A dream expert explains what the most common dreams really mean

DREAMS can seriously screw with your head.

Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night after dreaming about sleeping with your boss? Of het luieren om je mond in paniek na te dromen over al je tanden valt uit?

It can totally weird you out. But most dreams have a pretty simple explanation.

Dreams are your brain trying to process events or interactions that have occurred during the past 24-48 hours. Din hjerne forsøker at sammenligne disse erfaringer med tidligere erfaringer og gøre fornemmelse af det hele.

We spoke to Brisbane dream analyst Jane Teresa Anderson, author of 101 Dream Interpretation Tips and Host of The Dream Show, about the 10 most common dreams and what they mean.
If you look back in the past 1-2 days, was there a situation where you felt unprepared for something?

"Det kan være en presentasjon, eller en konflikt med en venn, eller et dilemma som noen har kastet på deg. Du føler at alting er på at være i stand til å gjøre dette. The dream reveals your feelings of vulnerability about not being prepared, "Anderson said.

If you have this kind of dream, you're the kind of person who usually performs well and is always well-prepared.

"It's your fear of being unprepared that actually drives you to be completely ready to perform."

“The implication here is that you’re being followed and you’re running away from the thing chasing you, rather than turning around to face it. This could mean that you’re running away from a problem that you’ve been avoiding having to face,” Anderson said.

“It’s always better to work out what you’re running from. It might be smaller than it is in your imagination and you might be ready to face it.”

3. Your teeth falling out

“Sometimes this harks back to memories we had when we lost our baby teeth. Losing a tooth as a child can be quite scary. The emotions around that time are really strong. We’re becoming independent, we’re learning to stand on our own two feet, but we’re still children. Your mind goes back to those emotions,” Anderson said.

Some people have dreams where they’re talking and they start spitting out their teeth.

“That will happen when you’ve had a feeling about something you’ve said that you can’t take back. Or it could reflect a lack of confidence in speaking up or communicating,” she said.

4. When you’re busting but you can’t find a toilet

When people wake up after having this kind of dream, they usually realise they don’t actually need to go to the bathroom.

“This usually means you literally want to let the crap out of your life. It’s about decluttering and letting go - you want to release something or someone,” Anderson said.

“It can also just mean that you need some space and privacy. In a lot of these dreams you can’t close the bathroom door and go to the bathroom in peace.

“You might just need some time to process your emotions and have some peace and quiet. It’s about getting rid of what you don’t need so you can move on.”