This is hard!

[ArthiswiftKvar]

Hi everyone, My problem is that I cannot for the life of me remember my dreams. I'll admit, i've only recently heard of Lucid Dreaming, but still I can't remember any dreams. I've never really been able too. When I wrote down any dreams i could remember from my life I cane up to about 5. When you remember dreams, is it in your head instantly as you wake up, or do you have to make a concious effort to remeber it? I generaly dont have enough time to lie there and concider things as I have a tendancy to get up too late Also, going by what i've read, I'm wondering if being woken by an alarm clock and generaly not getting enough sleep will effect my DR? Any ideas would be greatly apreciated.

[AlternateReality]

I couldn't really rememer dreams either when i started. Now i can but it is kinda on and off because i can't always focus on it. Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar When you remember dreams, is it in your head instantly as you wake up, or do you have to make a concious effort to remeber it? This morning I almost thought that my dreams were memories, that they actually happened in real life. I could barely remember some of it but the phon was ringing so i couldn't concentrate enough to remember an entire dream.

[Triggerhappy]

Waking up preamaturly and with an alarm clock helps me a lot. The alarm pulls me directly from dreaming to conciousness. Without any time between I don't forget my dreams before I wake up. Writing down my dreams last night also halped a lot. I woke up at 3:30, scratched down some key words and fell back to sleep. In the morning I remembered the entire dream clearly.

[ArthiswiftKvar]

Originally posted by Triggerhappy Waking up preamaturly and with an alarm clock helps me a lot. * The alarm pulls me directly from dreaming to conciousness. * Without any time between I don't forget my dreams before I wake up. * Writing down my dreams last night also halped a lot. * I woke up at 3:30, scratched down some key words and fell back to sleep. * In the morning I remembered the entire dream clearly. That might be true for me, because when my alarm goes off I tend to hit the Snooze button... a lot. So I stay somewhere inbetween. I have no will power i swear! So, do you think making myself wake up straight away will help?

[DuB]

Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ArthiswiftKvar)</div> When you remember dreams, is it in your head instantly as you wake up, or do you have to make a concious effort to remeber it? I generaly dont have enough time to lie there and concider things as I have a tendancy to get up too late [/b] It takes a conscious effort to remember them. What I did when I started working on my dream recall is I set my alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier than normal, and I use that extra time to write in my dream journal (this is key) before getting up. The sooner you write the dreams down, the better. Also, it helps to just jot down notes about your dream that will jar your memory when you read the notes later; you don't have to sit and write a novel about it. Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar@ Also, going by what i've read, I'm wondering if being woken by an alarm clock and generaly not getting enough sleep will effect my DR? What triggerhappy said is true for most people; having an alarm clock wake you up will generally improve your chances your chances of recalling the dream, as you're being pulled immediately from dreaming to consciousness. And yes, not getting enough sleep can affect your recall. You will still be able to remember some of your dreams if you don't get enough sleep, but it's better to get more sleep. <!--QuoteBegin-ArthiswiftKvar So, do you think making myself wake up straight away *will help? Definitely.

[tom hodkinson]

I am new but before I learned of this forum I thought I never dreamed. butWhen I ltried to concentrate I had perfect recall. I also learned that about half of my memories were actually dreams.

[Divinorum]

I've only just started here myself, but the guy who introduced me to Lucid Dreaming says he had no memory of any dream in his entire life until a year or so ago! What he said changed that has been echoed by comments I've read on here - it just takes practise and you'll get there!

[ArthiswiftKvar]

I did ti! I remembered my dream this morning, the one I had in the most recent REM stage i think. I wasn't lucid, but it's a start! Edit, and I just realised I can remember part of a recent dream aswell , it's only a fragment though.

[ArthiswiftKvar]

It seems that was a one off, I havent remembered any more... Yet

[DarkMind]

Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar Hi everyone, * My problem is that I cannot for the life of me remember my dreams. I'll admit, i've only recently heard of Lucid Dreaming, but still I can't remember any dreams. I've never really been able too. When I wrote down any dreams i could remember from my life I cane up to about 5. * * When you remember dreams, is it in your head instantly as you wake up, or do you have to make a concious effort to remeber it? I generaly dont have enough time to lie there and concider things as I have a tendancy to get up too late * *Also, going by what i've read, I'm wondering if being woken by an alarm clock and generaly not getting enough sleep will effect my DR? Any ideas would be greatly apreciated. * For long-term recall, I advise meditation (But be aware of the risks of meditation. Please do a thorough research on this first. Risks in meditation are not to be taken lightly, no matter what others tell you)

[ArthiswiftKvar]

Originally posted by DarkMind For long-term recall, I advise meditation (But be aware of the risks of meditation. Please do a thorough research on this first. Risks in meditation are not to be taken lightly, no matter what others tell you) Meditation is harder than I thought it would be, everything i've read says to focus on something, but I cant find anything that works for me.

