Thread: Dream Recall Compendium

Thank You StaySharp, I understand now.

Thank you very much for this guide!!!

This thread really helped me. Thanks a lot!

I link here but have never commented. This is my favorite thread for recall. I know only 3 or 4 more techs for remembering dreams. I love it.

I don't DJ or use a tag book anymore, but they got me to where I am today (6 dreams if I sleep through the night 8 hours). Mental tags are amazing, I don't know how well it works without dream incubation though, since I can just go backward through my dreams and hit my tags on the way easier if they are all similar or consistent.

Thanks for all the positive comments, I appreciate it.

Originally Posted by BrandonBoss

I link here but have never commented. This is my favorite thread for recall. I know only 3 or 4 more techs for remembering dreams. I love it.

I don't DJ or use a tag book anymore, but they got me to where I am today (6 dreams if I sleep through the night 8 hours). Mental tags are amazing, I don't know how well it works without dream incubation though, since I can just go backward through my dreams and hit my tags on the way easier if they are all similar or consistent.

Feel free to share those techniques if you want, I'll gladly include them with the next update

"I don't forget any dreams"

Eek! You have a great post but don't use that mantra! I've read a lot that the mind ignores negatives in autosuggestion, so you're basically telling yourself "I forget any dreams", which is just the opposite of what we all want!

Originally Posted by FryingMan

Eek! You have a great post but don't use that mantra! I've read a lot that the mind ignores negatives in autosuggestion, so you're basically telling yourself "I forget any dreams", which is just the opposite of what we all want!

Thanks for bringing this up I will read about it and edit the post accordingly in the future.

I'm wondering about the claim that a bright room results in better recall. I have exactly the opposite experience: I have achieved great recall (4 wakings, each time remembering 4 dreams) in a totally dark environment. In a very bright room, I seem to have 2 wakings max, and the recall is less detailed, with fewer and shorter scenes.

It's hard to really scientifically say in my case, because there are so many other confounding factors (being on vacation in nature vs. being in a busy/noisy city, lost of exercise and time outside vs. lots of indoors/computer time, etc.).

Also, in bright rooms, which inhibits melatonin production, isn't it harder / take longer to get to sleep?

About numbers of dreams: I've had nights with 16+ dream scenes (4 wakings each with 4 or more scenes), and some nights with similar large numbers of scenes but remembered transitions, which I count as a single dream. I think that as memory and recall improves the number of "dreams" drops since you remember more about the transitions between the scenes, but the amount of content remains the same or increases perhaps. Generally I count a scene as a separate "dream" if I can't recall the transition into it and if the plot is totally different from what came before.

Yeah, I should rewrite the light part a little to put more emphasis on the fact that it may be different for many people.
As for the dream numbers, I treat them in a similar way, but occasionally I know that 2 scenes belonged to 1 dream even though I had no real connection in between, I just know sometimes.

Great thread, I see why it is stickied. Thank you for writing it.

•Advanced: At least 6 dreams per night, up to 20

That is insane! Up to 20 dreams. If this is not referring to "scenes" but actual number of dreams, that is amazing. Probably would have to be asleep for a long time.

Exelent compendium staysharp,

i like the sheme of levels of quality and quantity a lot.

I have still a question to you, it is something that is bothering me for a while now. I think everyone of us would like to have a dreamrecall like our recall of waking life.
Could it be benefical to read older dreams from time to time. For example: First time your write the dream down. Second time you read it before going to bed ( that is common). Third time after one week. Fourth time after 3 Weeks. Fifth time after 2 Months. I think it may programm our brain to save the information of dreamrecall diffrently if we force our brain to remember the dreams through reading even months later.

Are you doing it like this or do you have long time dream recall even without reading older dreams.
I am realy curious. Because I just use to write in my dreamjournal in stages. Without dreamjournal i remember rarely a dream. If i start using a dreamjournal, i recall 9 dreams in one night pretty fast.

The older dreams, exept the few lucid ones i had, i can't remember at all.

I would like to hear your ideas on this subject

Originally Posted by Austenir

Exelent compendium staysharp,

i like the sheme of levels of quality and quantity a lot.

