Dream Study: Research Shows That Behavior In Dreams May Affect Relationship Behavior

The Real-Life Consequences Of Cheating In Your Dreams
picture of couple in...
picture of couple in...

Ever woken up peeved at your spouse for the slights they committed in your dreams? Your feelings may seem irrational to your partner, but a new study shows that your reaction is totally normal.

The study, published earlier this month in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, shows for the first time that our dreams have real consequences in our daytime interactions with our partners in the days that follow.

Looking at the dream journals and relationship activity logs of 61 people who are coupled up, researchers from the University of Maryland found that dreams about infidelity, jealousy and other "bad" relationship behavior were associated with greater relationship conflict and reduced intimacy in subsequent days, the Vancouver Sun reported.

“A lot of people don’t pay attention to their dreams and are unaware of the impact they have on their state of mind,” said Dylan Selterman, the study's lead author and a psychology lecturer at the University of Maryland. “Now we have evidence that there is this association.”

The good news? Romantic partners pop up in roughly 20 percent of dreams among people in relationships, according to another recent study, so your spouse is bound to do something right in one of your dreams.

Have dreams about your partner ever affected your relationship behavior during the day? Tell us in the comments, then click through the slideshow for the meaning behind 10 of the most common dreams.

Dreams About Spiders

10 Dream Meanings

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