Does a written dream journal really help recall?

I was just curious if writing down what I remember from dreams really helps? I

If I want to recall my dreams, I need to write them in a journal. But in order to write in my dream journal, I need to recall my dreams. Seems like a catch-22 to me.

I've read that motivation & excitement have a great impact on dream recalls. So would that be enough? Or is a dream journal almost mandatory?

I guess now is a good time to say that I'm not trying to be sarcastic. I'm honestly wondering how important a dream journal is. When I wake up from a dream, it's hard to fumble for a paper & pen, then get blinded by the light I'd have to turn on.

It is a cycle. You remember a dream, you write it down, your recall is strengthened, you remember more of your next dream. Motivation and excitement can certainly start the cycle. But to get better at recall, you really do need to write (or maybe audially record) your dreams. Trust me here. It will also help you later, when you work on identifying dream signs and frequencies.

Hm. Writing in a journal never bugs me. I keep the journal and lamp in arm's reach before I go to bed (and then move them back to where they were in the morning).

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Originally Posted by rocket70433

I was just curious if writing down what I remember from dreams really helps? I

If I want to recall my dreams, I need to write them in a journal. But in order to write in my dream journal, I need to recall my dreams. Seems like a catch-22 to me.

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It's basically like a cycle like Abra said, you have to start somewhere, but the more you write of your dreams, the more you'll remember your next dreams, and the more you'll be able to write of those dreams and so on and so forth.

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Originally Posted by rocket70433

I've read that motivation & excitement have a great impact on dream recalls. So would that be enough? Or is a dream journal almost mandatory?

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If you want good enough recall to be successful in WBTB, DEILD, and possibly WILD depending on when/how you do it, and if you want to get DILDs a lot more often, then a DJ is vital. So... basically for lucid dreaming in general, yes it's mandatory. I didn't think it was that important until I actually started keeping one and suddenly began having tons of DILDs simply because my recall was better. And I had really good recall before, but just that little extra it gave me was enough to help me get more and more LD's. And I was always horrible at lucid dreaming before that.

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Originally Posted by rocket70433

When I wake up from a dream, it's hard to fumble for a paper & pen, then get blinded by the light I'd have to turn on.

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1) put your pen/pencil/notebook on your dresser/sidetable/whatever you have so you don't have to fumble around for it
2) get a light that isn't so bright, like one of those little book lights or a really dim lamp, or if you have an ihome, turn the light on brighter (since the ihome light can get REALLY bright.)

seriously, it's not rocket science.

k sorry that was rude :P

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Originally Posted by rocket70433

I was just curious if writing down what I remember from dreams really helps?

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Yes, it does.

If you are interested enough to have lucid dreams, a Dream Journal shouldn't be a problem. A dream journal won't help you if you don't put effort into it. One of the main points of a dream journal is to tell your brain that you are interested in remembering your dreams. If you aren't willing to take that step, I don't think you will have the modivation to completely learn lucid dreaming. :)

So yes, it is a necessity.

Writing down your dreams help you recall them later so they don't just fade after you've gotten out of bed and it also increase your recall since your mind becomes more aware that it needs to remember your dreams when you keep writing them down.

Recalling dreams is very important when it comes to LD'ing, why even have a LD when you can't remember it when you wake up?

Before I started keeping a DJ, there were very few dreams I could recall. AFTER starting to keep one, I remembered at least one every night. My recall WILL drop off when I slack off writing them in the journal.

Writing the events in a story format (in present tense) helps even more in the long run.

Does it help with LD? I would definitely say YES. Its benefit is at least twofold, since you not only will REMEMBER it if you have one, but it helps you discern if you're in a dream or not (dreamsigns, etc)