I'm kind of new at this...

Usually I’ve never really paid too much attention to my dreams. I typically only remember them if they’re really, really weird or scary, and even then I often forget all about them after a few days. I’m willing to say that I probably only remember about one dream a week, maybe two if I’ve been really busy that week. Yesterday, though, I first heard about dream recollection and lucid dreaming, and it intrigued me.

Last night was my first attempt at deliberate dream remembering, and it basically went like this:

I got out a blank notebook and pen and placed them on the table beside my bed. It was kind of late–probably about one in the morning–but I stay up that late all the time, so I’m used to it. While lying in bed, I thought over and over again, I will remember my dream. I had no trouble falling asleep, and slept soundly until I was suddenly awakened at about six-thirty in the morning–way earlier than I ever wake up on weekends. I remembered small bits and pieces of my dream, and I regret the fact that I didn’t write them down. I tried to fall asleep again, but this time it was much harder. I slept for a few more hours, then I woke up for good. Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember anything from my dream now, except that I think my mom was in it somewhere and for some reason I keep thinking it was something really cliche. I don’t know why.

Anyone have any tips for remembering dreams better? I know I should’ve written down the small amounts of it I did remember when I woke up abruptly this morning… I actually think that it just didn’t seem important enough to jot down. Can someone help?

Welcome to ld4all kaybee2 :smile:

I make that mistake all the time of not writing things down, too tired :sleep: . It’s weird sometimes i really feel that i’m going to remember but when i wake up again later i don’t.

WBTB is a great method for improving dream recall. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep each night so that you won’t be too tired to jot things down. I find i have much better dream recall if i set an alarm to go off once or twice during the night. Write every detail no matter how small eg. Perhaps you wake up feeling happy but you can’t remember any dreams at all. Make a note of how you feel when you wake up.

Thanks! :smile: I’ll keep that in mind, and I’ll write down as much as I possibly can in my DJ. I’m going to need to start setting my alarm clock, though… :yawn:

The most important part is to train yourself to write whatever you remember, even if it’s not much or makes no sense at all before falling back asleep. Don’t try to write the whole dream at once - I don’t because it wakes me up - just a few keywords and go back to bed. Doing that helps triggering my dream memories even hours after waking up.

Self confidence. Don’t say: “I will remember my dreams”, say “I will remember my dreams” or “I WILL remember my dreams”. Know that You can remember your dreams, and repeat your phrase throughout the day.