# Lucid Dreaming > Attaining Lucidity > Dream Signs and Recall >  >  I've discovered something that has DRAMATICALLY improved my DREAM RECALL

## DreamQueen

Some of you may already be doing this, I don't know. It may have even been mentioned on here before. All I know is since I have been doing this new trick my dream recall has become unbelievably easy. I can now _effortlessly_ recall _entire dreams_  and I can do this _every night_.

Before I started doing this new thing (which I will disclose shortly) I was able to recall my dreams most nights, but only by the skin of my teeth and only with a _lot_ of mental effort. I would wake up and there would be nothing, not even an image, just a blank, and I will lie still with my eyes shut desperately searching for something, anything, to get back to "where I just was".

(Note: I've found that the technique of lying completely still with your eyes closed when you wake up is almost essential for dream recall. It is a well known technique on here.)

Anyway, after lying still for a while I would eventually get an image which I would desperately strain to hold on to and work from. Slowly parts of the dream would return to me, sometimes a lot, sometimes not much, and every so often I wouldn't be able to salvage anything and my entire night's adventures would be lost forever...

Now for the trick. I hope you are not going to be disappointed! It's nothing revolutionary-sounding! It is simply...

Wear a sleep mask to bed.

This may not sound like much, but the difference it has made to me is phenomenal. Now when I wake up either during the night or in the morning my entire dream comes back to me without me even trying to recall it. It's just there. The effect of the sleep mask is that not only does it physically stop me from opening my eyes when I wake up, it also keeps me in darkness which seems to make recall 100 times easier. I first noticed this when one morning I was having trouble recalling _anything_ and then I reached up and put my hand over my eyes. Instantly my whole dream flooded back.

It is also important when you wake up to lie still and start drifting back to sleep (you don't actually have to go to sleep but just _start_ drifting back to keep your brain in alpha rhythm).

I hope this helps. Please let me know if anyone experiences improved dream recall by wearing a sleep mask  :smiley:

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## eppy

That is very interesting and seems worth trying. 
I already have good recall, maybe this will help to improve that even more.
I have always wanted to get a sleepmask  :tongue2: 
Is there anybody else who can vouch for this working?
It seems like it could also help you with DEILD.

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## SleepyCookieDough

That's amazing but I don't think it would help me 'cause I would never know if I woke up or if I'm still trying to fall asleep.

What I do, is that before going to sleep I look at the time and then every once and then I look back to see if I wake up. (it takes me a long time to fall asleep) so when i wake up I think I'm still waiting to fall asleep but I look at the time and figure out  have fallen asleep since the last time I checked so then I close my eyes and try remembering my dream. So if I had a sleep mask, I would have to take it off to look at the time anyways....

Good trick though

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## aioinae

I'll try it tonight... but my family'll laugh if they see me.  :Oops: 
Then again what do THEY know  ::roll::

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## spaceexplorer

Interesting idea DreamQueen.

I think i have a sleep mask laying around somewhere (one of those impulse buys that i never go around to trying, not wanting to ruin EVER having a relationship with the opposite sex!  ::lol::  , not the most manly sleep wear... but, in this case, if it works as well for me as it does for you, definitely worth trying)

It's been a long time since I used the NovaDreamer, which is an electronic sleep mask, so I cant remember if that increased dream recall or not. And with the flashing and beeping, there are so many other factors involved that i dont think i'd have ever put it down to just the mask itself.

So which particular brand of sleep mask do you use?
one of those foam ones with the holes cut out for the eyes (so you can open your eyes and still see blackness without your eyelashes hitting the material)
or just the plain old fashioned ones that are just a posh blindfold?

If i can track down mysleep mask i'll give this a go tonight... what with it being the weekend, and not having wooed my way into any particular ladys boudoir.  :tongue2:

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## DreamQueen

> I'll try it tonight... but my family'll laugh if they see me. 
> Then again what do THEY know



Haha! That makes me think of a funny story... My husband was driving us to our holiday destination a few weeks ago and I was sleeping in the car with my mask on. We stopped at a gas station and while my husband filled the tank I nipped in for some goodies. I didn't realise until I got out of the shop that when the car had stopped and I had woken up I was obviously a bit groggy and I had absent mindedly pushed my sleep mask up onto the top of my head somehow thinking it was a pair of sunglasses. So, I had been walking around inside the store with my hot pink "Sweet Dreams" Sleep Mask on top of my head  :Oops:  hehehe





> So which particular brand of sleep mask do you use?
> one of those foam ones with the holes cut out for the eyes (so you can open your eyes and still see blackness without your eyelashes hitting the material)
> or just the plain old fashioned ones that are just a posh blindfold?



