3.1. Reasons for falling
The loss of balance in the context of an urgent need to reach the bathroom was identified as the most common reason for falling. Participants described their pressing need to use the bathroom that clouded their memory of their physical limitations and prevented them from taking the time to attain physical balance. One participant described his known low blood pressure early in the morning. At home, he usually would sit on the side of his bed before standing, but while in the hospital, his urge for the bathroom and the use of a sleeping medication 6 hours earlier fogged his memory: