Thread: Dream Recall temporary issues

I have been doing this stuff for just over 30 years and I still have dry spells with almost no recall or lucid dreams. I find a voice activated recorder is magically helpful. every time you realize you are awake say out loud a few words related to whatever was just happening. Go back later and use these words to help you recall the dreams.

Yes this is completely normal, and I hate it with a passion. I may be at 5 dreams recalled a night, something messes me up, and then I'm at 0-1 dreams. I have to work myself back up.

Here are some things I have learned from my passionate hatred of seemingly random lapses in recall:

1. If you change your bedtime, you risk losing all of your recall. Keep your bedtime exactly the same, OR earlier than before. The worse thing you can do is stay up very late and fall asleep over-tired.

2. New supplements right before bed? This can affect recall.

3. Don't eat right before bed.

4. Allergies!! This is my bane. Allergies ruin many of my lucid attempts. Inevitably, I will be doing a WBTB when I get an awful attack. Either I suffer through the situation and sleep poorly (little recall), or I take the medication that makes me sleep too deeply (more recall with this option, but not likely to get lucid).

5. Blue light from electronics - this is like caffeine, there's science to it. Sometimes I realize that I am using something without a filter.

6. Music before bed. Sometimes I feel musical, and this can be risky right before bed. I get too hyped up and can't settle in. Sometimes makes me stay up later. Obviously, depends on the type of music.

The key to successful recall is your relaxation and bedtime routine. While novelty is great during the daytime and can help with lucidity, it is not so great right before bed. You want to have a very set schedule. Certain activities you do will help. Examples from my life: drinking chamomile tea (with lion's mane), going to bed at 9:30pm, going for a walk or run every evening, reading to wind down, enjoying some time on the porch with incense, take a hot bath, etc.

Sometimes recall just takes a hit for no apparent reason. Just keep on trying. Usually you can get it back within a week of persistent journaling. Don't forget to journal your dream fragments, too. Nothing is too small to journal. The more you journal, the faster recall comes back.

Guys thanks you for your replies.
Hhearing that this is normal reassures me a lot. I should have guessed... The path to lucidity is not meant to be a straight line i suppose. I'll try to adopt a long long term point of view.

Originally Posted by sivason

I have been doing this stuff.....

Your tip is awesome ! Until now I used a voice recorder but I had to move to pick up my cell phone, open my eyes and click record button. Just performing this little thing made me lose 30 to 40% of my dream... But your technique seems to really change that! I can't wait to try it tonight

Originally Posted by MoonageDaydream

Yes this is completely normal, .....

Thank you again for all these details. Until now I don't take any supplement before going to sleep except an apple or a banana 10 to 20 minutes before bed (this is your third point, maybe i should not eat at all even if it's a light apple..)
Another thing i started was the 2-N-back memory training in order to improve working memory and short term memory but i dont understand why would memory training be the problem so i discarded it being the cause.

But about my sleep schedule, I might have changed that a bit. I used to not have a really defined sleep schedule (althoug i had enough sleep) but now I go to bed on a sharp schedule and wake up on the same schedule every day. Maybe that's what made me forget... I heard that strict schedules are necessarys for techniques like WBTB. ( I'm doing 23 pm- 7.30 am) i'll keep going maybe a week but if nothing happens in term of dream recalls i think this strict scheduling might not be for me and i'll have to come back to another schedule.

I would also add that it helps to teach yourself to wake naturally in the early hours of the morning and upon waking making sure the first thought you have is “What did I just dream about?” If you can’t remember, cycle through recurring dream signs and characters you see often in dreams or in your daily life. Many times I have recalled many dreams by remembering simply “oh yeah my friend was in my dream!” Keep circling the subject in your mind and grab onto any fragments you can, one may trigger a whole series of dreams. Sometimes it just takes that one spark! As mentioned dream journal also but don’t do this as a chore, make it your mission to recall as many dreams as possible come the morning. Set this intention before bed and make sure it’s your first thought on a morning. There are always going to be gaps in recall but consistency and enthusiasm are the key to success.

A couple more things:

I don't know what you use, but.. Alarms that make a loud sound are horrible for recall. They can wipe memory very quickly. If you can, try to train yourself to wake up 5-10 minutes before your alarm goes off. This allows for you to wake naturally, and stay in bed to recall dreams for that 5-10 min. It's a lot harder to recall once you get out of bed or once the alarm goes off.

Also, it's important to wake up multiple times a night to record dreams, as Tiktaalik suggested above. I will wake up 4-5 times every night. A good trick is drinking a lot of water before bed and intermittently throughout the night. This will help you set a schedule where you wake several times and can recall dreams (because you have to pee).

Lastly, getting up earlier than normal destroys my recall as well. Every month I have a faculty meeting / training, and I have to get up 30 minutes earlier. This can mess me up too.

I applied some tips that you gave me and i am starting to have dream recall again. thanks you all !

Besides the really helpful tips you already received, I'd suggest to just stay cool. Dream recall will always fluctuate, even in the best of dreamers. Sometimes you just don't do anything wrong and it still happens. It will come back (already is, judging by your latest post). I stopped worrying about this and I find this mindset alone has helped me to have fewer episodes with really poor recall. It still happens, of course, but I don't stress over it anymore.