I have heaps of sleep masks. At the moment I'm just using the cheap blindfold-style one coz for some reason I've got it in my head that I have to keep my expensive foam one "for special occasions". God knows what would constitute a special occasion! Lol!

I'm off to the mall right now in fact to buy some more with different patterns on them to add to my collection (as if somehow different patterns make a difference!)

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## hellohihello

I just made a sleep mask out of a black sock and headband LOL!

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## SleepyCookieDough

> I just made a sleep mask out of a black sock and headband LOL!



Lol! GO the old natural way of doing things! XD

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## Clairity

DreamQueen, I have both the traditional sleep mask and the foam one with the holes cut out for the eyes. I'm going to have to experiment with both and see if my recall improves! Thanks for the idea!!





> So, I had been walking around inside the store with my hot pink "Sweet Dreams" Sleep Mask on top of my head  hehehe



That is too funny!!  ::D: 





> I just made a sleep mask out of a black sock and headband LOL!



Sounds like my first sleep mask where I just laid a black nylon sock over my eyes!  :smiley: 

.

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## SleepyCookieDough

What are sleep mask supposed to be used for anyways? Just wondering

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## Clairity

> What are sleep mask supposed to be used for anyways? Just wondering



They are used to block out the light..

.

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## SleepyCookieDough

> They are used to block out the light..
> 
> .




The light we see when our eyes our close? Ah, this damned light! Fare enough

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## hellohihello

Can't you use this as part of MILD?

"Next time I can see I will RC" over and over again? I mean you can't see with a sleep mask.

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## SleepyCookieDough

> you can't see with a sleep mask.



Yes you can, DreamQueen said so herself






> I looked through my sleep mask and realised my cat spilled the milk all over the floor



It only blocks the light with a thin product that they get from sheep in hibernation. Then there's more stuff but I'm not a professional, don't know anything else. Oh and I was kidding, all I said was false, sorry, so yeah you cannot see through mask, welll I think.

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## Paradox-db3

Grand idea, DreamQueen!  I don't own a sleep mask yet, but I'm sure I could use an old pair of underwear and some fishing line!  LOL!!!  Okay, maybe I'll go out and purchase a real one!  I'm looking forward to trying this out!

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## DreamQueen

::banana::  I really hope this works for all of you as well as it does for me. I would love to know I'd made a difference in many peoples' lives with my idea. I actually find the sleep mask so effective that it doesn't even matter if I move when I wake up, my dream will still be accessible.

*It seems to me that "complete darkness" is the key to dream recall.*

It's quite interesting looking back at older entries in my dream journal. A lot of them are short, and are preceeded with the words "very scanty recall". Nowadays I'm writing _pages and pages_ every day about my epic adventures! It's actually been quite surprising. I've discovered that I go to the movies in Dreamland two or three times a week. I'm also in a public toilet at some stage nearly every night  ::?:  I sing, I dance, I fly on jet planes and I'm nearly always running late!






> DreamQueen, I have both the traditional sleep mask and the foam one with the holes cut out for the eyes. I'm going to have to experiment with both and see if my recall improves! Thanks for the idea!!



I haven't tried my cut-out one yet but it will possibly work just as well. However, bear in mind that the other one completely stops you from opening your eyes and this may make a crucial difference.






> Can't you use this as part of MILD?
> 
> "Next time I can see I will RC" over and over again? I mean you can't see with a sleep mask.



Funny you should say that. A few months ago I was WILDing with my sleep mask on and I had a FA during which I could see through my sleep mask. I find when I WILD with a sleep mask on and have a FA I am usually wearing the mask. However, I tend to lift it off immediately so I can see clearly.

I can't wait to hear back from people who have tried it out! Just remember, you sometimes will still need to search the memory banks a little when you wake up, but hopefully it should be a lot easier with the mask  :smiley:

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## spaceexplorer

I cant believe people are seriously going to be putting socks on thier face.... sleep masks dont cost much guys, do you want varrucas on your eyeballs? :S lol

right, almost bedtime so i'm going to try out DreamQueens idea.
Hope you're right Miss, cause i can feel my manlyness slipping away as i speak.

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## DreamQueen

> I cant believe people are seriously going to be putting socks on thier face.... sleep masks dont cost much guys, do you want varrucas on your eyeballs? :S lol
> 
> right, almost bedtime so i'm going to try out DreamQueens idea.
> Hope you're right Miss, cause i can feel my manlyness slipping away as i speak.



