Thread: Can't recall dreams :(

It used to be the exact same way with me....

The best thing thing you can do is to start a dream journal, get a notebook or something, loose sheets of paper don't cut it. You could also try setting your clock to wake up at certain times during the night, depending on your sleep cycle. If you use a dream journal, I guarentee you'll almost immediately begin to see results.

Almost exactly the same with me.

Now I have dreams and near OoBEs every night!

I just use normal sheets of paper, works fine. Just need something under when you write. Dream journals are great though. Even bad nights when I can't seem to remeber a thing, I can normally recall parts of atleast 2 dreams.

Set your alarm for REM times.

Set it for 5 hours after you fall asleep...then set it into 90 minute intervals. Right when you wake, DO NOT MOVE, but try to remember anything you can think of...then write down everything you can remember, and anything you FEEL.

I'm stupid. I don't keep a dream journal.

Instead, I wake up, with the dream fresh in my mind, and forget about it very quickly. At some point within the day, somebody will say something- and it will suddenly make me remember the dream. Then I'll forget it again.

So keep a dream Journal.
Unless you're me. Because I'm too lazy.

Originally posted by Lowercase Society
Set your alarm for REM times.

Set it for 5 hours after you fall asleep...then set it into 90 minute intervals. Right when you wake, DO NOT MOVE, but try to remember anything you can think of...then write down everything you can remember, and anything you FEEL.

Yup that's how it is for normal people, but for me sometimes I wake up and am dissapointed because I think I didn't dream, but then I'll be in the shower and suddenly a bunch of dreams will come back to me.

Originally posted by Kaniaz
I'm stupid. I don't keep a dream journal.

Instead, I wake up, with the dream fresh in my mind, and forget about it very quickly. At some point within the day, somebody will say something- and it will suddenly make me remember the dream. Then I'll forget it again.

So keep a dream Journal.
Unless you're me. Because I'm too lazy.

Yep...just like me...

You should really try and keep one, you are suffering from not keeping one! Really.

All right I have been keeping one but I still can barely remember dreams. For a while I could remember a dream a night for about 4 days then all the sudden I can't remember them anymore. I guess I should try the thing with the alarm. Thanks!

Hey, EvilSyndicate

Don't fret if you can't recall. I've yet to hear that someone just CAN'T remember dreams. I used to never believe that I had dreams every night. After my recall got massive (this is gradual) I was convinced.

Be sure that you get extra sleep. If you're sleep deprived it's significantly harder to remember dreams. For me, even 2 hours of sleeping late dramatically drops my recall ability the next morning. Oh, diet is important too, and exercise, etc.
But don't beat yourself up if you can't do it yet!

If you remember even ONE clue from your dream like an object, or even the sensation of one, it's worth describing. Don't be afraid to make stuff up. Sometimes, intuition is the same thing as guessing. Just writing key words is very effective. You can bubble them and connect them with other keywords which relate. This helps for me.

Hey Kaniaz, try mind mapping your dreams if you're so lazy! I hate writing down my dreams too. I only take about 3 minutes to mindmap all I need, and I can type out a composition of my dream later. For such a small technique, I find it extremely useful. It tore down walls of skepticism in me...

When i started keeping a dream journal i got instant results. I woke up and wrote down my dreams and remembered as many as 4 a night. I've stopped doing a journal now- i kinda forget to . I also got good results by telling myself to remember them. But some nights i'm so tired I just cant be bothered to do anything. Does anyone else find it really tiring to keep remembering to record your dreams and stuff?

Originally posted by Lowercase
Set your alarm for REM times.

yeah this would give the best results

Some (Well most of us apparently) have a lackluster performance when it comes to writing in our dream journal.
When you wake up, the last thing you want to do is, get up, turn on a light, get a pen, and write down a dream. Here is an alternative, I read in one of Patricia garfields books. Get a pad of paper for blind peaple. so it has lines in it. Put the note pad and pen at a location you can easily reach. + at the same spot each time. When you awake, reach for the journal and never open your eyes. (this will help you to recall better also) write down your dream by using your fingure tips. In the morning it will look a lot like chicken stractch but it will stil be legible. With pratice you will become more afficiant.
Kind of like brail, to keep it in a straight line while writing.

Oh yeah, nice post, man. I oughta try that.

I just remembered also, that it's also an alternative to still use a pen and paper in the dark. If you ever took art and practiced countour, you'd know what I mean, hehe.

AirRick101

Wrote:I just remembered also, that it's also an alternative to still use a pen and paper in the dark. If you ever took art and practiced countour, you'd know what I mean, hehe.[/b]

Indeed I do (blind contour drawings)

Wow. I am starting to recall a bit better now that I've been writing in a journal. Sometimes I'll remember what happened in my dream about 7 hours later. Something must trigger it I don't know. I can't recall that many dreams though.....I guess I need to exercise!