Thread: Nightmares vs. Regular Dreams?

Originally Posted by Chewnie91

I was just wondering why is it that I tend to remember my nightmares alot better than my regular dreams? They always seem to be much more clear and i remember more parts to them.

Fear/excitement raises epinephrine levels which greatly enhances your memory.
The purpose is so that we can better handle or avoid the situation next time.
I'm sure theres more hormones involved than epinephrine, but that is probably
the main one responsible.

Originally Posted by lucid4sho

Fear/excitement raises epinephrine levels which greatly enhances your memory.
The purpose is so that we can better handle or avoid the situation next time.
I'm sure theres more hormones involved than epinephrine, but that is probably
the main one responsible.

Yeah, and epinephrine also raises your alertness/attentiveness which kind of forces you to concentrate/focus all of your attention on whatever's causing them to be released, thus giving you better recall on the entire dream itself.

I think you remember nightmares a lot easier than regular dreams because there is a mental and somewhat emotional strain that is involved with nightmares. In a way, a nightmare leaves a mental scar that is not easily forgotten. Just like a physical scar, it will remind you of the past. Regular dreams are comparable to everyday events. They can be easily taken for granted, thus easily forgotten.