Yeah we sure are a desperate bunch lol!

Just hope your mask isn't hot pink like my fav one  ::bow::

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## SleepyCookieDough

I think I'm going to put an animaled stuff on my eyes... or a towel... More sanitary than sucks and underclothes

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## Mercen_505

I've had some great success with my nightly orange juice regimen, but I'm always ready to try something different. I love my dreams so much I want to remember *all* of them, even the non-lucid ones... heh. I'll give this a try tonight and see if anything different happens.

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## Pride

Thank you for this suggestion, i am defently trying this tonight with my sleep mask i never use.

Ill report back tomorrow.

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## DreamQueen

The one thing I would suggest to everyone is to make sure you don't wake up tomorrow and immediately start thinking excitedly _"Is it working? Is it working?"_ lol! You still have to relax and think about "what you were just doing". But hopefully it should make a difference. I think the key is to not expect miracles, just go to bed as normal reminding yourself to try and recall your dream as soon as you awaken and forget you even have the sleep mask on  :smiley:

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## SleepyCookieDough

What is the use of cut-out sleep maks if there's holes for the eyes. The light can still penetrate.... It's useless, isn't it?

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## DreamQueen

> What is the use of cut-out sleep maks if there's holes for the eyes. The light can still penetrate.... It's useless, isn't it?



It's hard to describe. They are made with thick foam and kind of have a ridge all the way around the perimeter so that the pads are held off your face at a small distance from your eyes. So, your eyes are in a little encolsed space and you can open them without your eyelashes hitting the mask. Sort of like black goggles, only not plastic! They're very comfy to wear.

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## deepsleep

This seems like a good idea. (sorry if anyone else posted this above me i cba to read all the posts) But you could get a sleep mask type thing to put over ur eyes or something when you go to sleep.

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## SleepyCookieDough

> It's hard to describe. They are made with thick foam and kind of have a ridge all the way around the perimeter so that the pads are held off your face at a small distance from your eyes. So, your eyes are in a little encolsed space and you can open them without your eyelashes hitting the mask. Sort of like black goggles, only not plastic! They're very comfy to wear.







> This seems like a good idea. (sorry if anyone else posted this above me i cba to read all the posts) But you could get a sleep mask type thing to put over ur eyes or something when you go to sleep.



thanks  :smiley:

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## hellohihello

What if you put it on with your eyes closed, and never open them when it's on, wouldn't your body think  that you wouldn't have it on because last time it checked, you could see?

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## spaceexplorer

Ok.
So, just woke up from my first night with a sleep mask.
Well, my first night was a success. Had a much clearer dream recall that i have done for some time! Which is fascinating.
Now i'm not going to jump to conclusions just yet, but I have a huge respect for dreamqueen and know that she dosn't just share these things without being pretty sure of them for herself. And we all know the power of placebo etc.

Here are my thoughts on the whole matter:

Firstly, part of me is worried that this may just be a case of the unusual impacting our dreams. Such as how we tend to dream more when we sleep in another bed etc. It's just a worry, but time will tell as I get used to sleeping with the mask. Hope it's not the case.

Secondly, this is really handy for hypnogogics. I found that i was far more able to visualise as i drifted off wearning a sleep mask. Suddently i could see the darkness before me as a "space out there" rather than "the back of my eyelids", and being a "space out there" i could identify with things appearing in that space much easier.  IN fact quite a few times throughout the night, after a brief awakening, Id be laying there, and suddently the lights would be on, and I'd be seeing THROUGH the dreammask. Clearly impossible, so a nice reality test built into it.


I think dreamqueen could have stumbled upon something fundamental here. And in some ways, if you think about it, really really obvious - yet no one really gave it any thought! Our sleep cycles are generally controlled by daylight, so It makes sense that the visual cortex being overloaded by light, after a night of darkness, is going to activate all the pathways in the mind for waking, and push aside our dreams. Waking activity will always take priority in the mind over dreaming, so this sudden rush of input, is like a tide washing away words written in the sand.  The sleep mask allows us to wake in darkness, and allow ourselves to establish these memorys before the wave of light comes to wash them away.

Thats my personal theory anyway.

Still, I'm cautious to be to pleased too soon, as I am quite aware of myself being aware of the mask during the night, which in itself could have been enough to keep me more alert than normal. I normally find it takes about 3 days for the mind to adjust to something new, so more testing is needed. Still, I'm pretty confident in the idea, and it seems to make sense when you try and logically understand why it would work.

