Does lucidity increase dream recall?

I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with my dream recall. I started getting back into LDing this month on the 9th, and I've been progressively getting more detailed dreams since then. Until 5 days ago, when I smoked just a teeny bit of weed. Ever since then, I had 3 days in a row with no recall at all, followed by last night where I used the WBTB method and recalled some very small glimpses of my dreams.

I don't know if it's the weed or just a coincidental dry spell. But I'm getting a bit frustrated and I want a quicker way to improve my recall.

I'm looking into lucid dream aids, and the induction gadgets that detect REM sleep and gives flashing lights sounds like a good idea. Lucidity wouldn't mean much if I can't remember the dream when I wake up, though.

So I'm wondering what everyone's experience is with lucidity and dream recall. Because logically, I would think lucidity leads to greater awareness in a dream, which would naturally lead to greater recall when we wake up. But several sources I've read claim that lucidity is not related to dream recall. I'm just curious what everyone's experience is.

The consensus amongst weed-smoking dream-enthusiasts I've seen is: stay away from the ganja if you want to be able to recall your dreams.

I think it's generally the other way around the more dream recall (which generally implies dream *awareness*, that is, the realization that you do dream, and your connection with your dreams) that you have, the more likely that you'll get lucid in a dream.

In my experience, medium- to high-lucidity dreams that you wake directly from are vividly recalled, because you have close to waking awareness throughout the entire experience. Waking from a lucid dream is like being awake in one place, then suddenly being awake in bed.

^^^^What he said! :chuckle:

Dreams with high lucidity are astonishing experiences not soon to be forgotten.

Haha yeah, no more weed for me. I didn't think smoking a small amount would impact dream recall for such a long period of time.

Thanks for the responses. So if I achieve lucidity, I plan to just maintain awareness and solidity, and I think if I maintain that constant stream of consciousness, then I would be aware of myself waking from it and would be able to remember it.

What do you guys think about gadgets such as the rem dreamer to trigger lucidity? In theory, they sound like a very good shortcut to improving both lucidity and dream recall. But in practice, I don't know if my dreams would just incorporate flashing lights or sounds as part of the dream.

If you wake yourself from the Lucid (as opposed to lose lucidity, or false awaken) then recall should be very good for at least most of the lucid time. If you don't wake up from or right after the Lucid it could be lost but generally would still be easier to recall, since you can remember not just content, but also your awareness and decisions you made etc.

Safest thing is that when the lucid is long and you can't remember how it began while in the lucid it is a good time to wake, or if you are losing stability and cannot reestablish it then wake up instead of losing lucidity, but remember to check for false awakening. You don't want to supposedly journal your lucid in a dream and then wake up later having forgotten it.

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Originally Posted by mmmy

Haha yeah, no more weed for me. I didn't think smoking a small amount would impact dream recall for such a long period of time.

Thanks for the responses. So if I achieve lucidity, I plan to just maintain awareness and solidity, and I think if I maintain that constant stream of consciousness, then I would be aware of myself waking from it and would be able to remember it.

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Yes, you'll see once you get lucid :). Usually the first LDs come late in the night's sleep cycles when your brain is already waking up for the day, and so are high awareness and you're generally psyched and excited so forgetting your first LD is unlikely.

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What do you guys think about gadgets such as the rem dreamer to trigger lucidity? In theory, they sound like a very good shortcut to improving both lucidity and dream recall. But in practice, I don't know if my dreams would just incorporate flashing lights or sounds as part of the dream.

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They can help with timing, but I've never personally had any success with them (I had the remee and used it for a while before it broke). But I've never used a REM-detecting device like the RD.

The best way to build lucidity and dream recall is IMO through natural practice: set intention to notice your wakings and to recall and record your dreams. Building dream recall is mostly about becoming really familiar with your dreams, and consistently practicing recall on every waking. Over time, recall will grow high. Lucidity is mostly about building a high waking awareness, creating strong intent and focus, and building a habit of reflecting on your experiences. Of course things like WBTB, WILD attempts, MILD, DEILD attempts make a huge difference as well.

