Recall slowing down

[Motley]

Hey all! Recently I started working on my recall once again before starting to work with induction techniques. On the first night, I woke up a few times, wrote down a few dreams. (I was doing the MILD thing for waking up) However, as the days went on since then, I have started to remember less and less and write down less and less. Any idea as to why this is and how can I fix it?

[TechDreamer]

Various factors can influence the dream recall of any individual. Here are tasks that can improve your recall: 1. Go to bed earlier. Earlier bedtime=Longer REM periods as you're waking up. It's easier to remember dreams later on in the night. 2. Develop a "Waking Journal" This is a place where you write down everything that happened to you during the previous day. Practicing recalling the days events will lead to a better memory in general. Write good amount about your day, however mundane. Include little details. Your brain will increase its ability to pull information from the past, which helps immensely in dream recall. This worked really well for me! 3. Consider drinking some apple juice when you wake up in the middle of the night. Doing so increases dream vividness and clarity, and as a result, makes them easier to remember. 4. Focus on dreaming during your waking life. Saying simple mantras throughout the day really improves dream recall. Just my 4 cents... peace , tech

[acidlife]

I take note of my awakenings in my DJ every morning. I will write down the times of each awakening and also wich dreams i recalled at wich point... By doing so i keep telling my SC that it's important for me to keep waking up alot during the night!

[Motley]

Ok, thanks! I will try apple juice tonight. I would try going earlier,but I am sick and I'm dreading sleep because of horrible dreams. But nonetheless, I will keep trying. also, I was wondering how does writing your dreams during the night work if you are doinga technique like DEILD that calls for you not to move at all. I was going to try it, but I also wanted to write dreams. I cannot decide

[TechDreamer]

Ok, thanks! I will try apple juice tonight. I would try going earlier,but I am sick and I'm dreading sleep because of horrible dreams. But nonetheless, I will keep trying. also, I was wondering how does writing your dreams during the night work if you are doinga technique like DEILD that calls for you not to move at all. I was going to try it, but I also wanted to write dreams. I cannot decide Good. Use the apple juice about 2 hours before bed, as it has some sugar, and will keep you from going to sleep of you take it right before bed. Drink plenty... You can't write your dreams if you can't move. I would work on improving your dream recall before working on any induction methods. As you're getting back into it, and getting better at dream recall, you can start DEILDing if you want... Do try #2, it really works! Good Luck! peace , tech

[Motley]

I didn't do apple juice today, we ran out Last night, it was even less than the night before. I may start the waking journal, yet it seems like a ton of work to write every day. I mean filling it would take at least half an hour everyday, no? So back to last night, I did the MILD mantra about waking up, but I guess I wasn't very focused or something because I don't remember waking up at all... Maybe that's it- not having a clear intent while doing the mantra and instead just doing it because you have to?

[Serenity]

Are you able to remember anything at all? Chances are, your being sick might be hurting your recall. My recall goes to the dogs when I'm sick My guess is because I sleep lighter and I don't have a very good REM phase due to coughing, or not being able to breathe properly. But, if you wake up with the memory of something in your head, anything at all, write it down! You have a colour on your mind, or a room, a person, or what have you. Ask yourself what that memory could be associated with. What have you been dreaming about lately? Is it linked to one of your dream signs? Sometimes, when my recall is low, it's a struggle of question and answer to get the dream out of my head and onto paper. I usually give myself 15-30 minutes every morning just to devote to it. Other times, nothing I will try will bring it back unless I lay back down, so I do, with my notepad right beside me, pen in hand (in a safe place, so as not to mark up the bed sheets I've done that once already), and I close my eyes. Sometimes, letting your mind drift off will help bring a dream back... As soon as you are aware of a scene coming back, write it down! This is why I suggest having the notepad and pen ready. For me, when I try this technique, I walk a very fine line of drifting back to sleep completely, OR, as soon as I reach out and fumble for the pen and paper, I lose the memory again.

[TechDreamer]

^^^Serenity's got some awesome advice! Yeah, Wake journalling takes a little while, but it's worth it. Put 15 mins into it... Time to get some juice Just a matter of time before you get your recall back. Have be confident about remembering your dreams, and try to get to bed early! You'll get better recall as soon as you get healthy peace , tech

[Motley]

interesting, interesting... Some very good advice, Serenity. As a matter of fact, though, I thought maybe the opposite was true about being sice, because when healthy I sleep better and when sick I sleep lighter and recall better. I have tried the q and a technique, and it ended up with my brain feeling heavy and overloaded, yet I was still in bed and when I switched position to the exact way I was laying when I woke up, EVERYTHING sprang into my mind. It was amazing When I tried to stay in bed and think for a second, I did drift off and had a false awakening which I didn't realize was one. Aanyways, I will try the above mentioned tonight. I decided to finally devote a pad of paper to DJing, because until then I was sort of writing them on my daily calendar sheets.