Nice Idea DreamQueen.

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## DreamQueen

Thanks spaceexplorer! I'm glad you seem to be getting a positive result. I'm pretty confident most people will because the daylight effect should be the same from everyone. I agree with everything you said about our sleep cycles being influenced by light. That's what I figured too. It makes total sense.

I love your analogy of a tide washing away words written in the sand. That's just what it's like when your dreams slip away. The light totally wakes you up, hence the reason people generally don't turn on a light when they get up to use the bathroom at night. You certainly wouldn't put a 200 watt bulb in your lavatory  ::idea:: 

Just as an aside, another thing that I noticed really wakes up my brain if I get up to go to the bathroom in the night is speaking. My husband and I have an agreement that if we both get up to use the bathroom we don't speak because even a simple "you okay?" immediately arouses our level of consciousness making it much more difficult to go back to sleep.

Well, hopefully I really am onto something. I can't wait to hear how other people find their recall wearing the mask.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now as it's 1.30am here  :Off to Bed: 

EDIT: Oh and yeah, I've had a FA where I could see through the mask. Unfortunately I just lay there wondering why I could see through the mask and why the light fitting on my ceiling was different lol. What a dumbass  :Uhm:

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## Paradox-db3

Thanks for the review, explorer.  I was hoping someone would have left their two bits after using the mask as I don't yet have one and wanted to see if this worked for someone else.  But I'll be able to pick up a mask today.  And thank you dreamqueen for sharing this great idea!

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## aioinae

Right before I got to bed last night, I put on a nice black elastic-band sleep mask that's been lying around for a while, reminded myself to remember everything, do RCs, etc, and fell asleep fairly quickly.

At around 5 AM, I woke up. The mask was gone.

Yeah, I toss and turn way too much in my sleep for this to be effective. Actually, the fact that I had lost it somewhere was distracting enough that I couldn't remember anything last night.  :Sad:  I'll have to glue the mask to my head... either that or attach myself to the bed with bungee cords like a wolfman.

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## Mercen_505

This seems to work, more so in a specific way then any other, but I'm definitely going to keep using this (if I can). 

When I'm using the mask, I clearly remember the dream I was having as I'm waking up. This is great because there have been plenty of times where I woke in the middle of an awesome dream and just couldn't remember any of it. I woke a total of three times last night, each time clearly remembering the dream I was having.

I've experienced the power of placebo, suggestion, etc so I'm not going to call this a shining success until I try it out for a full month and see how things pan out. My initial reaction, however, is wonderful. We all know you're supposed to keep your eyes closed when you wake up, but that's damn hard to do! Now we have a way to force that behavior, as well as clearly demonstrate how effective it actually is compared to waking and immediately opening our eyes.

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## DreamQueen

Hmmmm... I'm just in the middle of a WBTB so my post may not be 100&#37; coherent but...

I just tried my expensive mask with the cut-out spaces for eyes and when I woke up I had just started recalling my dream and then I opened my eyes inside the mask and _POOF!_ The dream was gone. Even though it was almost pitch black inside the mask. I couldn't get it back. So, that indicates it could be crucial to keep one's eyes shut.

However, I've only had four and a half hours sleep so I wouldn't have been doing my longest, most vivid dreaming.

Still, when I go back to bed I'm going to put on one of my other masks that forces my eyes to stay shut.

So if you're going to buy a mask I'd start with one like that.

If you don't own a mask a temporary solution could be to tie a dressing gown tie-thingy around your eyes with the knot at the front.

Okay gotta go get on with my WBTB routine now...

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## DreamQueen

Yay! Got lucid from DILD after my WBTB  :boogie:

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## b3vcard

Come on people- More Results !  :smiley: 

Yay first post... :boogie:  ::banana::       Allah! lol ::bowdown::

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## SleepyCookieDough

I didn't try but this morning when I wanted to recall I just couldn't stay still so I barely remembered anything...  ::?:

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## b3vcard

ah Yeah..... Ants in the 'ol pants

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## SleepyCookieDough

> ah Yeah..... Ants in the 'ol pants



 :smiley:  ::banana::  :smiley:  ::banana::  :smiley:

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## b3vcard

I may as well try this, A sock and a few rubber bands tongiht I suppose  :tongue2:  

I have sh1t dream recall so far, so this could be good.

