Thread: I've discovered something that has DRAMATICALLY improved my DREAM RECALL

Originally Posted by Chewnie91

How do you train yourself to wake up without opening your eyes? :\

As with everything else, practice. Everytime you wake up and open your eyes close them righ away. Try and get into the habit of 'closing your eyes' being your first waking thought, then when your eyes are closed try to recall where you just were. I am mostly working on recall and it seems to work, then when I have a basic timeline of what I dreamed about, I take my little book into the bathroom to write it down.

My dream recall is usually pretty crappy so I'm definitely gonna try this.

I'm surprised this had any merit with other folks. I did this just out of curiosity a few weeks ago and had my most vivid lucid dream with it. I support this idea.

O-Suchin

Originally Posted by Chewnie91

My question is, when waking up with the mask on if you open your eyes (since i always open them when i wake up) and then close them again right away, will a have the same effects? How do you train yourself to wake up without opening your eyes? :\

Hi Chewnie91, yes it will have the same effect. That's the beauty of the sleep mask. It doesn't actually matter if you open your eyes because you will still be in darkness, so long as you then close them again you will still have great dream recall. It seems to be the light that washes the dream away more than the action of opening your eyes. But the other brilliant thing about the sleep mask is that it helps you to keep your eyes closed because it is difficult to open your eyes with it on.

As for training yourself to wake up without opening your eyes, like I've said, it doesn't really matter too much if you momentarily open your eyes so long as you close them again reasonably swiftly. Over time you will find you develop the habit of remembering to recall your dream as soon as you awaken.

I'm glad people are having success with my suggestion. I've been wearing a mask for many weeks now and have never had a night where I couldn't recall my dreams. It is just so effective. I never go to bed without it.

It worked! Last night i borrowed my moms pink one (how humiliating -_-) and i wore it to bed, luckily when i woke up this morning it was still on but i had the most vivid dream recall i've had in a LONG time! Thanks for the tip! Ill keep you informed to see if it follows through everynight

Glad to hear! Yeah, it works an absolute treat. It stops you from waking up quickly. It provides a physical and psychological barrier between the dimensions (dream world and waking world) and you are easily able to sink back to "where you just were".

I find I've been able to practice DEILD easily too since wearing the mask.

A sleep mask is like a door to dreamland!

Lol agreed, it was such a simple idea too i never would have thought of wearing a sleep mask (then again im a guy...so yeah haha) Have you had any personal success in trying to chain the sleep mask with the DEILD method?

Thanks for the info DreamQueen, my recall has always been pretty poor
but judging by the positive feedback this could be a godsend to me tommorow
morning i will be off to the shops to get one.

Originally Posted by Chewnie91

Lol agreed, it was such a simple idea too i never would have thought of wearing a sleep mask (then again im a guy...so yeah haha) Have you had any personal success in trying to chain the sleep mask with the DEILD method?

Yes definitely. Recently I got lucid three times in one night. The last two dreams were in the morning when it was light and the mask made it easy to drift back to sleep and get lucid again.

In fact, I have just done a WBTB since I last posted and it was totally light outside (8.30am) and the mask made it easy to go to sleep - and I got lucid.

Originally Posted by DREAMER242000

Thanks for the info DreamQueen, my recall has always been pretty poor
but judging by the positive feedback this could be a godsend to me tommorow
morning i will be off to the shops to get one.

Let me know how you get on! Just remember, you still need to actively recall your dream. Don't wake up and think Hmmm, is it working? lol! Just do what you normally do to recall and the mask should make your dream a lot more accessible.

Man, I'm loving this discovery! Oh... and one more thing, I may have already said this but don't be fooled by FAs! Whenever I have a FA I am wearing my mask in it!

I have a problem with sleep masks. When I wear one, the area beneath the mask feels sweaty and clammy from the fabric not breathing enough. So, when I wake up halfway through the night, I have to take it off or else I can't get back to sleep.

Hmmm, you might have to buy or make a new one out of a breathable fabric eg cotton. I can't say I've ever had this problem with mine.

Cool, I'm going to try this! It would probably also help a ton with WILDing. I do better when I have my head under my blanket because it's darker, but then it always gets really stuffy and it drives me insane.

I use a sleep mask from time to time, but haven't really noticed a great ability to remember dreams when I wear it. Where it does come in handy is when I have lucid dreams, and I seem to have them most in the morning. I'll know I'm having a lucid since I can see, but know I'm wearing the mask in real life. I'll try it out tonight though... It has to be some kind of psychological thing, like Dumbo's "magic feather". That's what I'm guessing.

It's not psychological. It's because it blocks out the light and keeps your brain in alpha rhythm. I first noticed this effect when one morning before i wore a sleep mask i couldn't recall a dream and then i put my hand over my eyes and as soon as the light was blocked out my dream came flooding back.

It's physical presence also serves as a reminder to recall my dream and not automatically start to think about my day.

I'm going to have to try this. I'm off to fashion a make-shift sleep mask =p

Kinda ironic isn't? The thing that is most associated with sleep (besides a bed) can help you better recall your dreams! kinda funny how noone thought of it before! Definitely will try using a mask tonight!





LDs-0
SPs-1

i have been doing this without knowing about it !

Originally Posted by Andrewvc16

Kinda ironic isn't? The thing that is most associated with sleep (besides a bed) can help you better recall your dreams! kinda funny how noone thought of it before! Definitely will try using a mask tonight!

Yeah, you know the old saying about something being right under your nose the whole time, well in this case it was right on top of my nose

Well, the only problem with mask is that it may be rather uncomfortable to wear. I've got a good one which do not touch eyes but still I found it to be somewhat annoying . The method itself is good, probably in such case one can try to use autosuggestions for keeping eyes closed after woking up (will be useful for DEILDing too).

Well, I found an old head band (the kind you wear around your head when jogging ect) that no one in my house uses anymore and commandeered it as a sleepmask (surprisingly works very well)

I'll have to wear it a few days to say, but I had a great dream recall last night (remembered three separate dreams) I'll post again in a few days to see if this stays consistent. =)

Ive personally had great sucess with this. It seems to be working like a charm as far as dream recall. And it definitely does aid the DEILD method, i got lucid twice last night! Well one was technically in the morning haha

Originally Posted by Exdream

Well, I found an old head band (the kind you wear around your head when jogging ect) that no one in my house uses anymore and commandeered it as a sleepmask (surprisingly works very well)

I'll have to wear it a few days to say, but I had a great dream recall last night (remembered three separate dreams) I'll post again in a few days to see if this stays consistent. =)

Lol at the makeshift sleepmask And don't worry, it will remain consistent!

Originally Posted by Chewnie91

Ive personally had great sucess with this. It seems to be working like a charm as far as dream recall. And it definitely does aid the DEILD method, i got lucid twice last night! Well one was technically in the morning haha

Glad to hear! Thanks for the report!

I tried it for two nights, and it didn't really work for me. :/ It might have been due to other things though. The first night I only got 7 hours of sleep, and the second one I wasn't very focused. Then last night I used earplugs (people in my house seem to have issues with quiet), which actually worked really well. Then again, I was also really focused and went to bed early. So I dunno. Oh, and I also used a headband as a sleeping mask. I might try again tonight...

Thanks for the suggestion dream queen. I don't have a sleep mask, so i'l have to use my black bandanna and fold and tie it over my eyes tonight and see if it works.

Tomorrow i get paid so i can get a sleep mask with no problem.

Glad to see a lot of people having success with this.

Also i have to work tomorrow, so if i have an alarm clock wake me, and i hit the snooze button or whatever, will that affect the ability to recall dreams? Hearing external stimuli like sounds, etc.