Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions

Calvin Kai-Ching Yu and Wai Fu

Hong Kong Shue Yan University

This study provides an overview of the frequencies and narrative features of

sex and wet dreams and investigates the incestuous behavior in the manifest
content of dreams. A questionnaire specially designed for capturing both
quantitative and qualitative aspects of sex and wet dreams was administered
to 58 male participants. More than 80% of participants had dreamed about
having vaginal intercourse with a woman. Dreaming of sexual interactions
other than vaginal intercourse—such as oral sex—was also common. Con-
sistent with the hypothesis that latent sexual motives or some variation of
sexuality that people may not be aware of during the daytime would emerge
at night through dreaming, both homosexual and incestuous behaviors were
observed in dreams. In addition, the finding indicates that sexual thoughts
and motives can be represented by symbols in dreams, and dream impres-
sions involving no erotic scenes are capable of eliciting nocturnal emissions.
It seems that sex dreams, wet dreams, and nocturnal emissions without erotic
imagery or dreaming can be distinguished from each other.
Keywords: ejaculation, incest, Oedipus dream, symbolism, wet dreams

On the strength of the clinicoanatomical and neuroimaging evidence, Yu

(2001a, 2001b, 2003, 2006a, 2006b, 2007a) established the neurostructural model of
dreaming in a bid to integrate the understandings of the neurological and psychody-
namic mechanisms of dream formation. According to Yu’s model, the censorship
and reality-testing functions of the executive system localized in the prefrontal
convexity are substantially undermined during dreaming, thus loosening the control
over the motivational dopaminergic systems, the functional attributes of which can
be largely compared with those of the unconscious id. Along with the restoration of
the power of the id and a “distorted,” symbolic way of expression actively fabri-
cated by the inferomesial temporal–limbic pathway, the ego is freed from ethical
bonds. It finds itself at one with the demands of sexual and primitive desire under
the influence of Eros, the appetitive mesolimbic– dopaminergic pathway. This
includes even those desires that have long been prohibited by the orbital and
dorsolateral prefrontal cortices—the experience-dependent growth regions that are
subject to parental, societal, and moral influences and to social conditioning

Calvin Kai-Ching Yu and Wai Fu, Department of Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue
Yan University, Hong Kong.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, Department
of Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 10 Wai Tsui Crescent, Braemar Hill
Road, North Point, Hong Kong. E-mail: calvinkcyu@ymail.com

197
Dreaming © 2011 American Psychological Association
2011, Vol. 21, No. 3, 197–212 1053-0797/11/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0024085
198 Yu and Fu

throughout their maturation. As a result, sensuality eclipses rationality; the ego

seeks immediate gratification in the form of hallucinations.
Consistent with the neurostructural model of dreaming, in which the instinc-
tual motor brain plays a pivotal role in generating dream images, sexual experiences
constitute one of the typical dream themes that are shared by most people, even
within diverse ethnic settings (Griffith, Miyagi, & Tago, 1958; Nielsen et al., 2003;
Schredl, Ciric, Götz, & Wittmann, 2004; Yu, 2008b, 2008a, 2009a, 2009b, 2010a,
2010c; Zadra & Nielsen, 1997, 1999). The “sexual experiences” theme was dreamed
by 66.4%, 76.5%, 86.7%, and 70.1% of participants in Griffith and colleagues’
(1958) American sample, Nielsen and colleagues’ (2003) Canadian sample, Schredl
and colleagues’ (2004) German sample, and Yu’s (2008b) Chinese sample, respec-
tively. In all of these survey studies, the dream theme “sexual experiences” was
more prevalent among men than among women.
In contrast to the foregoing studies, all of which adopted the rating scale
method, the prevalence rates of sex dreams found by studies using the content
analytical technique were far lower and somehow inconsistent. According to Hall
and Van de Castle’s (1966) normative statistics derived from an American sample,
only 12% of male participants and 4% of female participants provided a dream that
contained sexual material. A study involving Italian participants (Maggiolini,
Cagnin, Crippa, Persico, & Rizzi, 2010) reported similar prevalence rates—12% for
men and 6% for women. In contrast to the male preference for sex dreams
consistently demonstrated by all survey studies on typical dream themes, Rainville
and Rush (2009) found that sex occurred more frequently in female (9%) than in
male (6%) dreams. A similar finding was documented by Tartz and Krippner’s
(2008) content analytical study, in which only 1% of men and 2% of women
reported dreams with sexual content. It is important to note that unlike the rating
scale studies, which directly requested participants to indicate whether they had
dreamed about sexual experiences, the content analytical studies invited partici-
pants to write down their most recent recalled dreams. The very low prevalence
rates of sex dreams found by the content analytical studies as well as some
inconsistencies between these studies can be explained if it is reasonable to assume
that people would not spontaneously provide the narrative details of their sex
dreams, which may be perceived to be private, embarrassing, and socially undesir-
able.
Hitherto there have been no studies specially designed for investigating sex
dreams. Although some previous studies have tangentially touched on sexuality in
dreams, they suffer from several drawbacks and tell us very little about the nature
and narrative features of sex dreams. First, most previous studies provided only the
prevalence rate of sex dreams— how many people have dreamed about sex. How
often people dream about sex, namely the frequency rate of sex dreams, has not
been addressed. Second, with a few exceptions such as the normative data provided
by Hall and Van de Castle’s (1966) early study, most previous studies did not
specify the sexual targets and the types of sexual behaviors that participants
dreamed. Third, virtually all previous studies followed the same predetermined
coding system devised by Hall and Van de Castle. Although adopting a standard-
ized coding system renders cross-study comparisons easier, it gives preconceptions
about what researchers look for and might increase the likelihood of missing some
potentially relevant and substantive conceptual elements in the data.
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 199

