Whether your dreams concern losing your teeth, killing your boss or running in quicksand, they all have a hidden meaning. And most of the time, it's probably not what you'd expect.
One of the most common dreams that people experience - and often one of the most jarring - involves sleeping with an ex.
If you've had this dream, you'll know the drill. You wake up the next day with a tinge of guilt, not sure whether to tell your current partner what has happened - probably not wise, imo, Maybe you'll even consider getting on the phone to said ex, to see if they want to rekindle the flame.
Well, dream psychologist Ian Wallace, author of The Top 100 Dreams: The Dreams That We All Have and What They Mean, has explained to LADbible why you should definitely avoid the latter.
"You're using your ex as a way of symbolising something inside you," he told us.
"So when you dream of having sex with an ex, there's some situation in your waking life that is triggering the qualities you associate with your ex.
"It might be that your ex was really caring and really looked after you, so the situation in your waking life could be that you have to be more caring and look after someone, or look after yourself.
"Or it might be that your ex was really unfaithful, and you're maybe letting yourself down in some way or betraying yourself in some way.
"It could also be that your ex was really confident, so you need to be a bit more confident in your waking life."
He continued: "Often in the work that I do, in relationship psychology, I'll have a client come to me and say they've been through some bad break-up, and they say that they're with someone new.
"And I'll invite them to describe their new romantic partner, and it sounds exactly the same as their last one.
"I think that's really interesting, because they're trying to find the quality in someone else that they need to express in themselves.
"So when you dream that you're back with an ex lover, it's not really about wanting to be back with them or about cheating on your current partner.
"It's just you becoming more aware of what attracts you to someone else - and then by doing that, you become far more aware of what you find attractive in yourself."
When asked whether you should use the dream as an opportunity to get back in touch with your ex, Ian was very clear.
Cutting straight to the point, he replied: "No.
"My advice would be to not have much to drink the next day and avoid sleeping in a very warm room."
A useful tip for us all.
Dominic Smithers