Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 20:9

"And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus, borne down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet longer, being borne down by his sleep he fell down from the third story, and was taken up dead." — Acts 20:9 (ASV)

“As Paul talked on and on,” Eutychus went to sleep and fell to his death. He may simply have been bored by Paul’s long discussion, though Luke’s reference to the many torch lamps in the room suggests that lack of oxygen and the hypnotic effect of flickering flames caused Eutychus’s drowsiness. But whatever its cause, his fall brought the meeting to a sudden and shocking halt. They dashed down and found him dead.