First post: I have really bad dream recall, whats the best technique for me?

~Intro~
I recently learned about LDs and lurked around here every once in a while for a few weeks. I halfheartedly tried to WILD a few times after reading a little about them on this forum,but all of them failed.
But in the last week, I started doing reality checks in real life- and I had 2 DILDs! One more clear and controllable than the other. I just realized something was out of place in my non-lucid dream, decided to do a reality check, and realized I was dreaming.

~My question/problem/pointofthisthread~
Anyway, OTHER than the 2 DILDs and the non-lucid dreams that came right before them, I have really horribly bad dream recall.
-I might semi-clearly remember a dream once a month or even once every few months
-I'll probably "clearly" remember small fragments or the overall theme/setting (was I in danger? was it erotic? was I at school?), maybe once a week to once every few weeks
-any other times I might get small fragments/theme/setting but forget them very quickly, like in a matter of seconds after waking up

My question is, with my pretty bad dream recall skills, if I wanna try LDing right away, should I focus on DILDs/MILDs or go more to the side of WILDs?

Thanks guys :D

Hi, welcome Sylar. Have you tried setting your alarm clock to wake you up at times that you'll more likely remember your dreams? Multiples of 1.5 hours are usually suggested. If you haven't yet, try setting your alarm for approximately 6 hours after you fall asleep, and see if you can remember your dreams then. Until you get your recall up, you won't have much luck with lucid dreaming, since even if you do have them, chances are you won't remember.

When you do remember a fragment of a dream, try to focus on it, even if it's vague and doesn't seem like anything. Remember anything you can, whether it's some feeling or some general idea of the situation or a person involved.

Also, make sure that you're giving yourself a few minutes in the morning to think about your dreams. Often I remember almost nothing, maybe a fragment, but with some mental effort and focus that fragment will turn into a memory of an entire dream.

Hi there my friend,
First of all, are you WILDing correctly? Do you perform WBTB(wake back to bed) before WILDing? It's an essential method that increases the success rate of a WILD. If you failed to perform WBTB back then, I suggest you give WILD another chance. But the only difference now is that you'll perform WBTB before WILDing.

As for your recall, I think there's a way to improve it. I suggest you get yourself a Dream Journal . Also, before you sleep, try consuming food/s rich in vitamin B6(e.g. peanuts, meat, etc.). Having a steady sleep schedule also helps improve your dream recall. There's a classic technique that makes recalling dreams much easier. The moment you wake up, hold still and keep your eyes close as if you're still asleep. Then, try recalling your dreams.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions :)

Hey there,
welcome to Dreamviews :D I think the best way for you do anything, would be improve your recall first. There are chances you may be having lucid dreams and simple just not remembering it. Like weakamon said, definitely try investing in some foods rich in B6. Personally, a small cup of apple juice 20-40minutes before bed words wonders for me. Everything else, weakamon has basically covered.
Also, another factor of recall may be lack of sleep and/or stress. Both play a major factor of dream recall for me when I'm not recalling too much.

Anyways, good luck~

I would like to recommend to use autosuggestion as you falling asleep, because as fOrceez says, you should get your dream recall up, before anything else.

It's simple. As you go to bed, repeat to yourself - I will wake up after/from my dream and I will remember it. And then just write it down right away, or just some keywords, so you remember it in the morning. The more you think about recalling your dreams in the daytime, and do stuff like writing them down, the better will your mind understand, that remembering dreams is important to you. It may not work on the first try, but it does work.

Best of luck and welcome do DV!

Well you will probably have to get your recall up to LD, just keep on with dream journaling. Have intent to remember your dreams/become lucid.

Some great advice above. I would recommend writing down every single detail you recall from every dream you remember, no matter how vague. If you keep doing this diligently, you should find yourself gradually recalling more and more details and hopefully your dream recall will improve; it works for me anyway.

Also try to write down what you remember as soon as you can.

All pretty obvious stuff but if you're dedicated it should help.

I know this is random, but if you smoke marijuana, it can affect your ability to remember dreams, because REM sleep is reduced and there's less eye movement activity by THC.