It takes time to build a lucid mindset and dream awareness, there's not really a short cut to that.

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What do you guys think about gadgets such as the rem dreamer to trigger lucidity? In theory, they sound like a very good shortcut to improving both lucidity and dream recall. But in practice, I don't know if my dreams would just incorporate flashing lights or sounds as part of the dream.

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My experience with the REM-Dreamer is that it does what >>IT<< is supposed to do...but I've missed the cue each time it was generated as (sadly) so far I've not had one LD attributable to the device. There's no doubt that there is a learning curve associated with its use and I'm only just at the beginning, so my opinion ATM is quite neutral on its utility...but I would not recommend it over the tried and true techniques. Besides, you would be depriving yourself of what I feel is an essential part of your "night-time awareness" by failing to train yourself with regard to the dreaming you do as you go through your DAYTIME activities. If you read the classics - LaBerge and others, you will very quickly realize how unnoticed the richness of your daytime life has been UNTIL you start to train your mind in the manner required to produce night-time dream awareness.

Trust me, I'm quite disturbed by the FACT that I "wake-walked" with low daytime awareness through more than 60 years of my life. Do the exercises outlined by LaBerge and reap ALL the benefits. Don't just plunk a couple of batteries in a device and call yourself a lucid dreamer. You would be grossly cheating yourself.

Well, last night I broke my dry spell with the help of some melatonin and remembered 4 relatively detailed dreams. In the first dream, I even briefly questioned whether I was dreaming, then decided that I wasn't haha. Hopefully my dream recall keeps up, and this isn't purely a result of taking melatonin since I can see myself growing a dependence on it just to fall asleep.

But the reason I am looking for an aid is because I believe if it can induce lucid dreams, it will build a great amount of momentum which will in turn lead to a quicker development of my awareness in all aspects of my consciousness. Theoretically, of course, if such an aid exists that can be effective for me.

I remember a couple years ago when I first tried lucid dreaming while also taking up a meditation practice. After about a couple weeks of starting the practice, I remember practicing awareness in my dream, and that led to me realizing I am dreaming, as well as realizing the sheer vividness of the dream and how it was nearly indistinguishable from reality. The next couple weeks in my waking life, I would marvel how I could actually be dreaming at any moment. That was a couple years ago and I lacked the discipline to continue with any lucid dreaming or meditation practices, but it is something I want to experience again.

But after reading about more people's experiences with things like rem dreamer or remee, it looks like most gadgets aren't really too effective. Maybe in the future we'll have something better, but for now I agree that it is best just to use the mental techniques and the dream journal.

Good for you! It's so easy to be seduced into thinking that there is an easier way. I'm discovering that even with all the technologic advances, they add VERY LITTLE to the frequency or degree of lucidity. As is often the case, the wanting of something soon leads to the realization that the possessing of that thing (in this case the REM-Dreamer) isn't all that big an advantage. With a phenomena as personal and ethereal as lucidity, electro-mechanical devices may SOUND efficacious, but often prove not NEARLY as effective as the right mental training.

Although not a record breaking pace, I average one LD per month. That average has not gone up in the 1 month that I've owned the REM Dreamer. Yes...my experience with it has been quite limited. I use it no more than twice per week, so, the jury is still out so I'm not going to completely discount its utility. That having been said, I'm counting FAR MORE on re-familiarizing myself with the basics than on the REM-Dreamer going forward. If I can accomplish a steady 2 LD's per month in 2016, I will be VERY happy with my progress.

The main appeal to these gadgets, for me, is the idea that they provide a shortcut or an aid to lucidity. But if there is a steep learning curve to using those gadgets, then that kind of defeats the purpose IMO. After all, it's more beneficial to invest time into cultivating more awareness.

Perhaps these gadgets are good for people who already have a strong foundation to have lucid dreams multiple times a week, and would like that extra push to go from 3 or 4 times a week to 15+ times a week.