Key Takeaways About Eating Spiders While You Sleep
- Do you really eat spiders in your dreams? According to experts, no, we don’t. Researchers aren't sure where the rumor that we eat 8 spiders a year in our sleep comes from.
- Most spiders are not toxic to humans if accidentally ingested. However, if they leave bites in the mouth before they are swallowed, it is best to see a doctor.
- Spiders likely avoid sleeping people, especially their mouths, because our body temperature and air flow are too high and are not ideal hiding places for spiders.
Akin to the irrational fear of drowning in quicksand or diving into a river filled with carnivorous piranhas, tales of people accidentally swallowing spiders in their sleep have long permeated the minds of millennia. This creepy, creeping legend is truly a nightmare, but is there any basis to it?
Discover spoke with not one, not two, but three spider experts who said this urban legend is just a figment of the imagination. No, it is not true that people regularly eat spiders in their dreams.
“Is it possible that this happened? It's possible. Does it happen often? Absolutely not,” says William Heyborn, a biology professor at Southern Utah University. “This is clearly a myth that has been circulating for decades. Its absolute origin is unknown.”
Read more: Spiders will hunt in groups and share food if they have enlarged brain structures
Do you really eat spiders in your dreams?
Michelle Tremblay spider expert at Georgia Southern University. Over the years, she had heard variations of this dubious claim, suggesting that a person could eat at least eight spiders a year, or up to a pound of spiders in a lifetime.
“But the actual origin? It's a mystery,” says Tremblay. “I think this myth has stuck because it's wonderfully weird. It paints a powerful image and taps into a lot of people's fear of spiders.”
Are spiders toxic to eat?
Joyce Fassbender, an entomologist at Florida Gulf Coast University, says the urban legend is a perfect example of how misinformation spreads.
Heyborn, Tremblay and Fassbender agree that there is no evidence that people regularly swallow spiders. If ingesting arachnids were common, there would be documented cases, or at least people would find spider bites in their mouths from time to time.
“That just doesn’t happen,” Tremblay says.
While most spiders are not toxic if eaten, the Mayo Clinic reports that some insects may bite or sting if accidentally ingested. In such cases, it is best to seek advice from a medical specialist.
Why don't spiders crawl in your mouth when you sleep?
The spiders' behavior further debunks this myth. While people are generally afraid of eight-legged arachnids (they make up about 15 percent of the world's population, according to the Cleveland Clinic), spiders are more likely to avoid people entirely.
“Spiders need calm, quiet nooks and crannies with the right temperature and humidity, as well as some prey to snack on.even sleeping) are the exact opposite of this. We're noisy, hot, big and move around too much for the spider's comfort and safety,” says Tremblay.
In other words, spiders are just as uncomfortable around people as people are around arachnids.
“Spiders like quiet, secluded places to hide. An open mouth is definitely neither of these, as air movement, moisture and the possibility of waking a sleeping person will make this a very inhospitable environment for a secretive animal like a spider. The moist oral mucosa alone will likely be enough to deter a spider that may be looking for a place to hide,” Heyborn says.
And since there is usually no prey in a human bed, spiders have little incentive to snuggle up next to or inside a person.
“There is nothing to attract them to our mouths, and the breath coming from our mouths would most likely scare them away,” says Fassbender.
Self-preservation of spiders
Human behavior is likely to be constrained spider. A person will likely feel the spider crawling on their face even while sleeping and will brush the insect off before it gets close to their mouth. People also tend to move during sleep.
“Spiders have the same self-defense instincts as all animals and are very sensitive to vibrations and movement. They see us as part of the landscape and avoid breathing, moving, scary people to avoid the threat of being harmed or crushed,” Fassbender adds.
The legend is creepy enough to arouse the human mind and the desire to share this fable. But this is simply not based on truth.
“It's just a funny and creepy rumor. But the reality is that spiders don't want anything to do with us or our faces,” Tremblay says.
Read more: Spiders sleep – some even dream while hanging from their webs
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