Difficulty Remembering Dreams From Early Morning/late Sleep

[SoulSearcherX]

I've been consistently waking up, around 2-4 in the morning, remembering dreams and writing them down in my journal (I usually go to bed around 11 or so). Lately though, even though I fall back asleep after this, I am not remembering my early morning dreams, which is disappointing to me because those are supposed to be the longest REM stages with the highest potential for lucidity. Part of the problem may be that I'm sometimes having trouble going back to sleep after journaling the early dreams, so I'm not quite getting enough sleep before I have to wake up. I am trying WILD during these times but with no success. I did achieve brief lucidity a couple of nights ago, but this was also during an early dream. I'm not sure if I should allow myself to go back to sleep without journaling at night in the hope that I'll get more sleep and better dreams in the later stages of sleep... but then I may risk losing recall of the early dreams. Any suggestions?

[BeautifulDreamer]

I find that early dreams aren't very important. But if you must, I suggest you use a couple night's for early dreams, and the rest for late dreams and ludicity.

[Rayn0rrr]

Do you have an alarm clock set or maybe somebody who wakes you (abruptly)? If so, this makes it easier to forget dreams because your first thought goes to the radio screaming through the alarm clock or the person who is waking you.

[SoulSearcherX]

Do you have an alarm clock set or maybe somebody who wakes you (abruptly)? If so, this makes it easier to forget dreams because your first thought goes to the radio screaming through the alarm clock or the person who is waking you. [/b] No alarm clock. I go to work late, so I can wake up naturally. Typically I wake up about 7:30 or so. I think I just need to lie in bed still until I remember something. Usually I'll lie in bed and then give up after a few minutes of not recalling anything. But I do get glimpses later on. I just remembered a flash of a dream where I was aware that an asteroid was going to crash into earth, and I hear on the radio that it happened, and I'm standing outside with a bunch of people watching the sky change colors. Somehow I didn't remember that when I woke up.

[SoulSearcherX]

Maybe instead of thoroughly writing detailed descriptions of your dreams (I know this can be a hassle when you're tired), you could try jotting down descriptive notes. Highlighting the main points. And when you finally wake up, the notes can be used to help trigger memories. This is what I do when I'm too tired and lazy to write long entries in my DreamJournal. [/b] Yeah that's something I tried. I even tried repeating a phrase which summarizes the dream over and over again, then letting myself go back to sleep. It worked for remembering that dream but I eventually still had the same trouble with the late dreams. Last night I used the novadreamer for the first time, which my friend has lent me, and remembered the late dreams in very nice detail though. I doubt the device had much to do with it other than the fact that using a device like that keeps dreaming in your concious mind while you are falling asleep, because you feel it on you.