why do we sometimes get a falling sensation in our sleep?

Question: why do we sometimes get a falling sensation in our sleep?
- Keywords:
  falling,
  sensation,
  sleep
Asked by elysiaperry to Ben, James, Jen, Michael, Susanna on 11 Mar 2013.
- Jen Todd Jones answered on 11 Mar 2013:
  
  Hi Elysia
  
  Great question! This is a natural response from the body when the brain thinks it’s sleeping. In the deepest level of sleep, REM, the body is paralysed so that when we dream we don’t believe it’s reality and start trying to get up and move around as we do in our dream.
  
  We feel like falling when the brain is leaving this stage and the inner-ear that’s responsible for telling the brain when the body is moving kicks back into action. Sometimes the brain thinks the body is moving when it still shouldn’t be and panics, we feel like falling and we wake up so that we don’t harm ourselves!

Question: why do we sometimes get a falling sensation in our sleep?