Dream Recall Trouble

**KingEtecoon** · 06-06-2010 11:21 PM

I originally tried lucid dreaming about 6 months ago, but because of my school schedule I never had much success. I have restarted and made a new profile. I am back to first base. My problem has always been dream recall. Sometimes I will have a week where I remember dreams every night (which is how I remembered to come back to the forum) and sometimes, even when I write as many journals as I can (when I actually have time to), I cant remember anything. Even worse, if I have no dreams to write, then my dream recall will not improve. One positive thing I have though is that I can often keep a dream alive after I wake up (even though I never think to make it lucid, I usually just think, "I want to see what happens next"), but this only happens sometimes.

So, from what I have read, to improve recall all I can do is write my dreams down and just wait. Is there anything else I can do?

**marcher22** · 06-06-2010 11:31 PM

You could try waking yourself with an alarm clock. Set your alarm clock to 4.5, 6, or 7.5 hours after you think you'll fall asleep, if done correctly you should wake up right from a dream. For example If you think you roughly fall asleep at 12 then set your alarm for 6am. I did this and it worked like a charm. As soon as you get up write down your dream.

Check out the lucid-aids section, certain foods can help!

**ExoByte** · 06-07-2010 05:38 AM

marcher has a good suggestion.

Attempt WBTB's regularly if your schedule allows it. Not only will it be easier to remember the dream from an interrupted sleep cycle, but the REM-rebound when you return to bed will cause more vivid and memorable dreams. Its a win-win.

What have you currently been doing to improve recall?

**username695** · 06-07-2010 05:56 AM

Also, writing your day down before you go to bed can help. There is a forum on it somewhere on this site.

**Soria** · 06-07-2010 09:52 AM

I know that if you wake up and immediately get out of bed, your body movements tend to wake you up more and you lose what little of the recall you had. Sometimes what helps me is when I wake up, I keep my eyes shut, relax, and try to go through my last dream before getting up and try to remember even the smallest detail. Then if I think I can go through it, I get up and write it down.

I've also heard if you wake up and stare at the wall or ceiling, it'll help you remember something because you're only focusing on one thing. Hasn't worked very well for me, but I don't use it much.

Also, keeping a regular diary might help where you can try to recall things that happened throughout the day.

**camparoo** · 06-07-2010 10:57 AM

You might be able to catch your dream, if you have the time.

Suggestion from my view: If I go back to sleep right after I wake from a bad dream, or even a boring dream, I can go back and 'correct' things. Even if I don't remember 90% of the dream on waking, obviously, I know if it sucks. If my dream hasn't reached a point of no return (example: where I suspect a family member is dead, but don't know for sure), I can reenter the dream and alter the outcome to my liking.

I suggest you try this type of interactivity. Stop trying to decipher the dream on waking-and instead attempt to reenter the dream state. If you make it, not only will you have much better recall for your dream, but you will have a better day after 'fixing' your dream to a more desirable result.

**KingEtecoon** · 06-08-2010 01:18 AM

Thanks, I will try everything here. Since I have more time I think I will be able to try everything here. I will look into the alarms too.

Thanks

**KingEtecoon** · 06-08-2010 01:22 AM

Originally Posted by ExoByte

marcher has a good suggestion.

Attempt WBTB's regularly if your schedule allows it. Not only will it be easier to remember the dream from an interrupted sleep cycle, but the REM-rebound when you return to bed will cause more vivid and memorable dreams. Its a win-win.

What have you currently been doing to improve recall?

Recently I have been writing down any dreams I have in my dream journal and going to bed telling myself I will remember my dream. My main problem is that I don't usually have dreams that I remember when I wake up to write down. It's sort of a vicious cycle.

**ExoByte** · 06-08-2010 02:27 PM

Remember though that you don't always need to write down the whole dream. Scenes, Places, People, Things, Senses, Colours, Events etc. Even just small fragments, are all worth recording. Write down what you can remember, and then piece together the jigsaw puzzle from there.

Try waking up part way through your sleep cycle, like in a WBTB, and just lie still. Think about what you can remember and ask yourself "What else happened thats related to this?" and "What happened before that? And that?" once you've pieced together a little bit, finish the WBTB and see what you can remember when you wake up again. Remember to follow the same process of questions.

See how that helps next time you get a chance, and let us know if you see any improvement!