According to the neurostructural model of dreaming, the unconscious id,

which takes advantage of the weakened executive functions, forces its way into the
ego during dreaming; thus, dreamers are free from ethical bonds and act out their
repressed instinctual impulses. The Oedipus complex, if it does exist, is perhaps the
instinctual desire that is very likely to be repressed when the executive functions are
fully operative. As postulated by Freud (1900/2001), men are destined to make their
mother into their sexual object in the unconscious life:

It is the fate of all of us, perhaps, to direct our first sexual impulse toward our mother and
our first hatred and our first murderous wish against our father. Our dreams convince us that
this is so. King Oedipus, who slew his father Laı̈us and married his mother Jocasta, merely
shows us the fulfillment of our own childhood wishes. (p. 262)

If there are, as Freud averred, such incestuous motives or perverse object-

choices and sexual ideas in the unconscious mind, then they most probably surface
during dreaming. Furthermore, the neurostructural model of dreaming suggests
that dream thoughts are expressed through the mechanisms of symbolism and other
dream-work activities. In light of the fact that teachers play a very similar role to
parents in the development of morality and ego ideal, which is closely related to one
of the major predispositions that modulate the formation of dream images (see Yu,
2009a, 2009b, 2010c, for details), they may readily serve as an imago of authority
figures in the unconscious and perhaps as a symbol of parents in dreams. Therefore,
a man may dream about having sex with an older woman or a female teacher
instead of with his own mother.
The hypothalamus and in particular the preoptic area, which has the most
robust increase in metabolic activity within the dopaminergic systems during
dreaming and plays a pivotal role in the neurostructural model of dreaming (Yu,
2001b), is centrally involved in male sexuality (see Panksepp, 1998, for a review).
The sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area contains abundant testosterone
receptors. The level of testosterone is correlated with the frequency of nocturnal
emissions (Udry, Billy, Morris, Groff, & Raj, 1985), and experimental administra-
tion of testosterone to males can lead to increases in nocturnal emissions (Finkel-
stein et al., 1998). However, the clinical phenomenon that men with spinal tran-
section are able to ejaculate implies that cerebral inputs might not be the sine qua
non for triggering nocturnal emissions. As Motofei and Rowland (2005) postulated
in their neurophysiological model, the spinal center for sexual responses and
ejaculation initially functions as an independent system but is superseded by the
cerebral counterpart after puberty; thus, spinal sexual reflexes evolved into a more
sophisticated cerebral process.
Although there have been a few studies about the frequencies of nocturnal
emissions in relation to neurophysiological factors (e.g., Finkelstein et al., 1998),
chronological age (e.g., Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin, 1948/1998), and cultural
perception of first nocturnal emissions (e.g., Janssen, 2007), no attempt has been
undertaken to investigate the narrative content of wet dreams. It is widely believed
that the involuntary ejaculation of semen during sleep typically occurs as a result of
erotic dreams. However, if thoughts and motives (a) can be represented by symbols
or metaphors that are cathected with psychical energy derived from the latent
elements and (b) share similar roles with plainly sexual material in dream forma-
tion, then the question that follows is whether dream impressions involving no
200 Yu and Fu

erotic scenes at all can elicit an orgasm during sleep. Corresponding to this, a
further argument can be made that nocturnal emissions are not necessarily accom-
panied by dream impressions because ejaculation can take place at the spinal level
in the absence of cerebral afferents.
In view of the gaps mentioned above, we conducted a preliminary study to
provide an overview of the frequencies and narrative features of sex and wet
dreams and to investigate the manifestations of incestuous ideas in dreams. The
rating scale and content analytical methods were adopted to capture both the
quantitative and qualitative aspects of sex and wet dreams. Unlike the previous
content analytical studies, which did not specify the type of dreams that participants
were required to report, this study focused on only those dreams that showed sexual
content or led to nocturnal emissions.

METHOD

Participants

The present sample included 58 Chinese male participants, who were studying
at a university in Hong Kong. The mean age was 21.26 years (SD ⫽ 1.319, range ⫽
19 –24 years). Fifty-two participants claimed themselves as heterosexual, with three
identifying as homosexual and two as bisexual. One participant claimed uncertainty
about his sexual orientation.

