• well first off you should have a regular sleeping pattern if you don't already have one so you're not throwing off your biological clock, or circadian rhythm.
  • you're on the right track with telling yourself to remember dreams, self-suggestion works for me. I just say "I will remember my dreams" over and over before I go to bed and after doing some relaxation techniques.
  • when you wake up lay still in your bed with your eyes closed. This will allow you to focus on your mind instead of moving and putting emphasis on your body, and also opening your eyes can distract you as well because of the light. Just start trying to remember the major parts of your dreams and then details will come to you.
  • you must start a dream journal, they help so much! When you wake up during the night, roll over to your journal and write down some key points of the dream you just had like a setting or action that stands out, that way when you wake up in the morning you'll remember it and hopefully be able to string more basic details from the key points. As you continue this your recall should increase, I hope these steps helped you out, they are the ones I follow