Whether you'll admit it, even to yourself, everyone has a certain fantasy.

Understanding what you want and going about actually making it happen are two different things but if the results of a major new study are anything to go by, a lot of us dream of the same type of sexual experience. Almost nine in ten of us fantasise about having a threesome, researchers in the US have found. The majority of those surveyed who were in a relationship said that their fantasy threesome would include their other half, according to The Independent. The second most common fantasy among those surveyed was BDSM, with 65 per cent of people admitting to dreaming of receiving pain in some form during sex. After that, the biggest sexual fantasies included mixing things up by having sex somewhere unusual or with someone new; having sex outdoors; open relationships; meaningful sex and same-sex encounters. Fifty-nine per cent of straight women and 26 per cent of straight men said they had fantasised about sleeping with someone of the same sex. Psychologist Dr Justin Lehmiller interviewed 4,175 Americans for what is one of the biggest surveys of its kind to date. He wants people to feel free to embrace their sexual fantasies. "My overriding hope for the book is that it will help people to better understand their own fantasies and to feel less shame, embarrassment, and anxiety about them," he said. "In doing so, I hope this makes it easier for people to talk about their desires with their partners and maybe even act on some of their fantasies, too—the ones that are safe, legal, and consensual, of course."