Thread: Unable to return to my previous level of dream recall

I used to remember 1-4 vivid dreams per night and when i say vivid, I really mean vivid. However now that i am at college and trying to retrain my recall after a few months of not paying much attention to my dreams, I am remembering at most one dream per day. Also they are usually quite boring and uninteresting. Are there any ways to induce more vivid dreams as a way to increase recall??? please help.

There are a few things.

1. Doing auto suggestions before going to sleep. Something like "I will remember my dreams tonight".

2. When you wake up go over your dreams before you start to move around, so that the subtle dream memories can be properly "downloaded". Then they will be more consciously accessible.

3. The classic dream Journal method works well.

4. Make sure all of your vitamin, mineral, and amino acids levels good.

5. There are several herbs and supplements out there that are supposed to increase memory. A few I have used are Ginkgo Biloba, Omega-3 fatty acids, L-Theanine, and Rosemary.

Originally Posted by Valis1

There are a few things.

1. Doing auto suggestions before going to sleep. Something like "I will remember my dreams tonight".

2. When you wake up go over your dreams before you start to move around, so that the subtle dream memories can be properly "downloaded". Then they will be more consciously accessible.

3. The classic dream Journal method works well.

4. Make sure all of your vitamin, mineral, and amino acids levels good.

5. There are several herbs and supplements out there that are supposed to increase memory. A few I have used are Ginkgo Biloba, Omega-3 fatty acids, L-Theanine, and Rosemary.

Awesome thanks! I'm already doing 1-3 so ill check on my vitamin intake and possibly try some of the supplements you mentioned.

Now that you're at college are you sleeping less? Is your sleep schedule more unpredictable? Are you drinking more alcohol? Smoking more of the good stuff? Is there more on your mind during the day, like work?

All of these could be factors.

Originally Posted by moSh

Now that you're at college are you sleeping less? Is your sleep schedule more unpredictable? Are you drinking more alcohol? Smoking more of the good stuff? Is there more on your mind during the day, like work?

All of these could be factors.

haha, actually i was not ingesting anything like that at the time. My sleep schedule was very predictable. I'd get up to 9 or 10 hours every night.
Since then I am remembering a bit more. although I kind of fell off again when I went on vacation. Now that I'm back in town Im going to start focusing on my dreams again.

I had this same issue when I started working the night shift again last Fall. I've found what helps the most is taking time to acknowledge and perceive your surroundings during your waking hours. The more attention to detail I pay during the day (or night, at work) the more vivid my dreams become. Even my most mundane "work dreams" (dreams where I just walk around the plant talking to people) become more vivid. Also, the simple act of touching a surface or acknowledging an object intently in waking life seems to translate into profound vividness in my dreams. For instance the other night in a dream I focused on a piece of thread blowing around an air duct, and my dream went from boring work dream to ultra vivid HD in an instant. When all else fails, you would be surprised how well going "F it, im laying down and what happens happens dreamwise tonight" can work.

Originally Posted by Geralt

I had this same issue when I started working the night shift again last Fall. I've found what helps the most is taking time to acknowledge and perceive your surroundings during your waking hours. The more attention to detail I pay during the day (or night, at work) the more vivid my dreams become. Even my most mundane "work dreams" (dreams where I just walk around the plant talking to people) become more vivid. Also, the simple act of touching a surface or acknowledging an object intently in waking life seems to translate into profound vividness in my dreams. For instance the other night in a dream I focused on a piece of thread blowing around an air duct, and my dream went from boring work dream to ultra vivid HD in an instant. When all else fails, you would be surprised how well going "F it, im laying down and what happens happens dreamwise tonight" can work.

Thanks for your input. I'll definitely try being more mindful of what Im doing throughout the day. Hopefully this helps.

Originally Posted by spenceman

Thanks for your input. I'll definitely try being more mindful of what Im doing throughout the day. Hopefully this helps.

All of what others have mentioned can be causes, but this one is likely the major cause. If you find yourself concentrating with laser focus on your studies, this can reduce general attention to your experiences. Also, if your thoughts upon waking move immediately to day-time themes (studies, etc.), this can reduce recall. Try to delay thoughts of waking duties to once you're out of bed. The general stress/anxiety of college can also be a factor, try to remain calm, meditate, etc.

This is all helping. This community is so dope. Thank you.

If you are still working on lucids during college, props to you, spence. I completely had to drop it for years during that time. You are being bombarded with information throughout the day you are cramming into your head, so I am not surprised your dream recall seems to have taken a mental backseat to everything you take in mentally throughout the day. One thing I always found that helped me was to actually spend some time here (or some time spent during the day looking at, thinking about, or reading about dreaming related things), even just a few minutes. That puts some information into your mind about dreaming thought the day. It helped me keep dreams at the forefront, and let me recall my dreams a bit better. Keep at it!

In addition to the great advice everyone else has already given, it's good to keep in mind that sometimes you will still go through periods of poor dream recall, even despite maintaining a structured life style, eating properly, staying healthy, and abstaining from drug use or taking any supplements you don't already have an established routine taking. Don't let it discourage you too much. Once you start getting your recall back, something that helped boost my recall when I used to LD was, after waking up, remembering my dreams backwards. I would start with the earliest dream I could remember having, and then do a play-by-play of it, only watching it backwards. I didn't just watch it and feel it as best I could either, but I actually commentated the whole story as it was happening, being sure to use as many senses as I could while remembering it. That, in combination with the conscious spoken thoughts actually boosted my recall in general, not just my memory of the specific dreams I went through my ritual for. It didn't start helping my overall recall until it became an established habit, though.

Great idea snoop I'll start working this into my morning "dream download" routine.