Expert explains why common sex dream doesn't mean you're thinking about cheating

A common sex dream that may leave you riddled with anxiety does not mean that you have a subconscious desire to cheat on your partner, an expert has said.

We've all been there, the perfect domestic bliss of a loving relationship hurled into internal panic after a celebrity crush like Travis Kelce or Taylor Swift, or perhaps both, appears in a NSFW dream.

Of course, the worst part of it all is that despite sleeping in the arms of a gorgeous partner, you wake up conflicted about just how much you enjoyed that extremely rude dream.

Wracked with guilt at your somnial sin, you become convinced you're a terrible partner, that it's only a matter of time before you succumb to temptation and send your relationship hurtling into the abyss with your infidelity.

Let's face it, we've all had those dreams (Getty stock images)

But fear not, because expert Lauri Loewenberg has said that far from meaning that you want to 'play away', cheating dreams actually express a different anxiety about a relationship.

Ms Loewenberg, a certified dream analyst and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), explained that this may actually be a manifestation of other worries about your relationship.

She told Women's Health: “In my research and experience helping my clients understand their cheating dreams, I have found the main reason you cheat in your dreams is because - deep down - you have guilt or concern about something you’re doing that is taking away from the time you should be putting into the relationship."

That's all very well, but what are these guilts or concerns that might be making you have dreams about doing the horizontal tango with someone else?

One is that you may feel guilty about another thing that you've done in your waking life, which could be anything that is pulling you away from your relationship such as work or the upheaval of becoming a parent.

A less innocent reason could be that even though you've remained faithful in this relationship, you've cheated on a partner in the past.

Don't fret; it's not that bad (Getty Stock Images)

“Infidelity can be traumatic and very difficult to heal from," said Loewenberg. "Even if it has been years or decades since the transgression, the emotional scar often remains. This includes the scar of guilt with the transgressor.”

Finally, it could be that the dream is happening because the relationship perhaps isn't perfect.

Loewenberg explained: “Cheating dreams are rarely about sex but are, more often, a brutally honest reflection of the dynamics within the relationship."

So, while it may not be a sign that you want to cheat, it could mean that there is something in the relationship that needs work.