Good Dream Recall = Disturbed Sleep?

[Energy Joe]

I was listening to a BBC program about dreaming a few days ago, and someone was talking about how if you remember lots of dreams, that means that you're having disturbed, lower-quality sleep than someone who never remembers their dreams. How true is this?

[Thai Boxer]

from my knowledge, no.

There are two types of sleep: Quiet sleep (QS) and Paradoxical sleep (PS, or REM) It is QS that is associated with growth, repair, restoration, a relaxed body, and an idling brain. PS is associated with REM, muscular twitches, a paralyzed body, a highly active brain, and dreaming. I see no reason why remembering dreams would effect you any more than having them in the first place. Yes, it effects your memory, but not your sleeping state, as you dream during non-healing periods at night.

That's my thought on the subject.

[DTQ]

I dont think its 100% true but i have heard you only remember a dream if you wake up whilst you were dreaming.

Im sure I have remember the "dream before the one where I woke up" before, but certainly I remember dreams better if I wake up whilst dreaming and then think about the dream I just had. It is possible to completely not remember a dream even if you wake up in the middle of it, if you dont "think" about the dream ebfore going back to sleep.

[PenguinLord13]

I disagree, from what I have observed, dream recall has no effect on how well I sleep. It's the oposite, How well I sleep affects recall. When I had good recall, I was sleeping the best I had ever slept, the only problem was remembering them throughout the day, as 4 medium dreams is a lot, adn I couldn't write in the morning/didn't want to lose sleep for recall.

[Keeper]

I was told that when your dreams are disrupted then you have a higher chance or remembering them, as they dont just faid away well you sleep. It sometimes happens to me when my alarm goes.

[The Blue Meanie]

I was told that when your dreams are disrupted then you have a higher chance or remembering them, as they dont just faid away well you sleep. It sometimes happens to me when my alarm goes.
[/b]
This is absolutely 100% true.

In fact, it's the principle behind a number of methods of dream recall, such as waking yourself up mid-REM via alarm clock, or by rinking lots of fluid and so waking up and needing to go to the toilet.

However, if you wake yourself suddenly, with an alarm, this might cause you to loose dreams also. The best way is to wake yourself up gradually during an REM cycle, using, for instance, the water method, or an alarm that starts slow and increases gradually in volume.

[wasup]

This sounds like BS. One way that this is false is that your sleepiness has a lot to do with a mental aspect. If you've had bad dreams, you probably feel like crap in the morning. With good dreams, you are probably feeling perky and dandy. If you remember the good dreams, you are more likely to be more awake and feel better.


I dont think its 100% true but i have heard you only remember a dream if you wake up whilst you were dreaming.

Im sure I have remember the "dream before the one where I woke up" before, but certainly I remember dreams better if I wake up whilst dreaming and then think about the dream I just had. It is possible to completely not remember a dream even if you wake up in the middle of it, if you dont "think" about the dream ebfore going back to sleep.
[/b]


This is another reason why it seems that the lower-quality sleep thing is a misconception. If you've read EWOLD by Stephen Laberge... he says that after EVERY rem period you wake up for about 15 seconds or so and you rarely remember it. Some people are more aware of these experienecs and that is why they report waking up many times throughout the night. I've woken up in the morning and I remember clearly dreams I just had in my last REM period, but earlier dreams feel very vague. This is because (in my opinion) they are transferred to your "concrete" memory (you remember remembering the dream when you wake up for the 15 seconds) and you remember it from that.

[Mickeys_Elbow]

I find my recall is best when I have fragmented sleep, waking up in between each dream (or REM cycle) as Nowhereman said. I may not be getting as much solid sleep as I would if I had slept for the whole period of time, but I feel it is more often than not a higher quality of sleep when I have it fragmented with lots of remembered dreams. Some may see it as disturbed sleep, but I feel very rejuvinated after a good night of dreaming.