1080p Matrix Revolutions tonight should help  ::D:

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## Phantasos

*DreemQueen*
Well, this is interesting. Another your exercise was really helpful (though not for getting lucid dreams but for making them more complex in plot). It went good with another two exercises which I adopted for developing dreams' vividness. If this one will help to recall them it will be rally great. My current problem is that I see rather long and interesting dreams but when I woke up I have to be really fast to grab my voice recorder and say something about this dream.

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## DreamQueen

> My current problem is that I see rather long and interesting dreams but when I woke up I have to be really fast to grab my voice recorder and say something about this dream.



I find it's best to lie still and focus on recalling my dream thoroughly and only when I have remembered all I can do I reach for my voice recorder.

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## Mercen_505

I took a nap this afternoon, using a slightly different mask (my wife had several) that was infinitely more comfortable. I didn't get a DILD out of it, unfortunately, but I did clearly remember several dreams, including the one I woke up in the middle of. I also woke with my eyes closed, which was what I was hoping for.

This is looking pretty good.

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## Phantasos

> I find it's best to lie still and focus on recalling my dream thoroughly and only when I have remembered all I can do I reach for my voice recorder.



Yes, that's right, but seems like opening the eyes works like trigger to forgto dream, and it is hard not to open it when wake up  :smiley: . Tomorrow I will try to buy sleep mask, and then try out this method. If this resolve problem with recall, my toolkit (methodkit?  :smiley:  ) is fully set.

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## b3vcard

Sock didnt work, mainly because it hurt with the rubber bands.

Anyone wanna donate a sleepmask for the cause ?  :smiley:  Cant buy anything round here. I really need a cred card.

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## Phantasos

> Anyone wanna donate a sleepmask for the cause ?  Cant buy anything round here. I really need a cred card.



Rather funny, I went today into esoteric shop hoping they will have it but they did not. It is strange, considering that half of occult practices is based on lucid dreaming. And they did not have primary magic tool!  ::D: 

Well, to get back to topic, having no mask I tried not to open eyes after woking up.

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## spaceexplorer

You can pick up sleeping maks pretty easily, and for cheap too.
Mine only cost £2.

Any shop that sells good for travelling is where to look, you know like travel alarms, passport holders etc.

Try drugstores, Large stationary shops (in the UK WhSmiths do them). Hell, even try the stores near your local train station.

They are mostly used by travellers who want to be able to sleep on trains, planes etc. So think along those lines.
They arn't expensive. I found mine in a local "bargain" shop, £2 including an inflateable travel pillow!

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## Paradox-db3

I've tried the sleep mask thing a couple of nights now.  The first night was a failure because when I woke up, the sleep mask was on my forehead.  But the second night it stayed on, and I had one of the most vivid dreams I can remember having in such a long time!  I remember the temperature outside, seeing the bright blue and cloudless sky.  I remember detailed thoughts I was having in the dream.  I remember conversations, albeit short ones.  And I remember feeling like it was more real than most of my other dreams.  Still not lucid, but if this sleep mask thing keeps working out, I'll keep using it.  Thanks for the great idea!

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## DreamQueen

You're welcome, paradox! Yeah it's fantastic isn't it? I'm surprised more people aren't raving about their results to be honest.

Just remember everyone, you still have to put in the effort to recall your dreams it's just that having the mask on makes them much more accessible.

So glad you're having such success paradox! That's great! I find my dreams a lot more vivid with the mask on too  :smiley:

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## Lucid-Kiwi

Awesome, I'll have to give this a go tonight. Although tonight might not be the best time
to try, seeing as I have to get up quite early for work tomorrow. But I'll still give it a go.

Got some time off next week, so that should be a good time to really try this out.
I'll report back here if it improves my recall.  :smiley:

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## neo13

I am going to go buy one now, because I already understand the concept behind it. I just recently because interested in LD's again as I am turning 40 this year and had an 'event' that has me want to explore more. I tried learning lucid dreaming when I was in my 20's and of course at that time, no internet, but I did find a few books.

When I was 20, I was totally obsessed with dreams I was having about Vampires and wanted to find an explanation/etc. Some of them were so real, and I also had a repeat dream of me flying but I could never get more than a few feet off the ground.

Anyway, I can usually induce what I dream about, and have found that when I do wake up to keep my eyes closed so I can 'rewind' the dream I just had, and if it's the middle of the night it has helped me get back into the dream. I have even gone as far as going to the bathroom with my eyes shut so I have the recall and can try to get 'back in'.

