Gravity Content in Dreams

Flying and falling dreams are often listed among the most common of dreams. Aside from the pure form, in which the dreamer actually falls or flies, it is frequent to find situations in which the dreamer deals with actions or objects implying gravity functions, that is, climbing, floating through air or water, and going up or down on a ladder or in an elevator. By means of the analysis of 685 dreams of male and female subjects, aged between 10 and 32, we registered various gravity contents (falling, flying, water, climbing, descending, staircase, and elevator) and their interrelations. Results show the presence of these elements in 38.1% of the sampled dreams. The authors focused on the link between gravity contents and other typical elements appearing in the same dream (attack, loss, sexual relationships, the body, performance/exams, and nursing). Results tend to confirm a link between gravity content and sexuality. The results of our research are essentially consistent with the findings of an analysis in DreamBank (http://www.dreambank.net/) of the frequency of words related to gravity in a dreams sample (N = 14,193). © 2007 American Psychological Association.