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Dreams are images produced by our minds during deep REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. They can seem logical while they’re occurring but senseless when you wake up. Sometimes, they can also leave a deep impression, which pushes you to find out if they have meanings that reflect or affect your life.

One of the most common dreams that people have are falling dreams. You could be falling from a great height or tripping forward endlessly, and these make you feel as if your entire body is really zooming through empty space, so much so that at times, you wake up with a kick.

In a feature on Huffington Post, Cathleen O’Connor, Ph.D., author of The Everything Law of Attraction Dream Dictionary says that falling dreams can both have a physiological and a psychological basis. When you settle into deep sleep, your blood pressure and your heartrate slow down, and these may trigger the sensation of falling and cause you to jerk awake.

On a psychological angle, falling dreams can mean that you’re probably in a situation that makes you feel like you don’t have control over your life. It could also mean that you think you’re “falling short” of your personal expectations, or of what people expect of you.

However, dreams can be interpreted differently depending on the dreamer’s personality and current life status, so while these are general interpretations, personal factors should still be taken into consideration.

For some, dreams about falling can be terrifying, but O’Connor says that as with all fears, it’s important to face them. “Like any dream symbol, understanding the relevance of a falling dream to your waking life is key,” she says. “If dreams of falling bring up feelings of vulnerability and fear, realize that the goal is not to avoid them but rather to work with these dreams in your waking state to deal with the fears around the situation so you can regain your balance.”