Some people think that when we sleep, we are completely unconscious and do not know what is going on around us. But that’s not entirely true.
When we sleep, our bodies and brains are still working to keep us healthy. During sleep we still have some awareness of where we are sleeping.
Our bodies know where we are moving and where we are, thanks to a sense called “body sensation” that is conscious of movement and body position. It is like a “sixth sense” that helps the body know where we are and the relationship between the parts of the body.
When awake, this sixth sense helps us not to bump into surrounding objects when walking or to know how to balance and not fall. Some people think that this sense is not active when we sleep. But the truth is that while sleeping, the body is still working, so this sense is still working.
Even when we are sleeping, we can still sense if we are comfortable or not, and a sixth sense works to let us know where we are in bed. Thanks to that, we don’t fall out of bed.
However, at a young age, this sense is not fully developed. This is why babies and young children can fall out of bed. The older we get, the better we feel, so older children and adults are less likely to fall out of bed.
Our sleep is not regular throughout the night but goes through different stages, from light sleep to deep sleep and then again.
An important stage of sleep, when we have our most enjoyable dreams, is called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep or rapid eye movement sleep . It is when our eyes move to try to see everything that is happening in the dream. During this stage, the brain sends signals to the body to stop moving, so we rarely wake up or fall out of bed during this stage.
If the brain and body do not transmit signals and execute commands well, we will act like in dreams.
Sometimes the brains of some people don’t send this signal to cause these people to act as they dreamed. This phenomenon is called “REM disorder” , but it happens very rarely.
There have been stories of people suffering from this disorder, such as petting an imaginary cat or even hurting themselves by jumping out of bed while still asleep. Most of these people wake up not knowing they did it unless someone else tells them.
Sleep is important to help children grow and everyone to be healthy. Sleep can heal wounds and make us happy, but during sleep the body and brain continue to work.