Most common dreams in America

I was curious as to what are the most common dreams that people report. In my research, I came across an MSNBC article (5 most common dreams and what they mean). Here are their results:

Top Five:

1. Falling
2. Being chased
3. Teeth falling out
4. Spouse cheating on you
5. Back at school

Now, I will look at these more in depth.

Falling:

• Many dream interpreters take this to mean that something in your life is going wrong and that you need to fix or change the situation soon. These are also apparently common for people who suffer from depression.
• I don't usually have falling dreams per se, but I usually feel like that as I start to fall asleep. Then, I jerk and wake up scared.

Being chased:

• Being chased typically means that you are avoiding something. The advice the article gives is to "Get it over with, otherwise the issue will continue to follow you."
• I have a lot of these kind of dreams. When I was a child, these happened to me on a daily basis and I don't know that I was avoiding anything. I always dreamt that a wolf was chasing me by my house, and now I dream that people are trying to harm my family and then proceed to chase us.

Teeth falling out

• According to dream interpreters, this is a common dream if you feel guilty about gossiping, or sharing information that you should have kept to yourself.
• I have this dream a lot, but once again, I don't know that I agree with the interpreters. I have this dream a lot when I hit a tooth and fall asleep worrying that it will require surgery. I think I just worry too much.

Back at school

• This dream typically means that you have an abundance or pressure at your job.
• I cannot attest to this, since I am still in school. However, I have dreams that I miss class, am late for a meeting at KBIA, etc... on a regular basis. I think this is the perfectionist in me.

Spouse cheating on you

• The cheating dream usually occurs when you feel that your partner is spending too much time without you. Use this as a wake up call to fix your relationship.
• I have this dream sometimes. It usually is a variation though, and involves me finding out that RSE or another boy used me to get to my friend. Self-conscious, I guess?

The article also covers figuring out what your dreams mean. Dreams are important. You may find an answer for your waking life in your dreams. Tips from the article include:

• Sum it up into a movie title.
• Figure out the main conflict of the dream.
• Compare that conflict in the dream to your real-life day before the dream.

Interesting. Something to think about.