We’ve all woken up from a dream thinking, “what was THAT about?”. Whether you were fighting crocodiles or trying to survive a home invasion, there are endless types of weird and wacky dreams to have.
Every night we go through around five dream episodes, each lasting roughly 40 minutes, according to Dreams.co.uk. But although our dreams and nightmares may seem strange, there are many common dreams that most of us will have already had at least once.
What we dream about can reflect the goings on in our minds while we’re awake, and our deepest thoughts and anxieties can end up materialising in our sleep. But what exactly does each type of dream tell us about our current state of mind?
Here are eight of the most common dreams and what they mean.
The meanings behind eight of the most common dreams
1. Teeth falling out
A dream where your teeth fall out, crumble in your hands, or come loose by touching them lightly can be caused by a concern of how others perceive you. Anxieties about your appearance or feeling unattractive can be the cause of such dreams.
Communication problems can also cause nightmares where you lose your teeth, as without them, you’d struggle to talk. Perhaps you’re worried about telling someone something important, or struggling to express yourself. This dream can also indicate a feeling of powerlessness, as you lose your ability to bite or chew.
2. Being chased
Much more literal than losing your teeth, this dream indicates you are trying to escape the anxieties or problems in your waking life. This nightmare could mean you have a tendency of running away from your problems rather than facing them head-on.
This dream could even reoccur until you find the solution to your worries.
3. Unable to find a toilet
This dream could be common for the people-pleasers among us. If you find yourself constantly putting others’ needs before yours, and neglecting yourself, this could present itself in your dreams. Being unable to find or get to the toilet indicates that your personal needs are not being met or respected.
4. Being naked
If you find yourself physically exposed in public in your dream, it could indicate similar uncomfortable feelings of exposure in your daily life. You might be struggling to find yourself or be feeling out-of-place.
However, if your dream-self is clothed and sees someone else from your life naked and afraid in public, it could indicate that you’re scared of exposing them.
5. Failing exams
At least 1 in 5 of us will have this dream in our lifetime, most commonly as teens or young adults. A reluctance to advance into the next stage of your life is associated with this dream.
It also indicates a lack of self-confidence, and is a dream that’s truly reflective of yourself. While other dreams in this list are related to other people’s perceptions pf you or your relationships to them, this dream is purely personal to the dreamer.
6. Flying
Being able to fly in your dream could have positive connotations of freedom, overcoming hardships and rising above.
However, if you’re struggling to fly in a dream it could indicate that there’s something stopping you from making progress in your life. Being alone and finding it hard to fly can suggest a problem with self-confidence, or that you’re unable to reach the high goals you’ve set yourself.
7. Falling
Freefalling and enjoying it in your dream can indicate that you’re not afraid of life’s challenges. But fearfully falling from a great height could indicate disappointment at a failure in your waking life. It can also signal insecurity or anxiety about a certain situation.
If there’s water in this dream- be it rain or a waterfall- this could indicate that you have strong feelings for someone.
8. Crashing a car
Any dream involving a car has all to do with your drive and direction in life. Whoever is behind the wheel in this dream can help you understand who is controlling the direction of your future.
A nightmare where you lose control of your car suggests you feel your life is off track and headed in the wrong direction.
However odd your dreams might seem, you can usually find the root of them in your daily life. Dreams like these can indicate changes you should make or signal the cause of your personal problems. More detailed explanations of these dreams and plenty others are available in Dreams’ dream encyclopaedia.
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