There is so much information on this site and I still haven't had a LD yet, but it was amazing to read DreamQueens comments, and have it twig, wow, I can already do that.

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## Chewnie91

Hmmm this seems like a very interesting theory xD I am very anxious to try it as my dream recall is on and off, sometimes its good sometimes its bad lol. My question is, when waking up with the mask on if you open your eyes (since i always open them when i wake up) and then close them again right away, will a have the same effects? How do you train yourself to wake up without opening your eyes? :\

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## neo13

> How do you train yourself to wake up without opening your eyes? :\



As with everything else, practice. Everytime you wake up and open your eyes close them righ away. Try and get into the habit of 'closing your eyes' being your first waking thought, then when your eyes are closed try to recall where you just were. I am mostly working on recall and it seems to work, then when I have a basic timeline of what I dreamed about, I take my little book into the bathroom to write it down.

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## JadedSapphire

My dream recall is usually pretty crappy so I'm definitely gonna try this.

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## オースチン

I'm surprised this had any merit with other folks.  I did this just out of curiosity a few weeks ago and had my most vivid lucid dream with it.  I support this idea.

O-Suchin

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## DreamQueen

> My question is, when waking up with the mask on if you open your eyes (since i always open them when i wake up) and then close them again right away, will a have the same effects? How do you train yourself to wake up without opening your eyes? :\



Hi Chewnie91, yes it will have the same effect. That's the beauty of the sleep mask. It doesn't actually matter if you open your eyes because you will still be in darkness, so long as you then close them again you will still have great dream recall. It seems to be the light that washes the dream away _more_ than the action of opening your eyes. But the other brilliant thing about the sleep mask is that it helps you to keep your eyes closed because it is difficult to open your eyes with it on.

As for training yourself to wake up without opening your eyes, like I've said, it doesn't really matter too much if you momentarily open your eyes so long as you close them again reasonably swiftly. Over time you will find you develop the habit of remembering to recall your dream as soon as you awaken. 

I'm glad people are having success with my suggestion. I've been wearing a mask for many weeks now and have never had a night where I couldn't recall my dreams. It is just so effective. I never go to bed without it.

 :smiley:

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## Chewnie91

It worked! Last night i borrowed my moms pink one (how humiliating -_-) and i wore it to bed, luckily when i woke up this morning it was still on but i had the most vivid dream recall i've had in a LONG time! Thanks for the tip! Ill keep you informed to see if it follows through everynight  ::D:

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## DreamQueen

Glad to hear! Yeah, it works an absolute treat. It stops you from waking up quickly. It provides a physical and psychological barrier between the dimensions (dream world and waking world) and you are easily able to sink back to "where you just were".

I find I've been able to practice DEILD easily too since wearing the mask.

A sleep mask is like a door to dreamland!  :boogie:

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## Chewnie91

Lol agreed, it was such a simple idea too i never would have thought of wearing a sleep mask (then again im a guy...so yeah haha) Have you had any personal success in trying to chain the sleep mask with the DEILD method?

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## DREAMER242000

Thanks for the info DreamQueen, my recall has always been pretty poor
but judging by the positive feedback this could be a godsend to me tommorow
morning i will be off to the shops to get one.
 :smiley:

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## DreamQueen

> Lol agreed, it was such a simple idea too i never would have thought of wearing a sleep mask (then again im a guy...so yeah haha) Have you had any personal success in trying to chain the sleep mask with the DEILD method?



Yes definitely. Recently I got lucid three times in one night. The last two dreams were in the morning when it was light and the mask made it easy to drift back to sleep and get lucid again.

In fact, I have just done a WBTB since I last posted and it was totally light outside (8.30am) and the mask made it easy to go to sleep - and I got lucid.





> Thanks for the info DreamQueen, my recall has always been pretty poor
> but judging by the positive feedback this could be a godsend to me tommorow
> morning i will be off to the shops to get one.



Let me know how you get on! Just remember, you still need to actively recall your dream. Don't wake up and think _Hmmm, is it working?_ lol! Just do what you normally do to recall and the mask should make your dream a lot more accessible.

Man, I'm loving this discovery! Oh... and one more thing, I may have already said this but don't be fooled by FAs! Whenever I have a FA I am wearing my mask in it!

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## Odd_Nonposter

I have a problem with sleep masks. When I wear one, the area beneath the mask feels sweaty and clammy from the fabric not breathing enough. So, when I wake up halfway through the night, I have to take it off or else I can't get back to sleep.

