Revealed: The Most Common Things We Dream About And What They Mean

How many times in your life have you told someone about a dream you’ve had, to be told that they’ve had that dream before, too?

Certain topics within dreams are more common than you might think. That’s why Get Laid Beds has dived into Google search data to find out which topics are being dreamed about the most.

After sourcing the top ten most searched-for dreams worldwide, we teamed up with sleep expert Dr Daisy Mae to find out what the top five might represent.

What Are The Most Common Dreams?

There was a runaway winner for the most searched for type of dream worldwide. Dreaming about teeth falling out, with over 22,200 monthly searches, is the most common topic that crops up in the land of nod. It also had over 15,000 more monthly searches than the second most searched-for topic.

According to our research in March 2023, the top ten searched-for dreams worldwide are:

Why Do We Dream About the Things We Dream About?

Over the years, many different theories have been presented as to what our dreams could be caused by. 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 in the 21st century is that they are a manifestation of emotions, usually to do with something the dreamer has engaged with the day before. It’s possible 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.

Now that we know what the most searched for topics of dream are worldwide, what does our sleep expert believe the top five to represent?

The Top 5 Searched-For Dreams and What They Mean

Dreaming About Teeth Falling Out

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

Dr Daisy Mae says, “dreaming your teeth are falling out often means that the person who dreams this is worried about losing something of importance to them. This could be a family member, a relationship, or even a specific item. Only you know what you’re worried about losing.”

The dreamer’s teeth, in this instance, can be seen as a symbol of power. Our teeth are what allow us to talk, chew, or, on a more animalistic level, to fight. Losing them, therefore, could very well be a manifestation of losing something, thereby reducing the dreamer’s power.

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 dreamer is always the person who stands the best chance of understanding what their dream might represent. If you’ve been dreaming about spiders, consider your recent experiences and feelings, as well as the context of the dream. Were you caught in the spider’s web, or were they just nearby? Did you run away from the spider, step on it, or leave it be? All of these could affect your dream’s meaning.

“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-time, whether this be relationship worries, financial worries or even work worries,” says Dr Daisy Mae.

“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 is, the bigger the real-life problem.”

Dreaming About Being Chased

Dreams about being chased are one of the more literal topics when it comes to dream analysis.

Dr Daisy Mae says, “Dreaming of being chased can reflect you running away from your 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.

“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 better to pin down this problem and resolve it as fast as you can.”

You might also be able to glean some more insight into your dream by recognising who, or what, you’re being pursued by. Running from an unknown figure, for example, could represent running from something you haven’t yet recognised, or some kind of repressed emotion.

If you’re running from someone you know, on the other hand, consider what that person means to you. What do you associate with them that you might be trying to avoid?

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.

While your teeth represent something more primal, your hair falling out tends to speak for a more cosmetic concern.

“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,” says Dr Daisy Mae.

“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, getting help from someone external like a therapist or counsellor.”

The cause for this sort of dream, then, usually lies in the dreamer’s perception of themself. Take some time for self-care if you’ve had dreams about hair falling out, as this could well be the source of your subconscious storytelling.

Dreaming About Falling

At number five, dreams about falling usually indicate a loss of control. You might find that this topic overlaps with another one to paint a fuller picture of what you’ve been experiencing in your real life.

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. Or, combining it with a dream about teeth falling out, perhaps you’ve lost something dear to you, but it wasn’t your decision to let it go.

Dreaming about falling could, however, also represent how you feel about someone else’s experiences. Dr Daisy Mae says, “Dreaming about fallingmay 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.”

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Get in touch with our experts today to get started in designing the bed of your dreams.