Instrument

We designed a questionnaire that consists of three sections for investigating

both quantitative and qualitative aspects of sex and wet dreams experienced by
Chinese people. The first section provides a list of sexual objects—including all
close relatives and other human and nonhuman sexual objects, such as animals—
and a list of sexual interactions (kissing lips, foreplay, vaginal intercourse, oral
intercourse, and anal intercourse); participants indicated their lifetime frequency
with which they dreamed of having each sexual behavior with each sexual object on
a 11-point scale (0 ⫽ never; 1 ⫽ only once or twice in a lifetime; 2 ⫽ three times or
more in a lifetime, but not regularly; 3 ⫽ about once a year; 4 ⫽ two to six times a
year; 5 ⫽ seven to 11 times a year; 6 ⫽ about once a month; 7 ⫽ two to three times
a month; 8 ⫽ about once a week; 9 ⫽ two to six times a week; 10 ⫽ almost every
night). Participants were reminded to give their frequency according to their actual
experience irrespective of whether a dream scene appeared to be absurd (e.g.,
having vaginal intercourse with a man).
The second section measures the frequencies of ejaculation triggered by
dreams involving sex scenes, ejaculation triggered by nonsexual dreams, and noc-
turnal emissions without awareness of dreaming. Participants indicated their fre-
quencies using the same 11-point scale.
In the final section, participants were requested to list, as far as they could, the
dream scenes that directly triggered their ejaculation during sleep. In addition, they
were required to write down in Chinese their most recent and impressive sex
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 201

dreams without ejaculation and their most recent and impressive dreams that ended
with the discharge of semen. Participants were reminded to provide the details of
those dreams as accurately as possible regardless of how illogical, bizarre, or
unacceptable to them the content was of those dreams.

Procedure

A packet of information containing instruction sheet, questionnaire, and food

vouchers was distributed to 90 potential male participants during a briefing session.
The attendees did not have to indicate whether they had decided to participate in
the study during the briefing session. They were invited to take the packet with
them but had to make their decision to participate within a week. They were
instructed to return the questionnaire to a designated collection box once they had
completed it in a silent and safe place. The entire process did not require partici-
pants to provide any information that could potentially disclose their identity. The
response rate was 64.4%.

Analyses

This study was composed of both the retrospective measures indicating the
frequencies of sex dreams and the qualitative analyses of dream content. Instead of
adopting any existing coding system, we used open coding to generate core con-
cepts and variables prior to selective coding. This approach prevents missing
conceptually important and meaningful elements and patterns in the data. Sexual
objects and behaviors were the major parameters for the content analyses.

RESULTS

Prevalence of Sexual Behaviors and Objects in Dreams

Of the entire sample, 94.8% had dreamed about sex with a woman, irrespective
of the type of sexual interaction. The most common heterosexual content in dreams
was vaginal intercourse, with the prevalence rate of 82.8% (see Table 1); 17.2% of
participants dreamed about having vaginal intercourse with a woman two to six
times a year (see Table 2). For the 44.6% of participants who experienced this
dream theme at least once a year, the average frequency was 8.88 ⫾ 10.937 per year
(see Table 3). By contrast, anal intercourse was the least prevalent theme, which
was regularly dreamed by only 5.3% of participants (see Table 2). Female teachers
were common sexual objects in dreams; approximately one third of the participants
had dreamed about nonplatonic kissing, foreplay, and vaginal intercourse with a
female teacher (see Tables 1 and 4). Although old women relatively rarely served
as sexual objects in dreams, 12.1% of participants reported dreaming of sexual
intercourse with an elderly woman (see Table 1).
For the whole sample, the most prevalent homosexual behavior in dreams was
foreplay (including manual excitation), followed by kissing lips and anal intercourse
202 Yu and Fu

Table 1. Prevalence Rates of Dreaming of Having Sex With Human Objects (N ⫽ 58)
Dreaming of having sexual acts with (%)
Both man Old Old Male Female
Act Man Woman and woman man woman teacher teacher
1. Kissing lips (excluding kissing as
a form of etiquette or greeting) 10.3 77.6 15.5 5.2 13.8 1.7 34.5
2. Foreplay (including fondling,
flirting, and manual excitation,
etc.) 12.1 74.1 19.0 3.4 17.2 3.4 36.2
3. Vaginal intercourse (or inserting
the penis into a part of the body
other than mouth and anus) 6.9 82.8 12.1 1.7 12.1 0.0 29.3
4. Oral intercourse 6.9 46.6 12.1 1.7 5.2 3.4 13.8
5. Anal intercourse 8.6 13.8 5.2 1.7 3.4 3.4 3.4

(see Table 1). The two least prevalent themes—fellatio and inserting the penis into
a part of a man’s body other than mouth and anus—were reported by 6.9% of
participants. Of the 52 heterosexual participants, 11.5% had dreamed about en-
gaging in various types of sexual activities with a man. In particu-
lar, 5.8%, 7.7%, 5.8%, 1.9%, and 3.9% had dreamed about kissing lips, foreplay,
“vaginal” intercourse (inserting the penis into a part of the body other than mouth
and anus), oral intercourse, and anal intercourse with a man, respectively. Mother
was the most common sexual object across the six types of close relatives; more
than 10% of participants had dreamed about vaginal intercourse with their mother
(see Table 5). Although nonhuman objects were rarely made into sexual targets in
dreams, various sexual interactions with nonhuman living (e.g., aliens, animals) and
nonliving (e.g., rocks, architectures) things were reported (see Table 6). Nonethe-
less, no participants reported dreaming of sex with a hermaphrodite.