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## DreamQueen

Hmmm, you might have to buy or make a new one out of a breathable fabric eg cotton. I can't say I've ever had this problem with mine.

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## Hidden

Cool, I'm going to try this!  It would probably also help a ton with WILDing.  I do better when I have my head under my blanket because it's darker, but then it always gets really stuffy and it drives me insane.

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## Red Hot Lard Man

I use a sleep mask from time to time, but haven't really noticed a great ability to remember dreams when I wear it. Where it does come in handy is when I have lucid dreams, and I seem to have them most in the morning. I'll know I'm having a lucid since I can see, but know I'm wearing the mask in real life. I'll try it out tonight though... It has to be some kind of psychological thing, like Dumbo's "magic feather". That's what I'm guessing.

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## DreamQueen

It's not psychological. It's because it blocks out the light and keeps your brain in alpha rhythm. I first noticed this effect when one morning before i wore a sleep mask i couldn't recall a dream and then i put my hand over my eyes and as soon as the light was blocked out my dream came flooding back.

It's physical presence also serves as a reminder to recall my dream and not automatically start to think about my day.

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## Exdream

I'm going to have to try this. I'm off to fashion a make-shift sleep mask =p

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## Andrewvc16

Kinda ironic isn't? The thing that is most associated with sleep (besides a bed) can help you better recall your dreams! kinda funny how noone thought of it before! Definitely will try using a mask tonight!





                LDs-0
                SPs-1

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## Gas-Mask

i have been doing this without knowing about it  ::D: !

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## DreamQueen

> Kinda ironic isn't? The thing that is most associated with sleep (besides a bed) can help you better recall your dreams! kinda funny how noone thought of it before! Definitely will try using a mask tonight!



Yeah, you know the old saying about something being right under your nose the whole time, well in this case it was right on top of my nose  :smiley:

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## Phantasos

Well, the only problem with mask is that it may be rather uncomfortable to wear. I've got a good one which do not touch eyes but still I found it to be somewhat annoying  :Sad: . The method itself is good, probably in such case one can try to use autosuggestions for keeping eyes closed after woking up (will be useful for DEILDing too).

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## Exdream

Well, I found an old head band (the kind you wear around your head when jogging ect) that no one in my house uses anymore and commandeered it as a sleepmask (surprisingly works very well)

I'll have to wear it a few days to say, but I had a great dream recall last night (remembered three separate dreams) I'll post again in a few days to see if this stays consistent. =)

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## Chewnie91

Ive personally had great sucess with this. It seems to be working like a charm as far as dream recall. And it definitely does aid the DEILD method, i got lucid twice last night! Well one was technically in the morning haha

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## DreamQueen

> Well, I found an old head band (the kind you wear around your head when jogging ect) that no one in my house uses anymore and commandeered it as a sleepmask (surprisingly works very well)
> 
> I'll have to wear it a few days to say, but I had a great dream recall last night (remembered three separate dreams) I'll post again in a few days to see if this stays consistent. =)



Lol at the makeshift sleepmask  :wink2:  And don't worry, it will remain consistent!





> Ive personally had great sucess with this. It seems to be working like a charm as far as dream recall. And it definitely does aid the DEILD method, i got lucid twice last night! Well one was technically in the morning haha



Glad to hear! Thanks for the report!  :smiley:

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## Hidden

I tried it for two nights, and it didn't really work for me. :/  It might have been due to other things though.  The first night I only got 7 hours of sleep, and the second one I wasn't very focused.  Then last night I used earplugs (people in my house seem to have issues with quiet), which actually worked really well.  Then again, I was also really focused and went to bed early.  So I dunno.  Oh, and I also used a headband as a sleeping mask.  I might try again tonight...

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## Kuhnada29

Thanks for the suggestion dream queen. I don't have a sleep mask, so i'l have to use my black bandanna and fold and tie it over my eyes tonight and see if it works.  

Tomorrow i get paid so i can get a sleep mask with no problem.

Glad to see a lot of people having success with this.

Also i have to work tomorrow, so if i have an alarm clock wake me, and i hit the snooze button or whatever, will that affect the ability to recall dreams? Hearing external stimuli like sounds, etc.

