Dream Journal Question

[superlox3]

If you can't write a dream journal that day, or for a period of time (10 days), then would remembering the dream as much as you can be as effective? Is there something about writing it down that increases your vividness or can you just picture everything that happened in your head?

[Moonbeam]

I think that if you practice recall by just trying to remember all of the details of your dreams, that would be better than nothing. The point really is to not forget a lucid, which you could do if you didn't have good recall. (In addition to figuring out your dream-signs, but even if you just journal periodically you could probably do that). The advantage to actually writing it for me is that by organizing it like that sometimes more comes back to me.

[Twoshadows]

I think that if you were able to replay the dream in your head, trying to remember all the details as possible, that would at least help you maintain your dream recall for that period. You would retain the habit of immediately thinking about your dreams upon awakening. After time you would problably forget the details to those dreams, and if it was a cool lucid dream, that's unfortunate. If possible, I would try to write down something--key words, brief summary. That way you will be able to hang on to the memory of that dream for a longer time.

[Barns]

There isn't really a need for a dream journal, so long as your memory is good you should be able to remember hundreds of dreams.

[Robot_Butler]

I think that there is something in the act of writing it down that helps you structure the memory. Like taking notes during a lecture. You remember much better when you have to process the information into another format. Another example is sketching a building. I can see a detail I like, study it, memorize it. If I later try to redraw the detail from memory, I find it hard to remember. If I sketch the detail in the field when I see it, I can draw it up perfectly weeks later without even referencing the original sketch. Its like the translation helps you understand the complicated idea. I think that writing the dreams down also engages the logical part of your brain that is normally a little sluggish in the morning. It sort of forces you to get your brain jumpstarted, so you can better understand the dream with your whole brain while the memory is fresh.