Frequencies of Nocturnal Emissions

Almost 80% of participants had experienced wet dreams (see Table 7). The
mean raw score for ejaculation triggered by dreams involving sexual scenes

Table 2. Frequencies of Dreaming of Sex With Women (N ⫽ 58)

Sex act (%)
Vaginal Oral Anal
Scale Frequency Kissing lips Foreplay intercourse intercourse intercourse
0 Never 22.4 25.9 17.2 53.4 86.0.0
1 Once or twice in a lifetime 27.6 12.1 20.7 15.5 5.3
2 Three times or more in a lifetime, 15.5 17.2 17.2 6.9 3.5
but not regularly
3 About once a year 6.9 10.3 8.6 5.2 0.0
4 Two to six times a year 8.6 17.2 17.2 8.6 3.5
5 Seven to 11 times a year 10.3 5.2 10.3 5.2 1.8
6 About once a month 8.6 8.6 3.4 3.4 0.0
7 Two to three times a month 0.0 3.4 3.4 0.0 0.0
8 About once a week 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.7 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 203

Table 3. Average Frequencies of Dreaming of Sex With Women (N ⫽ 58)

Item Dream M ⫾ SD per year
1 Kissing (excluding kissing as a form of etiquette or greeting) 6.90 ⫾ 4.217
2 Foreplay (including fondling, flirting, and manual excitation, etc.) 7.42 ⫾ 7.737
3 Vaginal intercourse (or inserting the penis into a part of the 8.88 ⫾ 10.937
body other than mouth and anus)
4 Oral intercourse 8.71 ⫾ 11.945
5 Anal intercourse 5.67 ⫾ 2.887

was 1.98 ⫾ 1.691. This score was roughly equal to category 2 on the scale (three
times or more in a lifetime, but not regularly). Category 1 represented the largest
group of participants (27.6%) in the entire sample. More than 40% of participants
reported having experienced ejaculation triggered by dreams devoid of sexual
material (mean raw score ⫽ 0.86 ⫾ 1.249). A similar percentage of participants had
experienced nocturnal emissions without awareness of dreaming (mean raw
score ⫽ 0.78 ⫾ 1.125). Ejaculation triggered by nonsexual dreams and nocturnal
emissions without awareness of dreaming regularly occurred in 10.3% and 6.9% of
participants, respectively. No participant experienced nocturnal emissions more
than once a month. The three types of nocturnal emissions were highly correlated,
the correlation coefficient comparing nocturnal emissions without dreaming and
ejaculation triggered by dreaming of nonsexual material (rs ⫽ .702, p ⬍ .001) being
larger than that comparing ejaculation triggered by sex dreams and ejaculation
triggered by dreaming of nonsexual material (rs ⫽ .572, p ⬍ .001) and that
comparing ejaculation triggered by sex dreams and nocturnal emissions without
dreaming (rs ⫽ .404, p ⬍ .01).

Content Analysis of Sex and Wet Dreams

This study required participants to write down their most recent and impres-
sive sex dreams without ejaculation and their most recent and impressive ejacula-
tory dreams, and to list the dream scenes that directly triggered their ejaculation
during sleep. Of the 58 participants in the present sample, 29 (50%) provided their
most recent sex dreams that did not result in ejaculation, the remaining participants

Table 4. Frequencies of Dreaming of Sex With Female Teachers (N ⫽ 58)

Sex act (%)
Vaginal Oral Anal
Scale Frequency Kissing lips Foreplay intercourse intercourse intercourse
0 Never 65.5 63.8 70.7 86.2 96.6
1 Once or twice in a lifetime 19.0.0 17.2 8.6 3.4 1.7
2 Three times or more in a lifetime, 1.7 10.3 12.1 6.9 0.0
but not regularly
3 About once a year 10.3 6.9 6.9 3.4 1.7
4 Two to six times a year 1.7 1.7 1.7 0.0 0.0
5 Seven to 11 times a year 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
6 About once a month 1.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
204 Yu and Fu

Table 5. Prevalence Rates of Dreaming of Having Sex With Close Relatives (N ⫽ 58)
Dreaming of having sexual acts with (%)
Elder Younger Elder Younger
Act Father Mother brother brother sister sister
Kissing (excluding kissing as a form of
etiquette or greeting) 0.0 5.2 1.7 0.0 5.2 5.2
Foreplay (including fondling, flirting, and
manual excitation, etc.) 1.7 5.2 0.0 1.7 6.9 5.2
Vaginal intercourse (or inserting the penis
into a part of the body other than
mouth and anus) 0.0 10.3 0.0 0.0 6.9 5.2
Oral intercourse 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.4 3.4
Anal intercourse 0.0 0.0 1.7 0.0 0.0 1.7

reporting either no impression of dreaming about sex without ejaculation (17.24%)

