Thread: Hard time remembering dreams on school days

On the weekends or whenever I don't have to get up early the next day I can remember my dreams fine. But on school days when I wake up early in the morning by my alarm I can't seem to recall anything. It's a frustrating feeling. I kind of remember the emotions I felt during the dream but they're very faint. I try really hard but never get results. Any ideas?

It sounds like the poor recall is due to the stress due to waking up to the alarm and trying so hard. This type of stress can pull your attention away from the dream you're trying to recall, making it more difficult.

Just relax and remember what you can, like you do on the weekends.

Pretty much what dolphin said. I find that I'll remember my dreams more fully if I have some time to reflect in the morning, so it seems to be a question of routine. If you have time in the morning to sit down with a cup of coffee and a notebook in the morning (preferably without anyone else bothering you), then you're much more likely to remember your dreams and significant details than if you get up and you're stressing over the day and the fact that you can't remember your dreams.

Part of it might also be that you're getting less sleep on weekdays.

Either way, if you don't have recall one morning, shrug, write that down, and maybe think about what you'd like to dream about the next night. No point beating yourself up over it when that just makes things worse.

And enjoy your weekend dreams!

Maybe just try going to bed earlier. Lack of sleep is very bad for recalling. Then alarms on the morning wouldn't be so shocking. I would also recomended autosugestion to wake up few minutes before the alarm.

When I was working I got up immediately with alarm and write down dreams after an hour after that in the bus. So for sure it's not impossible, give some time to yourself.

Good luck!

just to add one thing:
maybe change your alarmclock theme (use your phone). make it not so loud and maybe something more calming to wake up. when you dont get ripped out of the dream it is easier to recall dreams too^^

Originally Posted by RelaxAndDream

just to add one thing:
maybe change your alarmclock theme (use your phone). make it not so loud and maybe something more calming to wake up. when you dont get ripped out of the dream it is easier to recall dreams too^^

If you've got an Android mobile device, you can set an alarm and then select the setting for "smart alarm." Sets it up to start really quiet and get gradually louder over the course of a few minutes.

One more thing to add... give yourself 5-10 extra minutes and after waking up and just spend them trying to remember your dreams. Try to move as less as possible and keep your eyes closed. To make this even more effective, if you can't remember anything right away, go through images of people, places and situations close to you. Usually if you had a dream about your mom (for example) and think about her you will remember the dream.

What I do is I lay down in bed with my eyes closed after my alarm goes off and I think "what did I just dream about?" That usually helps me remember more details. And you could also try turning your volume down so the alarm doesn't go off too loud.