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## firat

While this might be helping with dream call it's not really healthy for your body. Because either way by a sleep mask or shutting curtains tight, blocking the light might damage your circadian rhythm since even when your eyelids are shut you can sense the light and that's how your body adjusts. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm
Pay attention to these parts:
Impact of light-dark cycle
Light and the biological clock
Delayed sleep phase syndrome

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## DreamQueen

> I tried it for two nights, and it didn't really work for me. :/  It might have been due to other things though.  The first night I only got 7 hours of sleep, and the second one I wasn't very focused.  Then last night I used earplugs (people in my house seem to have issues with quiet), which actually worked really well.  Then again, I was also really focused and went to bed early.  So I dunno.  Oh, and I also used a headband as a sleeping mask.  I might try again tonight...



Remember, you still have to make the mental effort to recall your dream. All the SM does is to keep the door to dreamland open (by keeping you in darkness) so that your dream is more accessible.





> Thanks for the suggestion dream queen. I don't have a sleep mask, so i'l have to use my black bandanna and fold and tie it over my eyes tonight and see if it works.  
> 
> Tomorrow i get paid so i can get a sleep mask with no problem.
> 
> Glad to see a lot of people having success with this.
> 
> Also i have to work tomorrow, so if i have an alarm clock wake me, and i hit the snooze button or whatever, will that affect the ability to recall dreams? Hearing external stimuli like sounds, etc.



Being jolted awake by an alarm will hinder your ability to recall, but all is not lost. As long as you keep the alarm within easy reach and you gently reach over and hit snooze then lie down and start drifting back to sleep and trying to 'find where you just were and what you were just doing' it should come back to you. The trick is to relax and just gently try to remember what you were just doing. Even if you get only a flicker of an image, hold onto it and try to build on that memory.

Let me know how you get on.

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## Chewnie91

Has anyone tried combining this with WILD yet? I've only tried about once with the sleep mask, i achieved better HI possibly because of the total darkness. But i will try again tonight and for the rest of the week

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## cyborg_ar

I'm gonna try this, to start training my dream recall, so far i can only remember washed out images or shapes, but nothing about sound, touch, taste or smell.

also, first post!  :boogie:

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## DreamQueen

> While this might be helping with dream call it's not really healthy for your body. Because either way by a sleep mask or shutting curtains tight, blocking the light might damage your circadian rhythm since even when your eyelids are shut you can sense the light and that's how your body adjusts. 
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circadian_rhythm
> Pay attention to these parts:
> Impact of light-dark cycle
> Light and the biological clock
> Delayed sleep phase syndrome



Sorry, I only just saw your response now.

Actually it's the opposite. I have been using the sleep mask every night for about six weeks now and my circadian rhythm is fine, in fact it's better than fine. I am sleeping so beautifully and find I have a lot more energy during the day because my brain is waking up when it's ready. Your brain doesn't rely on light per se to know when to wake up. It is your circadian rhythm that wakes you up and your brain will still keep it's rhythm even when wearing the mask to bed each night. Mine has. You only have the mask on for a short time after you awaken then you pull it off and get light exposure which keeps your rhythm normal. If I was suggesting you black out your curtains and stay in your dark room until midday every morning then yes, that might affect your rhythm.

I wake up feeling so refreshed and with such mental clarity now because my brain is waking up when it's ready and I'm sure this in itself is helping my recall.

The only thing that I find can meddle with my circadian rhythm is WBTBs. If I do too many in a row I train my brain to awaken at 4am every morning. But even worse than that is people who have to set their alarms for 6am every morning throughout winter! I remember back to my school days and what a struggle it always was to get up in the dark  ::roll::

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## Hidden

> But even worse than that is people who have to set their alarms for 6am every morning throughout winter! I remember back to my school days and what a struggle it always was to get up in the dark



Hmm...  maybe that's why the sleeping mask didn't help much.  :tongue2:   Although I get up at 7 (6:45 to recall dreams) and it's usually mildly light by then.

And I agree that it works better to wake up on your own, at the end of a sleep cycle, instead of using an alarm.  I've found that falling back asleep 15 minutes from when my alarm goes off just makes me more tired than waking up would.





> Remember, you still have to make the mental effort to recall your dream. All the SM does is to keep the door to dreamland open (by keeping you in darkness) so that your dream is more accessible.



Yeah, I think that was my main problem.  Lack of focus, that is.

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## Man of Shred

seems like a nice technique. Maybe I'll try it.

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## b3vcard

Still looking for a donation of a sleep mask ,lol  :tongue2:

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## Hidden

> Still looking for a donation of a sleep mask ,lol



xD  I think shipping it from here to Ireland would cost more than the sleep mask.

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## DreamQueen

> Still looking for a donation of a sleep mask ,lol



PM me your address. I'll send you one  :smiley:

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