or no to having this type of experience (32.76%). A wide range of sexual objects
were identified in the reported dreams, such as adult video actresses and female
dancers (see Table 8). The sexual objects that most frequently occurred were
female classmates and strangers. Of the 29 participants who described their most
recent sex dreams, 22 (75.86%) had direct sexual contact with the object in those
dreams, seven being a passive onlooker or engaging in no direct sexual interaction
with the dream characters. Sexual intercourse was the most frequent type of sexual
interaction. Kissing and fondling with the object were relatively common. Flirting
was reported by two participants.
Thirteen participants indicated that their most recent sex dreams without
ejaculation were also their most impressive nonejaculatory sex dreams in life. On
the other hand, the most impressive nonejaculatory sex dreams provided by 18
participants were different from the ones that they lately experienced. As in most
recent nonejaculatory sex dreams, various characters were identified and female
strangers were the most frequent sexual objects in these dreams (see Table 8).
Engaging in sex with a group of women, which was rarely observed in other types

Table 6. Prevalence Rates of Dreaming of Having Sex With Nonhuman Objects (N ⫽ 58)
Dreaming of having sexual acts with (%)
Alien/ Creature that is Object/
monster/ghost/ part human and plant/rock/
Act spirit/deity part animal Hermaphrodite Animal architecture
Kissing (excluding kissing as a
form of etiquette or
greeting) 5.2 1.7 0.0 3.4 3.4
Foreplay (including fondling,
flirting, and manual
excitation, etc.) 3.4 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.7
Vaginal intercourse (or
inserting the penis into a
part of the body other than
mouth and anus) 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 1.7
Oral intercourse 1.7 0.0 0.0 1.7 0.0
Anal intercourse 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.7 0.0
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 205

Table 7. Prevalence of Nocturnal Emissions (N ⫽ 58)

Ejaculation (%)
Triggered by dreams Triggered by dreams
involving sexual without sexual Without awareness
Scale Frequency material material of dreaming
0 Never 20.7 55.2 55.1
1 Once or twice in a 27.6 22.4 25.9
lifetime
2 Three times or more in a 19.0 12.1 12.1
lifetime, but not
regularly
3 About once a year 12.1 3.4 0.0
4 Two to six times a year 10.3 5.2 6.9
5 Seven to 11 times a year 6.9 1.7 0.0
6 About once a month 3.4 0.0 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0

of sex and wet dreams, was reported by seven participants. Some sexual activities
other than intercourse, such as voyeurism, were observed.
Of the 58 participants in the present sample, 29 (50%) participants described
their most recent wet dreams, the remaining participants answering either no
impression of their wet dreams (12.1%) or no to having this type of experience
(37.9%). The commonest sexual interaction—that is, vaginal intercourse—was far
more frequently reported by participants than any other sexual acts (see Table 8).
In six of the 19 wet dreams involving sexual intercourse, the word inserting
( ; cha-ru) was used to describe the scenario of entering the vagina. This word
had not been found in those sex dreams that did not result in nocturnal emissions.
In addition to vaginal intercourse, the stimulation of the penis by means of breasts
( ; ru-jiao) and thighs was reported. In contrast to the diversity of sexual objects
in nonejaculatory sex dreams, the sexual targets in the most recent wet dreams were
almost invariably female strangers or unidentified persons, who occurred almost
seven times more frequently than girlfriends, female acquaintances, and adult video
actresses or celebrities. The term blurred face ( ; mian-mu mo-hu) was
employed by two participants to describe the unidentified women in their dreams.
In two cases, the participants were uncertain about the identities of the dream
characters but associated them with their girlfriend and previous female classmate.
The most recent wet dreams of 12 participants were also their most impressive
wet dreams in life. However, 22 participants provided most impressive wet dreams
that differed from their most recent ones. Similar to the foregoing findings, female
strangers or unidentified persons were most prominent characters in these impres-
sive wet dreams, followed by female classmates and adult video actress or celeb-
rities (see Table 8). The sexual targets of the most impressive wet dreams for two
participants were their mother. Sexual intercourse was by far the most frequent
dreamed activity that led to nocturnal emissions, ejaculation triggered by dreaming
of kissing or fondling being reported by only one participant.
In the current sample, 38 (65.5%) participants were able to list the dream
scenes that directly triggered their ejaculation, 18 (31%) never experienced wet
dreams, and two (3.5%) could not remember any content of their wet dreams. The
most often reported characters were female strangers and adult video actress or
206 Yu and Fu

