Debunked Myths

The idea that people swallow spiders in their sleep is a perfect modern urban legend that plays on primal fears while spreading effortlessly. However, it's completely biologically implausible. Spiders perceive humans as giant predators and the vibrations of our breathing and snoring as threats.

They have zero interest in crawling into the warm, damp, noisy cave of a human mouth. A sleeping person would likely reflexively cough or choke if something entered their airway. This myth appears to have been born in the internet's early days, possibly as a test of how quickly false information could spread.

Its power lies in the visceral creepiness and false specificity—the 'eight spiders a year' gives it manufactured statistical authority. It's a classic factoid: something that sounds factual but has no basis in reality. To date, there isn't a single credible, documented case of anyone swallowing a spider while sleeping.