Is There a Next Step in Recall?

[bobvilax2000]

I've been dedicated to my DJ for about three weeks now, writing and drawing everything that comes to me in the morning, never stressing to remember, but keeping my mind on the goal. I was amazed at what I could remember in the beginning, about four or five dreams a night, but I seem to have made little progress in these weeks, if not reversed my progress. At first if I had a foggy night's dreams I would blame work and learn how to relax between coming home and going to bed. But the more that I have nights of no recall I can't pinpoint why. The other day I had the entire day off. I went to the art and history museum, caught a movie, got some dinner at this great little ethnic market. Overall a pretty stimulating day. I remembered less that night than I otherwise would. In other words, nothing. The dreams I do remember are still pretty distant and foggy. The first few nights of using self suggestion to wake up after dreams worked well enough, but won't work anymore. My only guess is that I'm more tired than I think after work (I work the dinner shift in a restaurant) and trying to go to sleep within three hours of that is hurting my recall and preventing me waking after REM periods. But even then, some nights after work I recall four hazy dreams, and others I recall nothing. Alarm clocks will kill any recall I may otherwise have, by the way. Let me say this as well. I never expected to have even low level LD in a month. I'm willing to give it time, but I just can't find any progress that I can document. Recall is touch and go. Vividness is hazy. I don't mean to sound like I'm bitching. I'm just trying to give enough of information. So is there any suggestions on a next step that I could take with recall. I'm considering B6, but eh, I'd rather it be me in the end. Audio aids... maybe. Same thing as the B6, I don't want a crutch. Also adoption... It's a fantastic idea, but I feel that I know the theory behind eveything well enough, it's just a matter applying it. Any success stories from adoption by people who were in my shoes? Kindly, thanks. - -Barrett

[Burns]

Damn, I didn't realize no one had answered your post yet. I wouldn't get too stressed out over your less-than-perfect recall. If you're like me, your recall will come and go, depending on what's going on in your life. Sometimes I can remember 3 or 4 dreams per night, and sometimes I'll get absolutely nothing for awhile. Just keep doing what you were doing previously, and don't stress about it. The more frustrated you become, the worse your recall will get.

[solieus]

I may not be an expert, but I know that I always remember MORE when I'm more stressed. I think it just depends on the person. During summer vacation (yeah, I'm still a student) I hardly remember any but during the school year I remember more. That's probably because I sleep in and screw up my cycle. Instead of an alarm (or with an alarm), do you leave your windows open at night? When I leave mine open I wake up when the sun rises - I think it's human nature, that the brighter the room the more easily one wakes up. Also, I remember once trying to tell myself to wake up before my alarm and I did so the alarm never went off. Once my alarm schedule is set constant, I often wake up right before. But whenever I change the times often I always sleep til the alarm and sometimes even through the thing. So, personally, light helps me, along with predictability... I hope this helps

[bobvilax2000]

Hehe, I think I'm a scientist deep down. I like to document everything and find progress or patterns. If I can't find either I re-evaluate the steps that I'm taking. The main thing that caused this thread was having a great day, and then remembering nothing. Maybe I was just SO relaxed that I slept too deep? Regardless, I'm still trudging along and having fun with my results. I had a very long dream last night that spanned over a few areas and kept the story consistent. The rest of the dreams were just short and illogical, hah. I'm also finding that when I think about my dreams, even though they're hazy, it seems as if I stand and stare at odd things for a few seconds. I haven't been worrying about RCs, but I may start them soon. I just want a little more vividness before I really proceed. As for the window, I keep the blinds open through the night, but the light doesn't wake me. I'll wake after some REM periods, or after nine hours. Nine hours is clockwork for me. I'm trying to figure out other ways to waken in the morning. Since I work night I don't have to worry about it often, but I work one or two mornings a week. Maybe I'll just forget it on those days. Bed by one, awake by six... Eh, not too good for recall. Thanks for the replies, guys. Don't worry about it taking so long, Burns. I tend to answer my questions in my posts anyways, so maybe that's why nobody replied, hah. - -Barrett

[Asclepius]

I believe for better recall you need to wake up during the night. You can try to mentally program yourself to wake up after each dream period, or you can try different aids. I usually drink extra water at night, and it will wake me at some point. Recall can be a slippery thing. Its a good practice when you wake up to stay still and quiet and see what you remember. Then gently change positions - lie on your back, on your left side, on your right side - try to take on the different sleeping positions. I tried an experiment a few times with B6 and it wiped out my dream recall completely on those nights. Results may vary.