Table 8. Frequencies of Sexual Objects and Interactions in Reported Dreams

Erotic dreams without
ejaculation Dreams with ejaculation
Most recent Most impressive Most recent Most impressive
Dream component (n ⫽ 29) (n ⫽ 18) (n ⫽ 29) (n ⫽ 22)
Sexual objects
Adult video actress or celebrity 2 0 3 4
Female acquaintance 2 2 3 0
Female child 1 0 1 0
Female classmate 8 1 0 5
Female dancer 2 0 0 0
Female student 1 0 0 0
Female teacher 0 0 0 1
Female stranger or unidentified person 8 10 20 6
Girlfriend 2 2 3 0
Mother 1 0 0 2
A group of female sexual targets 1 7 0 0
Male acquaintance 2 0 0 0
Male stranger or unidentified person 0 1 2 0
Sexual interactions
Kissing or/and fondling 9 3 3 1
Sexual intercourse 12 7 19 12
Oral intercourse 2 0 3 1
Anal intercourse 0 1 0 2
Being flirted with 2 0 0 0
Intermale manual excitation 0 1 0 0
Voyeurism 0 1 0 0
Rubbing penis between a woman’s
breasts 0 0 1 0
Penis being pressed and rubbed
between a woman’s thighs 0 0 1 0
Ass being pressed against by a man’s
penis 0 0 1 0

celebrities, the frequency for both of which was 10. In one of the reports, a
participant mentioned that the sexual characteristics of the stranger were clearer
than the face in his wet dreams:

Naked female stranger (coquettish, pretty face): not necessarily remember her face; for most
of the time, the breasts and genitals of the naked female stranger are more real than her face
(manifest more concretely in dreams).

Celebrities named by participants included both local and foreign artists, and
two local actresses were famous for their huge breasts. Female classmates and
girlfriends were listed by five and six participants, respectively. Two of the three
homosexual participants had experienced nocturnal emissions triggered by dream-
ing about sex with women.
Sexual intercourse, which was reported by 29 (76.3%) of the 38 participants,
was the major dream scene that precipitated ejaculation. The length of the sexual
intercourse described by the participants tended to be very short; it typically ended
with only one or two movements (e.g., “I was making love, inserting my penis into
her vagina . . . only remember that I ejaculated probably after only one or two
movements”). Of the 29 participants, 10 (34.5%) explicated that they ejaculated at
the moment of inserting the penis into a vagina (e.g., “I was inserting the penis into
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 207

a woman’s body”; “I ejaculated right after inserting the penis into my mother”).
Three of the seven participants who listed oral intercourse as a trigger for nocturnal
emissions specified that it was fellatio. Three reports of the dream scene followed
by ejaculation involved anal intercourse, one of them describing that the ejaculation
was triggered at the moment of dreaming of inserting the penis into a man’s anus.
The other triggers included manual excitation (four cases), fondling females’
breasts (four cases), kissing (two cases), rubbing the penis between a woman’s
breasts (one case), and the penis being pressed and rubbed between a woman’s
thighs (one case).
Some sex dreams in the current collection were oddly contradictory to the
ethical concerns of participants’ waking cognitions. The most glaring example of
this was the Oedipus dream. In one of the following examples of incestuous dreams,
the dreamer insisted on penetrating his mother even in light of her reluctance.

Two years ago, when I was back home, I entered the kitchen. Mama was standing with her
back facing the door, and was cooking. I stepped forward, lifted her right leg into the air, and
had sexual intercourse with her. She told me not to bother her as she was very busy, but I
did not come around. Then, the dream ended.

I dreamed having sexual behavior with my mother. After waking, I felt very hard to accept
it!

In some reported dreams, participants appeared to savor the flavors of the

theatrical sexual experiences.

Several years ago, one night, I dreamed myself being with a lot of beautiful bikini girls in a
swimming pool. They let me choose whoever I wanted to make love with in water.

On the other hand, a small number of wet dreams exhibited very few pleasur-
able or sexual elements but instead were filled with a fearsome atmosphere.

Some people were pursuing and trying to kill me. I killed an enemy (a woman) when I fled.
I held and kissed her so as to pretend to be a couple as camouflage. Several months ago.

Although the content of most dreams reported by participants was plainly

sexual and joyful, some dreams accompanied by ejaculation were somehow un-
pleasant and were only symbolically related to sex or even devoid of any sexual
material. In a most impressive wet dream reported by a homosexual participant,
men were symbolized with sea lions. Although this dream did not appear to have
any sexual elements, its sexual nature became apparent when it was compared with
the most recent wet dream of the same participant.

Several years ago, one day, I suddenly went to a beach. I discovered that sea lions were all
over the beach. All of a sudden, a very big male sea lion pounced on my back. I was pressed
down on the beach. Then, I was awake.

Two months ago, I saw a male stranger, who wore a suit. He suddenly pounced on my back,
pressing me onto the ground. He tightly pushed his genitals against my ass. Finally, I was
awake.

Some impressive dream scenes accompanied by ejaculation showed neither

sexual objects nor acts. Three examples of nocturnal emissions triggered by dream-
ing of nonsexual material collected from participants are provided below. In these
208 Yu and Fu

dreams, the three participants experienced a similar urge that called for an imme-
diate resolution.

Seven months ago. When I was reading a book, I felt hungry. I went to a toilet, felt an urge
to urinate, saw a toilet stall, and found myself already ejaculating!

Six months ago. I felt a strong, sudden urge to urinate. I searched around for a toilet, but
could not find one. I felt so urgent that I wet my pants.

About two to three years ago, I emitted semen because of the nervous feeling about being
unable to finish an examination paper. In the dream, I was being at the secondary school, and
searched around for the examination room. I came across several secondary school class-
mates on the way. Later on, I had hardly arrived when the examination time was up. Because
of being unable to finish the examination paper, I was so nervous that I emitted semen.

