Why is it that, in most dreams, we wake up before something really bad happens to us?

Question

Not sure if this happens to everyone, but like if I have a dream where I'm falling, I wake up before I hit the ground. If I dream someone's trying to kill me, I wake up right before they do it. If I'm driving a car (I used to have these dreams all the time when I was younger, they were terrifying) I'd wake up before I crashed, or before a police officer caught me. Why is this?

Answer 1

You may have an unreconciled fear.  

For the longest time after I was married I would wake up almost in a sweat, from the same bad dream over and over again.  Someone was chasing me, someone  or something terrifyingly evil, but just before I was caught I would wake up.  Then I read in a psychology magazine that we can take control of our dreams.  I made a subconscious note of that.  The next time I had one of those terrible dreams, my subconscious stirred into action, and during this dream I turned around to face the fear-inducing foe.  And, sure enough, I saw who it was!  It was a dark man wearing a dark, oversized trench coat.  Just a moment after I saw him - poof! - he disappeared and I never had that terrifying dream again.  Even though I did not see this man's face, I knew exactly who it was: my husband.  My husband had a trench coat just like the one this "dream" foe had and it symbolized to me something dreadful.  

And here's something else: my husband was a great guy - most of the time.  But there was a part of him that he never revealed to me and I learned many years later that he had a very bad side to himself that eventually revealed itself.  We are no longer married.

As for your fearful dreams, I think you, too, have something that frightens you very much.  You think its going to kill you, but you don't want to be hurt or to die, thus, you wake up.  Try what I did and take control within your dream.  Face your fear.

I wish you sweet dreams from now on.

Answer 2

maybe you just know whats going to happen and your allergic to bad dreams?? lol i dont know, its a good thing though least nothing bad is going to happen to you and your goin to get finished off and your life bein taken!!

Answer 3

i heard that if ur still asleep in a dream when ur falling and you dont wake up b4 u hit the ground you die of shock becouse it feels and looks sooo real!

Answer 4

because it is a reflex and it is the human bodys nature to react to some thing in different ways if you are about to get hit in the face then you flinch it is a reflex

Answer 5

I've died twice in dreams... it was pretty trippy!

First time I turned around (on the neighbor's back porch), just in time to see a train barreling towards me ~ drama much? lol

Second time I was a mouse and a cat ran it's claws all the way through me. It burned.

Answer 6

Yes, I notice that, it always happens to me. I think it's because your body has something in it that makes you wake up? Dunno, I just noticed this question, and I'm giving it an interesting star.