The 10 most common dreams and what they REALLY mean

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‘And, begin’, chimes the teacher at the front of the exam hall, nodding at the clock above the door.

The sigh of a hundred students echoes before the clap of a hundred pages on wood.

You catch a glimpse of your best friend. He’s smiling. Everyone is smiling. You look down and it’s all a mess. None of these words make any sense. Why didn’t you study?

The question haunts you as you wake.

Reality catches up. Buoyed by the realisation you sat your A-levels 10 years ago, you feel safer... then slump at the prospect of another day in the office.

Have you ever woken up wondering what on earth that dream was all about, and whether there was some deeper meaning to it? 

Every night, when we sleep we will have around five dream episodes, which can last between 15 and 40 minutes.

When asleep, our minds are active, creating stories and images that can be either vivid or fleeting; nonsensical or seemingly prophetic; terrifying or mundane.

But certain dreams are more common than others - from visions of death to flying -  with thousands going online to seach for a meaning. 

Get Laid Beds has teamed up with sleep expert, Dr Daisy Mae to give some insight into the most common dreams, based on Google Search Data, and suggested some meaning behind them. 

Dreaming happens throughout the night, but our most vivid and often remembered dreams happen during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. 

While scientists have been studying dreams for years, the images that appear while we snooze are still incredibly misunderstood. 

According to the experts at Get Laid Beds, 'Dreaming about teeth falling out' is the highest searched-for term each month, with a whopping 22,200 Google searches a month on average.

And 'dreaming about spiders' comes in second, with 5,400 searches a month, followed closely by 'dreams being chased' with 2,400 searches a month.

Dr Mae has discussed the five most common dreams and what they, supposedly, mean...

Over the years, many different theories have been presented as to what our dreams could be caused by (File image)

Dreaming About Teeth Falling Out

This dream is an incredibly common one, evidenced by the fact that it’s the most searched for term when it come to dreams. 

Dr Mae added: 'This is a really common dream. It often means that the dreamer is worried about losing something important to them. 

'This could be a family member, a relationship or even a specific item. Only you know what you're worried about losing, but that's often what it's related to.'

Dreaming About Spiders

Dreaming about spiders is a little more complicated, as the meaning of the dream can vary depending on what the spider is doing, and how you typically feel towards them, the expert says. 

'The meaning of the dream about spiders depends on what spiders were actually doing in the dream. If there were spiders around, and you generally have a fear of spiders, then it could be reflecting something that you're scared of in real-life, whether this be relationship worries, financial worries or even work worries.

'However, if the spider bit you, then it could be that you feel attacked or victimised by someone and it's playing on your mind a bit. It's also worth noting that the bigger the spider, the bigger the real-life problem is.'

Dreaming About Being Chased

Dreams about being chased are one of the more literal topics when it comes to dream analysis, with the doctor suggesting that being chased 'can reflect you are running away from problems in real-life, which is never a good thing. 

'Soon, these problems will catch-up with you, so it's best to pin the problem down and resolve it'.

She adds: 'It could also mean that you're overwhelmed with life's responsibilities, whether childcare is getting on top of you, or your working life. Again though, it's really better to pin down this problem and resolve it as fast as you can.'

Dreaming About Hair Falling Out

Although you might expect them to be similar, dreaming about your teeth falling out and dreaming about hair falling out can represent quite different things. 

'Dreaming about your hair falling out, whether it be in clumps or every strand on your head, could often mean that you're fearing getting old or you're feeling less attractive in yourself. 

'Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do about getting older, but you can certainly improve your confidence levels by being kinder to yourself, recognising your good qualities or if you think it's really bad, then get help from someone external like a therapist or counsellor.'

Dreaming About Falling

At number five, dreams about falling usually indicate a loss of control.

For example, if you dream about both falling and running away consecutively, this could suggest that you’ve lost control over something and are choosing not to address it, Dr Mae says. 

She continues to add: 'Falling often indicates that someone can't control a specific situation in their life, and may indicate anxiety over losing control of specific events or things going on in someone's life. 

'The feeling of falling may represent a sign of helplessness, so if someone else is going through something and you can't help in any way, falling in a dream may signify that.'

So, why do we dream the things we dream about?

And every night when we sleep, we can have around five dream episodes, which can last between 15 and 40 minutes (File image)

The human brain is a fascinating place. It is composed of approximately 80 billion neurons, and when it comes to dreaming our brains can fathom up some very funny, frightening, sad or strange scenarios.

And over the years, many different theories have been presented as to what our dreams could be caused by. 

There are several dream classifications, including nightmares, recurring dreams, and lucid dreams. 

It’s been proposed that our dreams represent our internal conflicts, as well as the possibility that they’re an unexplained by-product of our standard brain function.

One of the most famous theories was suggested by Sigmund Freud in 1900. In his book ‘The Interpretation of Dreams’, Freud proposed that the process of dreaming was the unconscious mind fulfilling our repressed desires.

There are many different beliefs as to why we dream about the topics that we do, but the more commonly believed explanation is that they are a manifestation of emotions.

And this is usually to do with something the dreamer has engaged with the day before. 

So, it's possible to say that the process of dreaming is our brains ‘sorting the material’ from the previous day into our long-term memory, and as the brain replays this content to sort it, it presents itself as a story in our dreams.