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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Lindsay Goldwert

Why do we dream of past loves?

Getty/iStock

If you’ve slept, perchance you have dreamed about an ex and woken up wondering, “What was that all about?”

The good news for chronic analysers: An intense dream about a person you cared about months or even decades ago doesn’t mean you’re secretly pining for them. Deirdre Barrett, a dream researcher at Harvard University and author of Pandemic Dreams and The Committee of Sleep, who has a doctorate in clinical psychology, says a number of factors can spark a dream about an ex-partner.

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