DISCUSSION

This study involved the retrospective measures indicating the frequencies of

sex dreams and the qualitative analyses of dream content. There are some limita-
tions for both methods. Specifically, respective measures tend to underestimate the
incidence of dream experiences obtained with nightly logs (Beaulieu-Prévost &
Zadra, 2005; Schredl, 2002; Schredl, Wittmann, Ciric, & Götz, 2003; Yu, 2007b).
Therefore, the actual frequencies of sex dreams experienced by participants might
be higher than the frequencies that they could recall. By the same token, it is
reasonable to speculate that the content of dream reports provided by participants
might have been distorted because of various factors, such as defensiveness, re-
cency effect, and attitude about dream experiences.
Instead of the popular coding system devised by Hall and Van de Castle, the
current content analyses employed the open coding method—that is, all sexual
objects and acts in the collected dreams were noted and analyzed. Although the
reliability of this coding approach was contentious and hinged on the researchers’
subjective judgment, it should be emphasized that the current study was not
intended to develop or validate a new coding scheme but was an attempt to explore
the nature and features of sex and wet dreams. Hall and Van de Castle’s coding
system classifies sexual interactions into five categories: (1) sexual fantasies about
another character, (2) sexual overtures to another character, (3) kissing, (4) non-
intercourse activities preceding intercourse, and (5) sexual intercourse. We did not
adopt Hall and Van de Castle’s coding system in this study for two reasons. First,
the primary parameter under investigation was sexual behavior. Therefore, the first
two categories of Hall and Van de Castle’s classification were not very useful.
Second, the remaining three categories could provide little information about the
diversity of sexual interactions in dreams. For instance, Hall and Van de Castle’s
coding system does not differentiate between oral, anal, and vaginal intercourse.
Extending the findings of previous studies on typical dreams, the present study
demonstrates that sexual experiences constitute not only a prevalent, but also a
recurrent, dream theme for men. Of the entire sample, 94.8% reported having a
sexual dream. More than 80% of participants had dreamed about having vaginal
intercourse with a woman. In addition, this dream theme was repeatedly experi-
enced by the majority of the sample. The average frequency for those participants
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 209

who regularly dreamed about this theme was high, being almost nine times a year.
Sexual interactions other than vaginal intercourse were also common in dreams.
For instance, almost half of the sample had dreamed about oral intercourse.
Consistent with the hypothesis that latent sexual motives or some variation of
sexuality that people may not be aware of during the daytime would emerge at
night through dreaming, homosexual and incestuous behaviors were noted in
dreams. Almost 12% of heterosexual participants had dreamed about engaging in
various types of homosexual activities. Consistent with this, two of the three
homosexual participants had experienced nocturnal emissions triggered by having
sex with women in dreams.
Furthermore, this study indicates that the object-choice in sex dreams is not a
random process but follows some specific rules. Father or father-figure was very
unlikely to become a sexual target in dreams, with the frequency of sexually
interacting with one’s father in dreams being even lower than that of dreaming of
sex with nonhuman objects, such as aliens, animals, and inanimate objects. The
overall low frequency of dreaming of nonhuman sexual objects and the dream of
being attacked by a sea lion reported by the homosexual participant suggest that
symbolizing human objects with nonhuman objects in dreams is possible, yet
infrequent.
In contrast to father, mother was found to be the most frequent object of
incestuous feelings in men’s sexual dreams. The sexual target of the most impres-
sive wet dream reported by two participants was their mother. Around 10% of
participants had experienced vaginal intercourse with their mother in their dreams.
It is intriguing to note, furthermore, that the potential symbols of mother and
authority figures occurred more frequently than did the dreamer’s mother. Around
12% of participants had dreamed about penetrating an elderly woman. Female
teachers were common sexual objects for more than a third of the participants.
Even more strikingly, the present content analysis found that female strangers were
by far the most frequent object in sex and wet dreams. This pattern of findings
coincides with Freud’s (1900/2001) extrapolation of Oedipus dreams: “I can say
with certainty that disguised dreams of sexual intercourse with the dreamer’s
mother are many times more frequent than straightforward ones” (p. 398). A
caveat, however, is that those teachers and strangers appearing in dreams might
symbolize people other than one’s mother, and conversely the mother in an
Oedipus dream might not represent one’s mother but a surrogate for someone else.
Two modes for the occurrence of strangers in dreams were identified. In some
cases, the dreamers could not recognize the faces of the female strangers, although
they could see their faces clearly; in others, the faces of the female strangers looked
blurred, although their bodies vividly impressed the dreamers. It is interesting to
note that some participants were uncertain about the identities of the dream
characters but spontaneously associated them with their acquaintances. According
to Yu (2010b), most people, to various extents, are aware of the effects of conden-
sation and displacement on dream characters. From the psychoanalytic perspective,
a stranger in dreams may represent a certain person or several characters in the real
world or the imago in the unconscious mind. From the neuropsychological per-
spective, the coarse and imprecise representations of objects in dreams can be
accounted for by the functional attributes of the neural substrate required in the
formation of dream images, which is driven by complexity rather than specificity
210 Yu and Fu

