The battle against the green-eyed monster is hard enough at the best of times.

Now though, jealous women have even more to worry about. A new study has revealed that one in four men regularly dream about their ex-girlfriends.

And the results, released today, revealed that the men in question were not necessarily pining for their exes by day. In fact, the majority reported high levels of satisfaction with their current relationship.

It is not just ex-partners that British men are dreaming about either.

While romantic-minded girlfriends might allow themselves to believe they are the subject of their man's dreams, they are likely to be usurped during nighttime hours by their partner's colleagues or boss - with 26 percent saying they dream of workmates - or even their mother-in-law.

Conversely, over a third of British women say they spend their nights dreaming about their current partner, followed closely by dreams about their parents and their children.

The Dream Study, carried out by Premier Inn, asked 2,000 Brits about their dream patterns to come up with the findings.

It found the close friendships women tend to hold also impact on their dreams, with a third of women claiming their dreams frequently feature their friends.

However, it seems women are just as capable of fantasy, as 20 percent say they frequently dream about people they have never met.

The stresses and strains of everyday life also affect the way we dream, with 31 percent of people saying they dream about important things that are playing on their mind.

Given the current economic climate, it's unsurprising that 20 percent of Brits dream more if they are under pressure, demonstrating that it is increasingly difficult to forget about work.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)