[Motley]

So this morning I woke up to find I didn't remember any dreams besides what I was dreaming. I lay there, remembered some more. While brushing my teeth, my mind was wandering and when it came to a certain topic, I remembred an excerpt from another dream, so I guess I'm doing something right... Now comes my question. I have noticed that for the past few days I have only been remembering dreams taht I had right before waking, as opposed to the first few nights of my trying I had woken up, remembered my dreams, written them down, adn went back to sleep. Now, I don't think I wake up, or at least I don't remember it... Anything I can do?

[TechDreamer]

In order to wake up and remember more dreams, you can convince yourself you are going to wake up using mantras. I personally just drink a lot of water before bed If you stay asleep, dreams are always forgotten when the brain sinks in to the "deep sleep" brainwave pattern, so it is ideal if you awake after every REM (dream) period. In case you don't know, REM periods happen in 90 minute intervals. (ex: If you went to bed at midnight, you would be dreaming at 1:30, 3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30 etc...) You can set your alarm to go off when you're dreaming so you can remember your dreams. Good Luck! peace , tech

[Serenity]

interesting, interesting... Some very good advice, Serenity. As a matter of fact, though, I thought maybe the opposite was true about being sice, because when healthy I sleep better and when sick I sleep lighter and recall better. Me too... I didn't realize I had said the opposite! Sorry for the confusion, there! ...when I switched position to the exact way I was laying when I woke up, EVERYTHING sprang into my mind. It was amazing Yes! This technique also works very well for many people. I find that I often just pass right out again, which makes me lose what little I did recall So, I usually forget to mention it as part of potential techniques! I have noticed that for the past few days I have only been remembering dreams taht I had right before waking, as opposed to the first few nights of my trying I had woken up, remembered my dreams, written them down, adn went back to sleep. Now, I don't think I wake up, or at least I don't remember it... Anything I can do? Tech answered this just nicely Sound advice!

[Motley]

Iwould do the alarm clock technique, but I am quite a heavy/deep sleeper and it would wake others before it woke me. How do you convince yourself using mantras? I mean that's what I did on the first few days i guess, but now I'm.... not convinced? I don't wake up anymore using mantras. That was what I was asking before about waking up using the MILD mantra.

[Serenity]

What worked for me was just repeating, "I will wake up after each dream" and that worked for me. It wasn't actually after every dream that I would wake up, but it did increase from once a night to three times a night. You might find that, heavy sleeper or not, that using an alarm set for a REM time will surprise you.

[Kraftwerk]

Are you able to remember anything at all? Chances are, your being sick might be hurting your recall. My recall goes to the dogs when I'm sick My guess is because I sleep lighter and I don't have a very good REM phase due to coughing, or not being able to breathe properly. But, if you wake up with the memory of something in your head, anything at all, write it down! You have a colour on your mind, or a room, a person, or what have you. Ask yourself what that memory could be associated with. What have you been dreaming about lately? Is it linked to one of your dream signs? Sometimes, when my recall is low, it's a struggle of question and answer to get the dream out of my head and onto paper. I usually give myself 15-30 minutes every morning just to devote to it. Other times, nothing I will try will bring it back unless I lay back down, so I do, with my notepad right beside me, pen in hand (in a safe place, so as not to mark up the bed sheets I've done that once already), and I close my eyes. Sometimes, letting your mind drift off will help bring a dream back... As soon as you are aware of a scene coming back, write it down! This is why I suggest having the notepad and pen ready. For me, when I try this technique, I walk a very fine line of drifting back to sleep completely, OR, as soon as I reach out and fumble for the pen and paper, I lose the memory again. Ineteresting... When I'm sick my recall is unchanged. My dreams are just weirder.

[TechDreamer]

For a mantra to work, you have to eliminate self doubt. Think positive, man In your situation, I would just drink a lot of water before bed. Your body will wake you up if you have to "go" Nothin' to it but to do it! peace , tech

[Serenity]

I have fears of relying on waking up just to go... I mean, I DO wake up when I have to go, but sometimes I get those dreams where I find a washroom in the dream. So far so good, but I would HATE to explain to my BF why and how a 27 year old could wet the bed

[surealization]

A method I've tried recently when my recall wasn't so good is something a little similar to the placebo technique. Throughout the day I would do OR not do certain things and think to myself 'this will help my recall'. For example smoke weed and during a dry spell thought 'great this stopping my recall'. So then I would smoke my last spliff an hour before usual while telling myself that because I'm doing it earlier it won't affect my recall. I do know that the less high I was for bed the easier my recall would be that was just logic. But it also helped plant the belief into my head because there was an action to support the belief if you get my drift. I mean another example could be that you read more dreams from your journal at night than normal, which could help your belief that your recall is stronger for that night. It's like techDreamer said, eliminate self doubt. I just find an action or even taking away an action helps strengthen the belief. Good luck Peace

[Motley]

Alright, I will try that, surealization. Last night I set my alarm and drank plenty and woke up, but didn't event hink of writing anything down and just went to the bathroom and back to sleep feeling like a zombie. Even with that though, I woke up today and remembered the dream I had right before waking and the dream I had during the night, though just a small snippet of it. I worked out about half of the dream later. I will try to do this same thing tomorrow. And I agree about being cautious with the water. Usually if i have to pee in a dream I end up having a horrible night with dreams about being tortured by not being able to pee.