Do we only remember dreams from our latest REM cycle?

**loik** · 05-22-2013 11:03 PM

So the other day I woke up bout 40 minutes before I usually do. While I was awake I didnt care to write down my dreams and forget them all very quickly. I went back to bed, hoping to get a little bit more sleep. when I woke up about 40 minutes later I remembered a lot of dreams, enough to fill a page of my dream journal. So that got me wondering, " Do we only remember dreams from our latest REM cycle and forget the rest of the dreams we have that night?"

**Darkmatters** · 05-23-2013 12:32 AM

When my recall is strong I can easily remember dreams from what seems to be every REM period of the night, though the earliest ones can be pretty difficult.

If you do wake up in the night and don't want to write them down, then review the dreams in your head - in words, as if you're telling them to somebody. Putting them into words gets them over into the right brain and sort of cements them into your memory much better. Also maybe just jot down a few keywords to jog your memory in the morning, though all too often people wake up and find indecipherable scribbles in their journals that they don't remember writing and have no idea what the strange cryptic words might mean.

**loik** · 05-23-2013 01:18 AM

Ok that helps. I thought that I had uncovered a dissapointing secret, but I'm really glad that with experience one can remember nearly all their dreams.
thanks

**reveriemyst** · 05-23-2013 02:05 AM

Originally Posted by Darkmatters

though all too often people wake up and find indecipherable scribbles in their journals that they don't remember writing and have no idea what the strange cryptic words might mean.

Ha! This is so me.

I get so annoyed at myself when trying to go back and write my dream in depth but can only barely understand 1 out of 4 words.

And there are some times I wake up from my latest REM, can't remember a single thing. Other times I wake up not remembering anything, only for 4 dreams to hit me in the face an hour later.

Minds are trippy things.

**lukesmith88** · 05-23-2013 09:32 PM

Loik, you can remember dreams from all different REM stages, its just that you are more likely to remember your latest stage in greater detail. If you learn to control your dreams and lucidity, you can remember your others dreams with greater clarity. A dream journal helps with this, even writing down the smallest bits of information will help build up your abilities to remember dreams in the night.