Females more likely to dream of partner cheating while men dream of flying and promotions
- Women dream of falling and being cheated on more than anything else
- Men also have those dreams but it is rare compared to dreams of flying
- Psychoanalysts suggest women may focus more on anxieties and are more likely to remember nightmares than good dreams
Women have more nightmares than men, a new study reveals.
The most common dream for females is about their partner cheating on them.
Teeth falling out, being chased, and seeing spiders are the other three most frequently-described dreams among women.
Men, meanwhile, are most likely to dream about flying, meeting a beautiful stranger, or finding money.
This is according to a study of 2,000 men and women across the United States, carried out by bed firm Amerisleep and shared exclusively with Daily Mail Online.
Nightmare: The most common dream for females is about their partner cheating on them
The study found the most common dream in the country is about falling, closely followed by having sex with someone you shouldn’t.
Also common were dreams about being chased (51 per cent), being back in school (38 per cent), and being unprepared for a test or important event (34 per cent).
But when it’s broken down into genders, these dreams are far more common among women.
While men also report nightmares, they will more typically dream of exciting and joyful things.
Psychoanalysts have spent decades trying to identify the root of gender disparities in dreams.
‘Nightmares come from anxiety,’ explains Anne Cutler, a licensed psychoanalyst in New York City.
‘The extent to which women are more prone to anxiety disorders than men may be an underlying reason for this.’
Dr Jennie Parker, a psychology researcher at the University of West England, concurs.
She has speculated that women may be more fixated on their anxieties, and may be more likely to remember dreams that focus on those anxieties.
Men also report nightmares, but they more typically dream of joyful things, according to the study (results pictured above)
‘If women are asked to report the most significant dream they ever had they are more likely than men to report a very disturbing nightmare,’ Dr Parker said after publishing a report that drew a similar conclusion.
‘Women reported more nightmares and their nightmares were more emotionally intense than men’s.’
The Amerisleep study also found that women better remember their dreams.
A quarter of women (24 per cent) remember their dreams almost every night compared to 14 per cent for men, the data showed.
