Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Autumn Winter 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Health and Fitness

    The 10 most common dreams - And what they really mean

    Oh, the strange goings-on in your mind...

    By Marie Claire
    Published 16 October 2015 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Sleep
    Sleep
    (Image credit: Rex Features)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Oh, the strange goings-on in your mind...

    Surely it can't just be us who wake up at least once a week having experienced strange dreams - and spend the whole day thinking about what it all means.

    Dreams are a complex psychological necessity, and whether or not you remember your dreams, everyone has around five dream episodes a night, which can last between 15 and 40 minutes and which process our unconscious thoughts, reflecting our worries, beliefs and hopes.

    With seven billion people on a planet, we create a whopping 25 billion dreams every 24 hours - so it's no wonder that decoding the mysterious goings-on in our minds is important to us. Symbols in dreams are presented metaphorically - meaning that it's a job for your conscious to figure out what it all means once you wake up.

    While obviously there is no concrete way of determining what a dream is really about, the team at Dreams have enlisted the help of sleep experts to explain our what most common dreams often mean.

    You may like
    • Eva Syti, yoga coach, ARC sauna leader and breathwork practitioner Most People Think They're Manifesting Correctly—But Usually Miss These 3 Essential Steps
    • A woman drinking a cup of tea in bed 5 Everyday 'Life Admin' Habits That Are Secretly Exhausting You
    • Health freelancer Ash S trying an evening swim and sauna to boost calm My Mind Usually Races At Night—Until This Evening Swim and Sauna Ritual Calmed My Nervous System

    Scroll through our gallery above to find out the meaning behind some of the most common dreams - including teeth falling out, being naked in public and being chased.

    There are also explanations for dreaming about being unable to find a toilet, being unprepared for an exam and flying, as well as falling, being in an out-of-control vehicle, being late and finding an unused room.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    While we've definitely all had at least a couple of these dreams on occasion, we want to know what dreaming about falling out with a friend, being pregnant and having superpowers mean, because we have these constantly, and have no idea what the significance is.

    Which dreams you find yourself having over and over again? Do you agree with the explanations above? Let us know @marieclaireuk

    Marie Claire
    Social Links Navigation

    The leading destination for fashion, beauty, shopping and finger-on-the-pulse views on the latest issues. Marie Claire's travel content helps you delight in discovering new destinations around the globe, offering a unique – and sometimes unchartered – travel experience. From new hotel openings to the destinations tipped to take over our travel calendars, this iconic name has it covered.

    Read more
    Eva Syti, yoga coach, ARC sauna leader and breathwork practitioner
    Wellbeing Most People Think They're Manifesting Correctly—But Usually Miss These 3 Essential Steps
    A woman drinking a cup of tea in bed
    Health and Fitness 5 Everyday 'Life Admin' Habits That Are Secretly Exhausting You
     
     
    Health freelancer Ash S trying an evening swim and sauna to boost calm
    Fitness My Mind Usually Races At Night—Until This Evening Swim and Sauna Ritual Calmed My Nervous System
    Woman meditating in the garden
    Female health Exhaustion, Brain Fog, and Low Mood Aren't Always Burnout—Here's The Diagnosis Women Are Missing
     
     
    Latest in Health and Fitness
    Female athletes crossing the finish line at a track and field event
    Fitness Why We Should Care About Sexualisation in Women's Sport—and How It’s Bigger Than Sydney Sweeney
    A foggy sunrise, an unmade bed and a vanity with a mirror and a mug
    Female health 26 Micro Habits That Could Positively Impact Your Hormone Health, According to Top Experts
     
     
    A woman drinking a cup of tea in bed
    Health and Fitness 5 Everyday 'Life Admin' Habits That Are Secretly Exhausting You
    Freelance Health Writer Ellie-Mae Hammond trying the science-backed art of visualising a better future: Her journals
    Wellbeing I Tried the Science-Backed Art of Imagining a Better Future—What Happened to My Motivation, Confidence and Goals
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The best things to do this September
    Culture The Agenda: The New-Season Cultural Reset
    Female athletes crossing the finish line at a track and field event
    Fitness Why We Should Care About Sexualisation in Women's Sport—and How It’s Bigger Than Sydney Sweeney
     
     
    NYFW ss27 outfits to wear now
    Fashion I Just Got Back From New York: These 6 Outfits Deserve a Spot in Your Autumn Rotation
    Michelle Obama Liffner bag
    Fashion Michelle Obama Just Wore the Sophisticated Bag Brand Every Fashion Insider is Obsessed With
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.