I have some Newbie Questions..

Hi. I just recently found this site. It's great!! So i am just starting to try LD. I have a question for all of you out there who have been at it for a while and know whats goin on.
How long do you generally need to develope a good dream recall??
I have been trying to recall my dreams from these past nights, and i can barely remember anything. I would get a very brief kind of "feeling" about my past dreams but thats it. Sometimes it feels like the dream goes by so fast that I cant process it.
Generally, before knowing about LD, i would have one to four dreams a month that i could actually vividly remember.

thanks

Welcome.

Recall varies. A lot depends on your hours of sleep and stress levels. But if you keep at it you will remember more and more. I found myself recalling full dreams and more only a few weeks in. Remember to keep going with your dream journal; write down every little detail you recall.

If you're faithful you may find yourself with two or more dreams per night side-by-side and remembering all of it. Since you're new to LD you need to give it time; don't get too excited but keep your eyes focused on the road ahead. Check the tutorials section and main site for a wealth of knowledge. Also feel free to ask away here. :)

I think the more you visit sites like this and show yourself that you would like to remember your dreams, the more dreams you will be able to remember. I've always had good recall and don't really care enough most mornings to sit there and write down my dreams. Most school days I just forget them and don't care. On weekends I usually write them down. Basically just laying there in the position you woke up in and try to remember anything will help your recall. It's good that you have feelings remaining from the dreams, just try to remember anything at all from the dreams. I find just laying there and thinking helps me to suddenly remember parts and situations I was in.

It could also be the situation in which you wake up. If you wake up from a jarring alarm clock and there are people making noise and moving about, you probably will just forget your dreams, whereas if you sleep in and naturally wake up, it will usually be right after a dream (for me anyway). Basically if you are rushed in the morning you will probably not care about your dreams but if you can just lay there and relax they will often come back to you.

O and BTW welcome to DV:welcome:

Welcome,

When I first learned about lucid dreaming, my dream recall was terrible. I would go several days without recalling a single dream. The way I made my dream recall better was when i went to bed, I would just tell myself in my mind, "I will wake up after every dream period and I will remember my dreams." I woke up about 2-3 times per night and remembered every dream. I think the reason this worked was because I was telling my brain that I want to remember my dreams.

I do have problems sometimes when i wake up to my alarm clock. The sudden awakening causes me to completely forget my dream. There are times were I will get quick glimpses of my dreams and slowly remember them though. I also get some of those dreams that seem to fly by really fast so it is like I wasn't there when i thought about it. Makes it seem more of a movie than a dream.

I figured you might want to give this a try, it worked out well for me. I wrote down the dreams I had in a dream journal for 2-3 days before I gave up on it. I hope this works out for you well if you decide to give it a try. Goodluck with your dream recall.

masashi14, everyone's recall is different.. I don't feel there is a "normal". I may have one or many dreams depending on how long I sleep (the longer I have to sleep.. the more different dreams I have). Also stress can really affect my dream recall.

What really messes up my recall is being jarred awake by an alarm or some other sound and/or if I immediately change position or start thinking about my day once I wake up.

Try telling your subconscioius to wake you up after each dream or to wake you up about 15 minutes before your alarm goes off (I know it sounds stupid but you'd be surprised how accomodating your subconscious can be).

Once you wake up.. do not move! Think about the dream that you just had.. If nothing comes to mind.. try to remember if there was a specific person, place, thing, food or emotion in the dream. Once you come up with even a tidbit of the dream.. try to work your way backward.. how did you get there.. who was with you, etc.

Also if you haven't started yet, start to write down your dreams.

I keep a small memo pad open with a pen clipped to the spiral next to my pillow. When I wake up from dream, I don't turn on the lights, nor open my eyes.. I just reach for the pad and start writing.

No one says that you have to write a "book" about the dreams you had in your journal. For me, if I'm too tired (or lazy), simply writing down the main topic/subject, and a word or two or a feeling is enough for me to recall a dream.

Some people just write snippets of their dreams.. others write paragraphs, some put images, or feelings, others draw pictures.. whatever helps to bring a dream back to you when you read over it the next morning is appropriate.

Please just know that there is no right way (or one way) to remember or journal about your dreams.

Oh, and welcome to Dream Views! :D

hi and welcome :D

dont worry about recall as long as you keep a dream journal it comes with time. When i first started lucid dreaming my recall was terrible. i remembered like 1 dream every month if i was lucky. after a couple of weeks of keeping a dream journal, i was remembering at least one dream a night. It comes with time.