Thread: I can't remember my dreams

Get a notebook, and when you wake up in the morning, don't move, but close your eyes and try for a few minutes to recall what you may have dreamt about.

If anything pops up, an image, a sound, a sentence, write it down. If you can't recall anything whatsoever, then write down what emotions you feel.

Try this for a couple of days, and always go to bed with the intent of recalling your dreams when you wake up. I believe that you will be able to recall more and more.

Best wishes.

Have you tried an alarm around five to six hours into your sleep period?

Sometimes interrupting the sleep period can help with recall, and can even induce a lucid dream under certain circumstances.

Knowing how old you are and how long you sleep without waking might help us give you better advice.

PM me if you want to share info or ask questions in private.

Aside from whats been said, try to focus your intent to remember the dreams (and to lie still recalling them immediately upon awakening, because any moving about you do will make them harder to recall).

You'd be amazed what prospective memory can do. One summer I made myself wake up at 6 AM several nights in a row simply by willing myself to do so before bed.

Originally Posted by Jakob

Get a notebook, and when you wake up in the morning, don't move, but close your eyes and try for a few minutes to recall what you may have dreamt about.
If anything pops up, an image, a sound, a sentence, write it down. If you can't recall anything whatsoever, then write down what emotions you feel.
Try this for a couple of days, and always go to bed with the intent of recalling your dreams when you wake up. I believe that you will be able to recall more and more.
Best wishes.

I've tried this. But thanks!

Originally Posted by melanieb

Have you tried an alarm around five to six hours into your sleep period?
Sometimes interrupting the sleep period can help with recall, and can even induce a lucid dream under certain circumstances.
Knowing how old you are and how long you sleep without waking might help us give you better advice.
PM me if you want to share info or ask questions in private.

Hmm I'll try this tonight.
I'm 20, and have a job that starts at 8AM (typical 8-4) so I have to get up at 6:20 to manage the 40min drive and getting ready.

Will do, thanks!

Originally Posted by Supernova

Aside from whats been said, try to focus your intent to remember the dreams (and to lie still recalling them immediately upon awakening, because any moving about you do will make them harder to recall).
You'd be amazed what prospective memory can do. One summer I made myself wake up at 6 AM several nights in a row simply by willing myself to do so before bed.

I've tried this before, but perhaps not with the intensity it needs. I'll try harder tonight.

Thanks all!

Originally Posted by Supernova

Aside from whats been said...

... and then you repeat what has already been said:

try to focus your intent to remember the dreams (and to lie still recalling them immediately upon awakening, because any moving about you do will make them harder to recall).

Originally Posted by StachuK1992

I've tried this. But thanks!

How long did you try?

You can't just try for a week and give up. There is no shortcut to building up dream recall.

Try magnesium, if it doesn't work for recall, you're at least really relaxed

That sucks bro.

Try MILD only for dream recall. Just tell yourself "I will remember my dreams tonight" or anything similar as long as it's affirmative and includes "tonight." This way it should be the last thing in your head as you fall asleep and will help you to remember your dreams.

Also, try keeping a waking journal. It's exactly what it sounds like, a diary. Just record down the main events of the day like what you ate, who you hung out with, any unique moments you may have experienced. This not only helps with dream recall but also memory in general.

A final tip is to keep a positive mindset. Don't think to yourself that you can't remember any of your dreams, think that you haven't remembered them yet. Always stay positive and keep a positive mindset. This is one of the most important things when it comes to lucid dreaming or anything concerning the mind. Since you're doing something that is entirely controlled by your mind keep your mind as likely to control it the way you want as possible.

Originally Posted by Jakob

... and then you repeat what has already been said:

No, actually, I told you to focus your intent before bed, and use prospective memory.

Please read the fine print at all times.

This really sucks; personally, when I started a dream journal, I started it right after waking up from a dream I could remember.
Like...

Day 1: *Can't remember anything*
Day 2: *fragment* (write down yer scraps!)
Day 3: *Can't remember*
Day 4: *First dream* (WRITE IT DOOOOWN)

And like that I got dreams every single night.

In alot of cases, people do the recall methods, but their recall is still below average. They become more and more stressed out, and as we all know stress KILLS dream recall. What usually happened to them is that they were so anxious about trying to remember their dreams, which hurt their recall. I would suggest waking up and calmly trying to remember what happened in your dream with a positive attitude. There was one time i went on a few day recall dry spell, but then i approached recall with a more positive and calm attitude and i was back to recalling 3 dreams a night within a day or two. Good luck!

This may not be too much help, if you remember dreams really infrequently, but it was a method I found helpful for dream recall ....

A good 75% of my dreams still take place where I grew up, even though I haven't been back there in close to 20 years. So when I was trying to recall dreams when I woke up in the morning, I would start picturing the house I largely grew up in, my bedroom, the other rooms, the garage, the front yard, back yard, the local streets, corner stores, local mall, schools (primary, secondary, high school, college), work places, church. Just thinking of the locations for a few seconds each would frequently remind me of any dreams I had that night that might have taken place at one of those locations.