One in four men still dream about their ex-girlfriend, it emerged yesterday.
Despite being happily settled with a new partner, a quarter of blokes still have their old flame on their minds during a good night's sleep.
And even work finds its way into a man's subconscious during the night - with 26 per cent dreaming of their boss or colleagues during the night.
Just 27 per cent of men say their partner is the first thing on their mind while asleep.
Women were most likely to dream about their husband or boyfriend and their parents and children according to the poll by hotel chain Premier Inn.
Davina MacKail, Dream Expert said: "Our dreams help us learn, grow and process our emotions.
''So it's no surprise we tend to have more nightmares when stressed and will dream about our problems as our dreaming mind tries to solve them for us.
''A calm, relaxing environment and a great night's sleep goes a long way to ensuring more peaceful dreams.
''Women tend to be more emotionally open within relationships and so dream about current relationship issues whereas men tend not to explore their emotions outwardly so have a tendency to work issues out via their dreams hence they dream of exes which may illustrate emotional vulnerabilities and insecurities they are exploring within their current partner."
Friends also feature highly in the dream pattern of women - with a third claiming their best mates keep them entertained through the night.
Girls were also more likely to dream about strangers than men were.
One in twenty men also have a reoccurring dream about their boss and some even said that frequent dreams about their in-laws left them tossing and turning.
The study found that 31 per cent of people said they often dream about important things that are playing on their mind.
And one five say they dream more if they are under pressure or stressed.
The poll found the average person dreams most nights and only 12 per cent said they never dream.
Other topics which take-over our dreams are being on holiday and celebrities.
Nearly a third of people regularly dream about flying, a quarter said they are often chased in their dreams and one in five also gets lost frequently.
Almost one in ten dream about failing important tests regularly and 12 per cent have the reoccurring dream that they are naked in public.
But more than half of people said their dreams never make sense.
X Factor babes Tulisa and Cheryl Cole were named as the celebrities we are most likely to dream about followed by soccer ace David Beckham.
A spokesman for Premier Inn said: ''Dreams are one part of our lives that we have no control over. Even though we may not see people regularly, they can still feature regularly in our dreams.
"The research showed that we dream most often when something is playing on our minds or we are experiencing stress, so having a short break to get away from it all could help us to switch off and enjoy a good night's sleep."
