So the out of body experiences described could be related to dreaming.
Now when I was very young, probably 4 or 5 years old, I remember having a "dream" where I was floating in my bedroom near the ceiling and could see myself in the bed down below. I slowly floated down towards my body on the bed and then I "woke up". I still remember that dream clearly all these years later - or was it even a dream!
Yup, and there are what is called vivid dreaming, and “double nightmares” where you think you have awakened from a bad dream, only to discover that you are still in the nightmare. Happens more when a person is sick, usually with fever. Can happen in stressful situations too. Especially the vivid dreaming where it seems real and is hard to tell the difference when you awaken. I’ve had a few of both type of dreams over the years. Hate hate hate the double nightmares! I think too that having watched horror movies might have contributed to such dreaming- like nightmare on elm Street where they were afraid to go to sleep for fear of meeting freddy- I think movies like that can influence the mind when dreaming, especially in stressful situations or when sick and feverish
Children can die from sleep apnea, or lack of oxygen from suffocating themselves, either from nasal congestion, or from being deep asleep in a position that doesn't allow enough breathing. So it's possible you almost turned your own lights out. What position was your body in when you floated above and saw it—face up or face down?
“The brain is constantly active which is why we dream when we are sleeping.”
Not to put too fine a point on your post, Sam, but you may have mixed up cause and effect. IMHO, it would be more correct to say, “Because parts of the brain are constantly active, we can experience dreams when we are asleep.”