Repetitive dreams what do they mean

Why do these dreams happen? Is it possible to get rid of them? Do they have any significant meaning? For example, you might regularly dream about driving on bridges that drop suddenly. Since recurring dreams sometimes begin in childhood, they might change a little over time to reflect your changing experiences and worldview. In fiction, especially fantasy genres, recurring dreams often suggest a character has supernatural powers, the ability to see the future, or other special talents.

While very real stress related to final exams and research papers may have triggered this dream initially, it can easily come up again later in life, long after graduation. Since this dream most likely relates to your desire to succeed and your worries about failing, you might have this dream anytime you face an event that provokes similar feelings.

This could be an event like a job interview, a big date, or a research proposal. When you face something that poses a threat or keeps you from achieving goals — anything from workplace insecurities to relationship troubles to difficulty making decisions — you might feel frustrated or stressed.

That, in turn, can seep into your dreams. This idea is backed by research linking negative recurring dreams to unmet psychological needs. A group of adult students were asked to evaluate whether their psychological needs were met or unmet. Then, they described the recurring dream they had most often. Those who reported more unmet needs tended to report negative dream themes and describe their dreams with negative emotions. These include: Falling Flying Car crashes Looking for a toilet Being overwhelmed by house maintenance Not being able to speak Losing teeth Being attacked Public nakedness Returning to school Being unprepared for school or work Being chased or trapped Finding new rooms in the home or a familiar building Some themes are more common than others.

Sign up below for your free gift. Your privacy is important to us. Was this article helpful? Yes No. Nilong Vyas Pediatrician MD. Zadra, A. Recurrent dreams: their relation to life events. Barrett Ed. Harvard University Press. Gauchat, A. The content of recurrent dreams in young adolescents. Consciousness and Cognition, 37, — Yu, C. Recurrence of typical dreams and the instinctual and delusional predispositions of dreams. Dreaming, 20 4 , Khazaie, H. Sleep disturbances in veterans with chronic war-induced PTSD.

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Dreaming and waking consciousness: A character recognition study. Journal of Sleep Research, 9 4 , — Zhang, W. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Edwards, C.

Dreaming and insight. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Weinstein, N. Linking psychological need experiences to daily and recurring dreams. Motivation and Emotion, 42 1 , 50— Dowling, S. Dreams and dreaming in relation to trauma in childhood. The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 63 2 , — Valli, K.

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Here are some tips you can try to cultivate healthier sleep habits:. Recurring dreams typically have an underlying cause.

Though they may be unpleasant, try not to take them too seriously. If they do bother you, consider doing some introspection to understand what your dreams are really trying to say.

More often than not, resolving personal issues can help you put an end to the dreams that keep you up night after night. Do you experience Recurring Dreams? Share your thoughts in the comments. Get free pillows, mattress protector, and sheets with every mattress! By completing this form, you consent to receive offers via email.

Enter phone number for more offers. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. HELP for help. Something went wrong, please try again. Who do you share your bed space with? Why do the themes tend to be the same from person to person? One possible explanation is that some of these scripts have been preserved in humans due to the evolutionary advantage they bring. By simulating a threatening situation , the dream of being chased, for example, provides a space for a person to practise perceiving and escaping predators in their sleep.

Some common themes may also be explained, in part, by physiological phenomena that take place during sleep. A study by a research team in Israel found that dreaming of losing one's teeth was not particularly linked to symptoms of anxiety but rather associated to teeth clenching during sleep or dental discomfort upon waking. When we sleep, our brain is not completely cut off from the outside world.

It continues to perceive external stimuli, such as sounds or smells, or internal body sensations. That means that other themes, such as not being able to find a toilet or being naked in a public space, could actually be spurred by the need to urinate during the night or by wearing loose pyjamas in bed.

Some physical phenomena specific to REM sleep, the stage of sleep when we dream the most, could also be at play. In REM sleep, our muscles are paralyzed, which could provoke dreams of having heavy legs or being paralyzed in bed. Similarly, some authors have proposed that dreams of falling or flying are caused by our vestibular system , which contributes to balance and can reactivate spontaneously during REM sleep. Of course, these sensations are not sufficient to explain the recurrence of these dreams in some people and their sudden occurrence in times of stress, but they probably play a significant role in the construction of our most typical dreams.

People who experience a recurring nightmare have in some ways become stuck in a particular way of responding to the dream scenario and anticipating it. Therapies have been developed to try to resolve this recurrence and break the vicious cycle of nightmares. One technique is to visualize the nightmare while awake and then rewrite it, that is, to modify the narrative by changing one aspect, for example, the end of the dream to something more positive.