Dreams of Brits recreated with AI after ‘sleep census' reveals most common nightmares – with a big difference for women

The Sun

26-04-2025

Sean Keach, Head of Technology and Science
Published: Invalid Date,
THE secret dreams of Brits have been revealed in a bizarre 'sleep census' – and then recreated with AI.
It reveals common themes that keep popping up, including in the 'primal fears' in our nightmares.
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Thousands of Brits had their dreams tracked and logged over the course of a week.
And a quarter of the participants found themselves 'trapped in anxiety-driven dreams'.
That included being chased, finding themselves lost, or running late for something important.
'Dreams are the brain's way of processing emotions, memories, and stress,' said Lisa Artis, deputy chief at The Sleep Charity, which helped organise the probe into Britain's dreams.
'The fact that so many people are dreaming about being late, being chased, or feeling trapped suggests that high levels of daily anxiety and stress are carrying over into sleep.'
SLEEP SPLIT
The investigation also found that women appeared to be more likely to experience high-stress dreams – at 30% to men's 20%.
But men were 'more prone to surreal or fantastical dream worlds' at 19% versus 12% of women.
It also showed that the most common UK nightmares 'reflect deep-seated anxieties and primal fears'.
As well as being chased, lost, or trapped, a further 16% of British adults experienced nightmares about falling or their teeth falling out.
Financial stress was listed as affecting a nearly a quarter of Brits in their dreams.
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And 19% had their dreams influenced by TV, films, and books viewed before bed.
There was also a phenomenon dubbed a 'Dream Surge', where Saturday had the highest volume of recalled dreams.
That meant more people remembered their dreams on Sunday morning compared to any other day in the week.
'Dreams are a reflection of our deepest subconscious,' said Steve Reid, chief of sleep-tech firm Simba.
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'Now, by bringing this research to life with cutting-edge AI, we can start to make connections to our lives out of bed.
'Ultimately, being more aware about what fuels our dreams helps us understand ourselves and how we can better protect our sleep quality.'
Around 2,000 UK adults took part in the Dream Census, which also reported that 13% of Brits recall a dream almost every night – though a third 'rarely remember them at all'.
NIGHT FRIGHTS
According to the NHS, night terrors and nightmares can be caused by a whole host of things.
SLEEP TECH TRICKS REVEALED
Here are some smartphone tricks to help with sleep...
Background Sounds
This little-known iPhone feature plays soothing noises in the background – handy if you struggle to sleep in total silence.
Just go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual > Background Sounds.
"These sounds can minimise distractions and help you to focus, calm, or rest," Apple explained.
You can choose sounds like Rain, Ocean, Stream, Fire, or Dark Noise.
It can play in the background of other media (like a podcast), and you can add it to your Control Centre for quick activation by swiping down from the top-right and adding the icon.
You can also go to Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut > Background Sounds, which lets you turn it on or off just by triple-clicking your iPhone's Side Button.
Sleep Focus
Another great trick for bedtime is Sleep Focus.
It limits the amount of distractions you get at night – including from annoying notifications.
This will filter out texts and calls in the night, for instance.
But you can set it so that certain apps or contacts can break through – like a partner, parent, or child.
If someone tries to text you over iMessage while you've got Sleep Focus on, they'll be warned that you're in the land of nod and might not see the text right away.
You can set Sleep Focus to a schedule (with different times for weekdays and weekends), or manually turn it on or off.
You can find it in Settings > Focus > Sleep Focus, or you can quickly switch it on from the Control Centre.
Picture Credit: Apple / The Sun
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That includes:
Being tired or unwell
Sudden noises at night
Needing to pee during the night
Something that's frightened you (like a scary film)
Something that's made you stressed, anxious, or worried
But the NHS also noted that nightmares can be caused by certain medicines (like anti-depressants), conditions that affect sleep like restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea, mental health conditions, and conditions that affect the brain like dementia.
"Night terrors are more common in people with family members who have had night terrors or who sleepwalk," the NHS added.
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The Sun recently revealed some clever iPhone sleep tricks worth trying if you're struggling to nod off.
And last year, we tested an AI smart bed that tracks your sleep.