the moment it takes to open your eyes, the noise or other is now gone and we don't have a memory of it. The paralysis is real and we are aware of that for the same reason. The body can't get it right all of the time. I am glad everything works according to plan most of the time. I have other things to attend to. I can let this go. It is interesting, though.
zeldieuk2002	yes, most nights, i dont know what it is, but i do know you never actually hit the floor when you fall? strange that
john boy -1	try going to sleep with a parachute,sure it will help you !!!!!!! good luck
cheekyegg	ive woken up and been completely paralysed, tried to shout out but coulndt. scary sh*t. i thought id killed my brain
Daichi	yes it do happens to me. tripping and falling
Sir Sidney Snot	I was dreaming I was eating a giant Marshmallow and an when I woke up my pillow had gone!
rosemary w	this is called SLEEP STARTS Clinical manifestations A sleep start typically consists of a whole body myoclonic jerk that is produced by contraction of skeletal muscles. The main muscles involved are the axial ones, but contractions may also affect only 1 or 2 limbs or parts thereof. Sleep starts are often accompanied by a vivid dream, by the subjective impression of falling, or by some other sensation. Pure sensory phenomena in the absence of a body jerk (so-called “sensory sleep starts”) can also occur (Sander et al 1998). An utterance sometimes accompanies the sleep start. Sleep starts may be noticed only by a bed partner and not by the individual. When excessive in the degree of motor activity or frequency, sleep starts cause awakenings, and repetitive episodes can produce sleep onset difficulty. In extreme cases, tongue biting mimicking an epileptic seizure may occur (Kimura et al 2000).