It can feel like our dreams are more than just dreams, especially when they're recurring every night. Here's what the most common dreams mean. 

According to Body+Soul’s Sleep Report, good sleep is closely linked to better mental wellbeing and reduced stress levels.

71 per cent of bad sleepers say that stress causes difficulty sleeping. But even good sleepers can experience pretty intense stress if their REM consists of distressing dreams that feel meaningful.

Are your recurring dreams regular enough to make you question if your brain’s trying to tell you something? 

From tame enough to convince us they really happened, to absurd enough to make us question our sanity, here’s what the most common dreams could mean:

Your teeth are falling out

Surprisingly one of the more common dreams, visualising your teeth falling out can feel pretty distressing. 

There are a few theories around what could be bringing on the hypothetical dental issues. According to the Sleep Foundation, this narrative could be brought on by dental irritation or jaw pain, anxiety about aging or recent big life changes. 

You’re running away or being chased by someone

While we’re still unsure of the specific reason why we dream, doctors theorise that “our dreams might help us process and manage our emotions”, behavioural sleep medicine expert Michelle Drerup told Cleveland Clinic.

She says dreams like those where we’re being chased are common when we’re stressed.

You’re back at school, naked

Dreaming of being back in school is confronting and confusing enough. But without clothes? A horrible thing for our subconscious to conjure up.

According to author of Dream Dictionary for Dummies, Penney Peirce, dreaming of being naked in public can have something to do with your fears of showing your imperfections of feeling like a phony. 

You’re falling

The feeling of falling is common before a full-body jerk in bed, but author of The Illustrated Dream Dictionary, Russell Grant told Verywell Mind, "dreaming of falling is very common. It is a symbol of fear in real life— perhaps of failing at work or in your love life".

"Falling often expresses a need to let yourself go more and enjoy life more."

You scream, but no noise comes out

Perhaps one of the more frustrating recurrent dreams, silently screaming in your dreams can be a result of you feeling unheard in your day-to-day life. 

According to Dream Dictionary, these dreams can push you to find better ways to communicate and figure out what emotions you’re repressing.

You cheat on your partner

Author of This Is Why You Dream, Dr Rahul Jandial explained that “dreams of infidelity are unlikely to be a signal we want to be unfaithful”.

“Cheating on a partner in a dream may simply be a sign of curiosity and normal sexual arousal, rather than a desire to stray from the relationship.”

The neuroscientist said our reaction to dreams of cheating on our partner is more telling than the dream itself. If we feel further from our partner following the unwelcome narrative, our relationship may not be as healthy as we previously thought. 

You go to the toilet in your sleep

While confusing to wake up from, dreams of going to the toilet may have a relatively simple motivation. 

Dream analyst Lauri Loewenberg told Bustle, "the toilet represents your ability to relieve yourself — to flush away — negativity, frustration, that which you no longer need". 

"It's usually a negative emotion that you’ve been holding in, just like you're holding in your pee in the dream."