In many ways, the content of our dreams remains a mystery, even to the scientists that study dream imagery. While some researchers think dreams are the brain’s way of problem-solving issues from waking life, others believe that dreams are a kind of garbage disposal for the brain.
A recent study commissioned by The Sleep Judge, however, sheds some new light on our inner dreamscape. The study’s analysis of thousands of dreamers shows that human beings tend to dream about similar themes and concepts, some that are timeless and some that are influenced by the times we live in.
The Stuff of Dreams
The most common topic that crops up in our nighttime world is death, with more than a third of dreamers reporting dreams about the Grim Reaper. Ranking just below death were the topics of family (29.2%) and sex (13.2%). Dreams, it appears, tend to re-create certain universal human experiences, particularly those that evoke strong emotion. Interestingly, matters such as money and work made up a much smaller percentage of dream themes – at 4.2 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively – suggesting that these issues, although crucial in the waking world, are less pivotal in our dreamscapes.
The study also tracked dream topics over the course of the year, noting when certain dream themes peaked and dipped. Sex dreams, it turns out, proliferate in March and October, which were the same months when death dreams dwindled. In August, school dreams spiked, most likely in anticipation of the start of the school year, and they increased even more in November, right when end-of-year exams were looming. These trends seem to imply that certain dreaming topics are both universal and seasonal.
Did the same conclusion apply to nightmares? The dreamers surveyed in the study reported surprising similarities in nightmare topics, too. Thirty-three percent of dreamers had been haunted by nightmares about death and pain, while 21 percent reported nightmares about falling or flying. Nightmares tended to feature high-adrenaline events like murder (17 percent), encountering imaginary creatures (15 percent), and being chased, trapped, or kidnapped (14 percent). Interestingly, though, the settings in nightmares were most often familiar locations (bedrooms and the home, for example) rather than exotic locales (such as hotels, castles, or wooded areas).
When describing dreams, some of the most common words that dreamers mentioned were “relationship,” “love,” “mind,” and “bad.” Dreamers preoccupied with sex most often referenced “feelings,” “friends,” and “new,” suggesting that sex dreams help us sort out emotions related to those entering our circle of awareness. Those who dreamed about politics, however, were more likely to use words like “end,” “evil,” and “angry,” which suggests these dreams are accompanied by a fair amount of stress.
Wildest Dreams
Dreams tend to pull from events and ideas in our everyday life, so it’s no surprise that celebrities – whom we often see on TV or in social media feeds – make frequent cameos in our dreams. Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise, for example, were the top two actors who starred in Americans’ dreams. Intriguingly, though, Americans were more likely to dream about leaders or historical figures rather than entertainment icons. Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, and Adolf Hitler topped the list of iconic figures that showed up in dreams.
There’s evidence to show that the prevalence of celebs in real life affects how often they pop up in our dream world. For instance, dreams about Donald Trump ranked ninth in 2015, when he went on the campaign trail, but shot up to first place in 2016 after he was elected president. In contrast, Hillary Clinton, his rival in the 2016 election, was the fourth most common historical figure to appear in dreams in 2015, but after the election, she fell to twentieth place. Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most long-standing rulers in the world, held steady in the top-three rankings over the last five years.
Are You Dreaming Enough?
Dreams only happen when we enter REM sleep, a deeper stage of sleep when the brain becomes more active. If you’ve been having trouble entering this stage of sleep, it could affect your mood and productivity when you’re awake – so be sure to take steps to ensure you dream frequently.