(Yu, 2001a, 2006b). After all, no matter how bizarre and unfamiliar they appear to
be, all characters and things occurring in dreams are the derivatives of the psychical
material pertaining to oneself, and each dream component can be conceived of an
aspect of the self.
A wide range of characters were identified in nonejaculatory sex dreams, and
quite a few impressive, nonejaculatory dreams featured group sex. In contrast to
the diversity of the sexual objects in nonejaculatory sex dreams, the sexual objects
found in wet dreams were almost invariably represented by female strangers or
unidentified persons. These objects occurred substantially more frequently than did
the characters with whom the participants had a direct connection in the real world,
including girlfriends, female classmates, and female acquaintances. Consistently,
the most often reported characters for the dream scenes that triggered ejaculation
were female strangers. If the images of female strangers were generated by the
abovementioned psychoanalytic–neuropsychological mechanisms of dream distor-
tion, the distinctive pattern of object-choice between ejaculatory and nonejacula-
tory sex dreams might allude to the more robust dream-work effects on ejaculatory
than on nonejaculatory sex dreams.
As with the differences in sexual objects, there are qualitative differences in
sexual acts between ejaculatory and nonejaculatory sex dreams. In nonejaculatory
sex dreams, participants were not necessarily engaged in direct sexual contact with
dream characters, and carnal activities other than sexual intercourse were common.
In those sex dreams leading to nocturnal emissions, on the other hand, vaginal
intercourse was, by far, the most common sexual interaction. The few remaining
sexual behaviors reported by the participants consisted mainly of stimulation of the
penis. These ejaculatory sex dreams were characterized by the vivid first-person
impression of and highly focused attention on sexual organs. These two character-
istics are even more apparent when the dream scenes precipitating ejaculation are
considered. A considerable number of reported nocturnal emissions were elicited
by the momentary dream scenario in which the dreamer was inserting his penis into
a vagina, and virtually all dream scenes that preceded ejaculation depicted by the
participants involved penile excitation. This prominent thematic feature of wet
dreams is somehow congruent with the reflexive nature of ejaculation.
Rapid-eye-movement sleep, during which salient mentation activities are often
recorded, is marked by increased breathing, heart rate, and genital engorgement.
The finding that over 40% of participants had experienced nocturnal emissions
without awareness of dreaming substantiates the argument that a highly aroused
physiological state in vivo or induced by the genitals being pressed against by
exterior pressure constitutes a sufficient condition for nocturnal emissions. In other
words, wild, fanciful, sexual scenes that often amaze dreamers—such as having a
sex party with a group of attractive, young women—is not a necessary factor for
triggering nocturnal emissions. It should be noted, however, that the dream image
of first-person sexual experiences, which may be derived from the projective
contextualization of somatic and visceral stimuli, clearly serves as a strong catalyst.
This is particularly true when two findings are considered. First, ejaculation trig-
gered by dreams with erotic content was far more prevalent than nocturnal emis-
sions without awareness of dreaming. Second, there was a strong correlation
between the two types of nocturnal emissions.
Sex Dreams, Wet Dreams, and Nocturnal Emissions 211

Furthermore, it is worth noting that certain dreams, the manifest content of

which does not present any erotic elements, are physiologically arousing to the
extent that they can induce the discharge of semen. Almost half of the participants
had experienced ejaculation elicited by dreams without sexual content, and a 10th
of the participants were able to recall their nonsexual wet dreams on a regular basis.
In addition, the content analysis of wet dreams indicates that physical and sensual
excitements— even those that are unpleasant, such as the sensations of exigency
and anxiety that overwhelmed the participants in their sample dreams—are the
major triggers of nocturnal emissions. It might be that dreams of looking for a
toilet, failing an examination, and being pursed or attacked by an animal or
predator can serve as a metaphor of sexual acts to the effect that the rushed
sensation and the urge to seek immediate resolution underlying these dream
themes mimic sexual, euphoric feelings and are capable of tricking the biological
system into reaching an orgasm.

Conclusion

Dreams function as a channel for the expression of instinctual needs. Some sex
dreams are oddly contradictory to the ethical concerns of the waking cognition. The
most obvious example of this is the Oedipus dream, which can be observed in
ordinary people. Although sex dreams are distinguished by their plainly erotic
content, the dream-work probably plays a part in the formation of this type of
nocturnal mentation activity. Perhaps, complex but vague symbolic expression is
the nature of the primary process, which distinguishes dream consciousness from its
waking counterpart. In the metaphoric milieu fostered by dream consciousness, in
which attention is inwardly directed and highly focused, minor stimuli are magnified
and contextualized, resulting in flamboyant images and dramatic feeling. Accord-
ingly, erotic dream images may spring from the projective contextualization of
somatic and visceral stimuli sensed by the engorged genitals. The reverse is also
true: Physical excitements may be a reaction to ideational sex or symbolic dream
impressions. The two routes are not mutually exclusive but most probably are
reciprocally reinforcing such that they form a loop leading to the ultimate biological
response.

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