Thread: Vivid dreams, but bad recall?!

I assumed vivid dreams always equaled good recall, but recently, during a few nights with bad recall in the morning, later in the day, something would trigger the memory of a small dream snippet. The weird thing is, the snippet was so vivid. I remember how real it seemed in the dream and how I was sure it was reality when dreaming it because I was very much in that moment. Yet, I couldn't recall much of those dreams at all- just a tiny sliver- and I only recalled it after some time passed and something triggered it. Don't vivid dreams and good dream recall usually go hand in hand?

I can, of course, only speak for myself on this. My dreams have always been very vivid, and I've had some which I'm not sure were dreams at all. However, in my early teenage years my dream recall practically disappeared. The few dreams I have had since my dream recall got worse have still been as vivid as ever, so no, dream recall and vividness does not (always) go hand in hand.

Originally Posted by Medusa

Don't vivid dreams and good dream recall usually go hand in hand?

Not necessarily. It would seem rational to say vividness makes it easier for the brain to remember dreams, but vividness does not always mean good dream recall. I have the same issue.

Originally Posted by Medusa

later in the day, something would trigger the memory of a small dream snippet. The weird thing is, the snippet was so vivid.

Ugh! I hate it when that happens!

The things that trigger the memory can be very vague, and it's like getting hold of a string and trying to unravel it. Sometimes you can get a hold on it and get a really good flashback, and other times it's like something 'on the tip of your tongue' and completely blocked.

...but when I am successful at unraveling it, the memory is quite vivid. It's like a repressed memory.