Common dreams: being chased, falling, exams, losing teeth, and what is going on
Some dreams have been had by people all over the world. They are so common not because there is a universal code book, but because human situations and human bodies have a lot in common.
Being chased
Being chased is one of the most common dreams. What chases you may be a person, an animal or something you cannot make out, and you often keep running. The usual association is avoidance: there is a matter, a person or a feeling you are hiding from.
To read this kind of dream, ask: what does the thing chasing me remind me of? If it caught me, what would I fear most? Some people turn round and face it in the dream and on waking find it was only something they had never said.
Falling, and being unable to run
Falling dreams often come just as you drop off, when the body gives a sudden jerk and you wake. That is a hypnic jerk, very common and nothing to worry about. The sense of falling in a dream may be a feeling of losing control, of nothing underfoot, of not being steady.
As for wanting to run and not being able to, or wanting to shout and not being able to, one practical reason is that in REM sleep the muscles are held still: the brain sends the command to move, the body does not, and so in the dream you meet the feeling of "no strength". Such dreams often go with pressure or a feeling of powerlessness.
Exams, being late, going out naked
Not having studied for an exam, being late for a train, finding yourself in a crowd without clothes: these dreams come even years after graduating. They usually have to do with being judged, fearing to look foolish, fearing not to be ready, and they are especially frequent when something important is ahead.
The embarrassment in the dream is strong, and on waking to find it was only a dream there is often a rush of relief. That feeling of relief is also worth noting down.
Losing teeth, and flying
Many people have dreamed of losing teeth, and there is no accepted explanation. Associations include loss, ageing, worry about looks and what others think, and it may simply reflect a tooth that bothered you by day. If your teeth really are uncomfortable, please see a dentist.
Flying dreams mostly carry lightness and freedom, and some people can steer their flight, which is a kind of lucid dream. They often come when you are relaxed and feel in control.
Why everyone's dreams are so alike
Many questionnaire surveys find that being chased, falling, trouble in an exam and being late rank among the most common dreams in every country. There are probably two reasons. One is that human situations are alike: being judged, fearing to fall behind, fearing loss are the same everywhere. The other is that dreams like to borrow recent experience that is heavy with feeling, and "stress" is the common ground of most of it.
Researchers also observe a continuity between dreams and waking concerns: what a person worries about by day makes the dream scenes more likely to relate to it. So the same "exam" dream, in a student, a teacher and someone twenty years out of school, rests on different worries.
It also shows that a general explanation for a dream gives at most a starting point. What helps is turning back to yourself: what have I been tense about lately?
Dreams of the dead, of an ex, and of the old house
These kinds are not the most common, but they are the ones most likely to leave you unsettled for half the day.
Dreaming of a dead relative, many people wake both missing them and sad, and some feel comforted. Most such dreams are the longing itself, not an omen, and there is no need to force them into "the dead one has something to say". Write down the words and the feeling in the dream, and take it as a chance to miss them.
Dreaming of an ex is often not that you still think of the person, but that the dream uses them to carry a feeling: once being cared for, once being hurt, or a small comparison with a present relationship. Ask yourself: on waking, was it longing, relief or regret?
The old house and the school of childhood often carry the flavour of going back to who you were then. You can ask: what lately makes me want a simpler time?
How to read the one that is yours
The same dream theme means very different things to different people. When you read, do not rush to look up "what does this dream stand for". First write down three things: the strongest feeling in the dream; what happened in it; and what in your life lately resembles that feeling. Put the three together and it is often more accurate than any general explanation.
Questions people ask
What does it mean when the same dream keeps coming back?
A recurring dream mostly points to something unresolved or a long-standing feeling. Note the details each time it comes and see what changes.
Can I control myself in a dream?
Some people can, and that is called lucid dreaming. It can be improved with practice but is not necessary. For reading dreams, remembering how you felt in the dream matters more.
Why does no dream seem odd while we are in it, however absurd?
In REM sleep the front part of the brain that checks logic and judges "does this make sense" is less active, while the areas for feeling and image are very active, so however strange the scene you take it as it comes. That is also why lucid dreaming needs practice: you must first think in the dream "I may be dreaming". It seems absurd only on waking, because the front of the brain is back online.