Improving Dream Recall - Avoid forgetting things after waking up.

I know my thread title isn't very clear, but I don't really know another way to phrase this.
I've improved my Dream Recall to the point where I usually remember 1-2 Dreams a day, which is great, I'm very happy about it. (Actually, I just had a 2 week dry-spell, but that's unrelated to my question. I had a lot of things on my mind, which could explain this)

In order to remember "more things" from my dreams, whenever I have a lucid, I have started to mentally take note of things in my dream.
"This pillow is red", "The pillow feels soft".
I also started to retrace my steps while still in the dream.
"I got to this room by climbing these stairs and going through this door".

I figured this way I'd increase the chances of remembering these things after I wake up.
It works to a certain extend. I do remember that I took note that the pillow was red and soft, but I don't remember what it looked like or how it felt, holding it in my hand.
I only remember the words "red" and "soft", but I do not remember the sensation of holding the pillow, I only know that I did.
I have the same problem with retracing my steps.
I remember I got to the room by climbing the stairs and going through the door, but I don't remember what they looked like, or how it felt like opening the door.

However, while still in the dream, I remember those things. I can recall exactly what the pillow looked and felt like, even details such as the texture of it. But right after I wake up these memories are gone, I only remember the mental notes I took in my dream.


Do you have any suggestions of things I can try to improve this?

Cheers,
Hyu

Well the way I remember dreams is to write down notes each time a REM cycle ends (never anything detailed it makes you feel really tired in the morning trust me :P) So when I wake up in the morning I am greeted with several entrys I run over them and reinforce them in my memory then that night I go over them again and write them into a seperate book (much more detailed and less messy :P) this sort of prepares me for the night and points out dream signs I may have missed in the morning. Well this is how I do it anyway, good luck in improving your recall.
P.S: A glass of apple juice before bed and/or WBTB is extremley helpful in increasing vividness of dreams which aids in recall :D.

Yes, I'm doing the same thing, I have a notebook next to my bed, every time I wake up I write down a few key notes to help me remember my dreams in the morning.
Once I get up I update my digital dream journal using the notes I took during the night.

I'm not really sure how to explain this, but I feel like most of my lucid dreams are quite vivid.
I often note this in a dream, like "wow, this room is so colorful" then I look around and test my senses and realize that the dream is very vivid.
I remember this after waking up, but I do not remember how the room "felt like". I remember taking a mental note that it was colorful, but I cannot bring the image of the room back to my mind.
I don't know, maybe I'm trying too hard and too soon, I'm quite happy with the progress I've made thus far.

I'll try the glass of apple juice before going to bed though, sounds like an easy thing to try :)

Cheers,
Hyu

I don't think it's too unusual to not remember a considerable amount of details after dreaming, and to remember a considerable amount at the point of encoding them. Before you question your memories of dreams, I'd advise you to question your waking memory.

Apply the method you detailed above to a waking life episode of approximately 30 minutes, and then compare the quality/quantity of your memories to the dream ones. Ascertain the type of components you remember easily - e.g. are they action-orientated, property-based, personal, interactional, emotional etc.

When you can isolate what type you are having difficulty remembering, it'll be easier to focus and improve on them.

Good luck.

PS. For me, observational drawing has greatly improved my memory and perception by increasing my attention to detail, light/dark, colour etc. You could try that. :)

Hey Wolfwood,
Thanks for your input!

What you say makes a lot of sense. Obviously the memories from my dreams cannot be better then those from my waking life.
Although this is quite obvious, for some reason I neglected to consider it.
And you're absolutely right, I tried to apply the same method to my waking life, and sure enough, it's quite similar.
I have an easier time visualizing memories from my waking life though, so I'll try to focus on that.
I suppose I'll also try to keep applying the method to my waking life; Maybe I'll be able to improve my waking memories,
and thus also improve my dream recall.

I've thought about drawing scenes from my dreams before, but I never really tried it.
Now that I think about it, if keeping a dream journal provides such great help with recalling the events that occured in a dream,
drawing scenes from a dream should help a great deal with recalling images.
I'll try to take a "mental picture" in my next lucid, and draw it after I wake up. :)

Cheers,
Hyu

Do this, its great for dream recall.
1. Before you go to bed think about your day. What happened? Go through your whole entire day and all the little details until you get to, how you got into your bed.

i guarantee this will help dream recall

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wolfwood

I don't think it's too unusual to not remember a considerable amount of details after dreaming, and to remember a considerable amount at the point of encoding them. Before you question your memories of dreams, I'd advise you to question your waking memory.

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I agree with this. I only remember about 25% of my lucid dream last night and I only remember about 25% of yesterday :D

I think this is the main reason we remember lucid dreams more vividly than regular dreams. While the dream is happening, we can remind ourselves to pay attention and remember. Impossible to do the same thing in a non-lucid dream.