Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Rattankun Thongbun
Topics: Sleep, Mental Health, Sex and Relationships
Liv Bridge
Topics: Sleep, Mental Health, Sex and Relationships
An expert has weighed in with a warning to anyone suffering a common 'sex with an ex' dream.
Bagging a restful night's sleep should be a relatively straightforward experience, provided you haven't got anything weighing on your mind.
Dreams, or particularly nightmares, can eat into the quality of your shut-eye, as not only can a fitful sleep leave you feeling less refreshed or even anxious, but the content of the dream could also leave you feeling shaken for most of the day.
Arguably, one of the worst types of nightmares might see you fantasizing about an ex-partner, which experts warn could indicate several red flags with your subconscious mental state - or your deep, dark thoughts about your past relationship.
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According to the Sleep Foundation, dreams involving an ex are pretty common, with studies showing around five to eight per cent of people's dreams involve former romantic partners.
Exes also tend to crop up where we least want them to, as a whopping 25 per cent of people confessed in a survey to having had a sex dream involving a former romance. And like other common nightmares, like teeth falling out or appearing in public naked, dreams of exes can also leave a lingering bad taste to grapple with the following morning.
However, experts warn that while the 'sex with an ex' dream can have different meanings, depending on the type of relationship you shared, your current relationship status or your emotional state in general, it typically can symbolize some unsettled issues.
Experts say you might dream about your ex if you have unresolved matters with them - and even if the dream was sexual, it doesn't necessarily mean you have romantic feelings towards them.
The Sleep Foundation suggests that you may be struggling with lingering frustration, jealousy, or anger about the situation, or require closure. In the latter case, a dream about your ex might give you the chance to say things you wish you could've said in real life - or to hear things you want them to they would've said - in a bid to get you some closure on the matter.
However, another possible interpretation could be linked to trauma, as research shows that stressful emotions while awake can influence the content of dreams.
This is particularly prevalent if you're struggling with grief caused by the death of a former partner; however, if you've recently run into an ex while shopping, for example, an ex making an appearance in a dream could be due to memory consolidation.
Studies again show that dreams can often incorporate real-life events within one to seven days after the experience.
Finally, a sex dream with an ex, particularly if it's recurring, could mean anything from adapting to a new partner to unsolved grievances with the ex, according to Healthline.
Or it could be that you are simply wanting sex, with the Sleep Foundation saying that intimacy with your ex might have been so pleasurable that you wish to experience it again, not that you want to get back with them.
Experts advise giving yourself adequate time to adjust to having sex with a new partner.
However, if it's been several months or even years since you parted ways, it could be time to seek professional help, as you might be feeling 'unfulfilled' in your current relationship or struggling with unresolved grief from the past.