[Hotshot]

Before I randomly ran across lucid dreaming and this forum on the internet, i couldnt remember any dreams except for one or two from years ago. Now, I have had 3 in the last week, after I have told myself before i fall asleep, that when I wake up, I will remember my dreams.

[mroberge]

Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar That might be true for me, because when my alarm goes off I tend to hit the Snooze button... a lot. So I stay somewhere inbetween. I have no will power i swear! So, do you think making myself wake up straight away will help? For me, snooze is a recall-killer! What happens to me is that my alarm goes off, and I tag the snooze button without really thinking about it much. I wind up staying in that limbo period for a few snoozes--neither dreaming nor recalling--which makes it impossible for me to recall anything when I'm conscience enough to focus on it.. Most times I don't even bother trying if I've hit snooze a few times, because I know it'll be futile. What does work for me, however, is waking up on my own, just before my alarm goes off. If you wake up at the same time everyday, and yet still have a really hard time getting up, go to bed earlier and earlier until you learn how many hours your body needs. Now most people swear by the alarm being good to interrupt an REM cycle and therefore increase the liklihood of recall. This is probably true as long as you wake up when the alarm goes off and begin recalling right away. I think that the first few moments after waking are the most precious for dream recall, because it seems that our dreams slip further and further away the longer that we are awake... If you have a habit of waking...snoozing...waking...snoozing...waking...s noozing...for 30-45 minutes. It can't be too helpful.

[Neruo]

About that snoozing... It freaking rocks. If I wake up the first time and have recall I do write it down, otherwise indeed you will forget it. However I can have a DR everytime I wake up again. Not even that short dreams too! =)

[Enigma13]

Originally posted by ArthiswiftKvar Hi everyone, My problem is that I cannot for the life of me remember my dreams. I'll admit, i've only recently heard of Lucid Dreaming, but still I can't remember any dreams. I've never really been able too. When I wrote down any dreams i could remember from my life I cane up to about 5. When you remember dreams, is it in your head instantly as you wake up, or do you have to make a concious effort to remeber it? I generaly dont have enough time to lie there and concider things as I have a tendancy to get up too late Also, going by what i've read, I'm wondering if being woken by an alarm clock and generaly not getting enough sleep will effect my DR? Any ideas would be greatly apreciated. My advice is before you go to bed try to focus on remember your dreams. Make that the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep. (Unrelated) <---- That's a cow.

[ArthiswiftKvar]

I do seem to have some DR now, but mainly on weekends, because I get more sleep If I could start getting to sleep earlier I would be okay probably, but I always give in and stay up late (Unrelated) <---- That's a banana.

[William D]

I often wake up three or four times before my alarm goes off. I usually am "too tired" to write down my dreams when I first wake up, so I just go back to sleep again thinking I'll remember them later. This is quite stupid isn't it? I keep having the feeling that I'm not remembering all my dreams. Should I (a) set my alarm earlier and/or (B) force myself to write down my dreams as soon as possible? Also, at night before I go to sleep, my mind likes to wander around and think about what I'm going to do the next day. If I try to make my mind cooperate and focus on one thing (recalling my dreams) I can't fall asleep. I'll just sit there in my bed for hours, thinking over and over, "I'm going to remember my dreams! I'm going to remember my dreams I say!" This can go on for hours, until I finally just give up and let my mind do as it wills. Should I be working harder? Are there techniques for falling asleep quickly? Any advice would be appreciated.

[DuB]

Originally posted by William D+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(William D)</div> Should I (a) set my alarm earlier and/or (B) force myself to write down my dreams as soon as possible?[/b] I'd go for just forcing yourself to write down the dreams. If you think about it, if you set your alarm earlier, you'll still be just as tired when you wake up from the alarm as if you had woken up on your own, probably more so. So either way you'll have to force yourself to write down your dreams. <!--QuoteBegin-William D Also, at night before I go to sleep, my mind likes to wander around and think about what I'm going to do the next day. If I try to make my mind cooperate and focus on one thing (recalling my dreams) I can't fall asleep. I'll just sit there in my bed for hours, thinking over and over, "I'm going to remember my dreams! I'm going to remember my dreams I say!" This can go on for hours, until I finally just give up and let my mind do as it wills. Should I be working harder? Honestly, I don't think that's even necessary just for improving your recall. Simply making a conscious effort to remember your dreams in the morning and making sure to write in your dream journal should be quite enough to exercise that recall . I mean, I would say that focusing your intentions like that can't hurt, but if it's keeping you from falling asleep, then perhaps you should lay off that for a while, and maybe try it again in the future.