Dreams are truly the recollection of your unconscious episode. Truthfully, the cerebellum is inclined to assimilate experiences to make chronological sense. This is why it seems that you are experiencing the dreams as they are happening, but you are actually not and cannot. There cerebrum is functionally deactivied (no monoamine neurotransmitter activity) so it is actually when you awake that your mind re-arranges everything and functions on lucidity, dreams, etc.

The blurryness is likely the result of confused or difficult recall.

Either way, the recollection residually helps and reinforces attention and focus.

Your exams and suspension of the dream journal are likely the culprit to this blurryness. I could interpret it as the uneasyness about your exams (ie. "i do not know how this will come about" analguous to "i cannot see the future" etc. etc.).

What do you think...?
What about the WILD technique? you dont even lose consciousness. and WILDs are alot clearer than DILDs. they are for me anyway. They feel more like present experiences than past experiences for me as well.