Thread: Recall and overall lucidity

Ok, so I thought I was doing really well for how long I've been at this, little over a month now. I've had five lucid dreams and can remember a minimum of two long, detailed dreams a night. Every night I was waking up for a WBTB, even if I didn't really do anything with it, because I was too tired and had school the next day.
I was doing well, until three days ago. Then, my recall plummeted. I am now only remembering tiny fragments of one dream, let alone two. I also stopped doing an alarm I had to get up and turn off about a week ago, instead one that went off for about five seconds and stopped. About five days ago, I started sleeping through it. And since my dream recall plummeted, every WILD or DEILD I've attempted has fallen far short of attempts before this happened. Am I doing anything to make this happen? The only difference that I can think of is that it was a weekend, but my habits didn't really change. I woke up at six like I normally do, but I tried a WILD, instead of getting up.
I feel like I was doing so well, and this lapse is incredibly discouraging for me. Anyway to turn it around?

A lot of things can affect recall. Have you changed your diet recently? Or maybe been stressed out or preoccupied about something? If not, this might be some temporary thing, kinda like a dream recall dry spell. I'm sure it will wear out soon. If you want, take a day off, maybe two and just relax and let your mind reset.

Good luck

Dream recall fluctuates. Just make sure it's not because you stopped writing in your dream journal.

And don't worry about WBTB. Although it is a very effective method, it's ok to take a break sometimes and mix it up a little. I find that after a while my method stops working and I need to do another one. Maybe on a weekend, you can do WBTB this way:
- wake up 90 min before your normal waking time
- stay up for 90 min
- do 10 min of mantras
- take a nap for 90 min

Happy dreams

Thanks, both of you! I'm relieved. I did have something really odd happen last night. How long can dreams last for? Because I had one that lasted nearly a day. Not lucid, but it was still crazy.

Thank you for tip on WBTB, Gab. I will give it a shot this weekend.

Now I won't worry about this, thank you! I appreciate all the help you guys have given me.

Originally Posted by Draco77100

How long can dreams last for? Because I had one that lasted nearly a day. Not lucid, but it was still crazy.

Some say dream time goes by like real time, and others argue that dream time is completely different. I think both are correct, in a way. There are some dreams that feel like they last for weeks even, but in reality it was only a few minutes. On the contrary, there are also dreams that feel like a few seconds, but in reality lasted for like an hour. If the brain can make us perceive dream time like this, then I'm sure it can make dream time go by like normal time as well. Anyway, i think dreams last depending in your sleep cycles. In the earlier ones, you get shorter and less vivid dreams. In later stages of sleep, you can get up to an hour or so, from what I've read

Wow! Five lucid dreams In a month is great for someone just starting out! Congrats!

I agree with gab. Dream recall fluctuates, especially since you are still a beginner. Your recall will be on and off, just keep doing what you've been doing. It will come back eventually. Nothing to worry about

Dream time is also completely different than real time. Some dreams can feel like a day or even a month when in reality is has only been 40 minutes. I think this is because your dream skips out some moor details (like sleeping) which gives the illusion of it lasting longer.