I have still a question to you, it is something that is bothering me for a while now. I think everyone of us would like to have a dreamrecall like our recall of waking life.
Could it be benefical to read older dreams from time to time. For example: First time your write the dream down. Second time you read it before going to bed ( that is common). Third time after one week. Fourth time after 3 Weeks. Fifth time after 2 Months. I think it may programm our brain to save the information of dreamrecall diffrently if we force our brain to remember the dreams through reading even months later.

Are you doing it like this or do you have long time dream recall even without reading older dreams.
I am realy curious. Because I just use to write in my dreamjournal in stages. Without dreamjournal i remember rarely a dream. If i start using a dreamjournal, i recall 9 dreams in one night pretty fast.

The older dreams, exept the few lucid ones i had, i can't remember at all.

I would like to hear your ideas on this subject

I have that kind of dream recall naturally though I have to say that thanks to work and life taking a heavy toll on me my current recall has gone far below average...
But I never did that and it's a good idea, I think I'll take my tag-book with me someday sometime and try how many of the dreams I can remember by now, partially more than a year later. I will report back when I have results, but that may take a long time.

Cool idea, thanks for sharing!

Thank You, this was all motivating and helpful.

Thanks for the Thread. Read it all found some new technique. Will start to apply those new one so I can recall my dreams quicker and then progress to recognizing that I am dreaming.

Awesome work.

3 years separate me from your post. This message to tell you thank you, thank you so much for your work and your thoughts.

All the best.

Hey,

I wish I was at rock bottom, i.e. less than 1 dream per night. I'm at 1-2 dreams per year. Used this forum a couple of years ago and managed about 5 in a couple of months but then went back to nil. Bu I'm still trying.

Gilgamish. What are you doing for recall? Have you tried micro-wbtbs?

I use a dream journal, reality checks, and timing/preparing mentally etc.
with horrible recall, I then practiced WILD which worked shortly a couple of times in the past 3 years.

Please do explain or link.

Giglamish you really need to reach for the dream memories immediately upon waking up, i suggest training your prospective memory so that when you wake up you instantly remember that you need to remember your dreams. If you hesitate the dream becomes that much more slippery and slides through your fingers.

I have a question of my own. Im averaging about 4 dreams a night it seems, and have been for a month or two. But I've never had multiple dreams upon a waking, its usually like Ill wake up 5 times in the night with a seperate dream recalled each time. How do you guys know your 4 dreams in one waking arent just one dream? Also, how long did it take for you to have multiple dreams per waking? I feel I am close, if its possible

The definition of exactly how to group different "scenes" into "dreams" is slippery. For me it's a "feeling": sometimes I just "know" the different scenes are all within one dream (or are not). If I'm missing the "feeling", I consider scenes with no common actors, plot, or locations, or clearly recalled transitions as different "dreams."

This Compendium is very thorough. It has helped LOADS with my dream recall. Thx a ton.

thanks for this staysharp :-) good work!

A couple of points:
RE weed and dreams - I think there's some evidence that is surpresses REM - not sure about recall. Theres varuious therads here about. Soo if tthats true and if you are dreaming less, or those dreams are poor quality muddy ones, then that might appear to be the same as poor recall. What I've noticed is that I dream and recall noticably more the day after not smoking, especially if I've binged for a few days. Its almost like there's a buildup, a backlog, that gets released.

RE light - again my own experience is that I dream and recall better with the curtains open winter or summer. So perhaps its not the light per se but that the body-mind is more in tune with the time of day, so the sleep cycles can play out more naturally?

What makes the most difference for me is what happens the moment I wake... If I have a busy day ahead it can be hard not to leap out of bed and start the day's To Do list, or its the kids waking me wanting attention - again tricky to recall much. It seems there's a tiny window of opportunity for recall. Normally its the dreams in the middle of the night (that I wake and jot down notes about) that get recalled. Of course a big lucid is hard to forget whatever happens after waking!!!

Last time I really got into my dream diary it was that which improved recall the most (over time). It also improved dream quality - almost as if my subconscious was saying "Ah! Finally he's paying me attention. Right, lets get dreaming!" However it got to the stage that I was writing pages and pages, and frankly my waking life is too busy for that, unfortunately. So I like your idea of Tags - its still honours the dreams and can be enough to trigger the entire memory.

Some good points there. I did read your post almost immediately but have been very busy with stuff in my life. At some point in the future, when I find the time, I should and will definitely make a new revision and update this post.