Thread: Why can't I remember my dreams??

Friday I started keeping a dream journal, but since then I haven't been able to remember any dreams. Before I was keeping a dream journal, I could usually remember 1-3 dreams a night. Why is this? I haven't even had the chance to write in my DJ because I haven't remembered anything!

I had that problem, just write down even THE SMALLEST thing you can remember in your dream. Even if you just remember there was something yellow in the dream write that down. After awhile you will graduallly remember more and more from your dreams. How much sleep are you getting?

Originally Posted by soadfreak2121

I had that problem, just write down even THE SMALLEST thing you can remember in your dream. Even if you just remember there was something yellow in the dream write that down. After awhile you will graduallly remember more and more from your dreams. How much sleep are you getting?

I usually get 7-8 hours of sleep.

the more the better, but 7-8 is okay.
i can also say from personal expirience that it gets better with them, so for now really write down the slightest detail, or use an alarm clock to wake you up if you really cant remember jack

In reality, maybe you didn't actually recall that many dreams. You probably just thought you did. Now that you're trying to write down your dreams maybe you're realizing your dream recall wasn't what you thought it was. Either way, just give it some time and within no time you will be recording your dreams.

I'm having the same damn problem. my recall has been terrible for weeks. i wish i could have long vivid dreams again.

If you think it's because of the journal, then it's probably because you're jumping up too fast.

Stay in bed, and don't move a muscle. The mood of the position you're in helps to remember the dream fragments. Often the way you feel is affected if you move. So lie still, and pull together any little feeling. Then try to remember why you felt that way. That'll give you a small fragment. Then elaborate on the fragments - How did that happen? How did you get there? What happened after that? Why?

Only once you have the thread coming together, and you feel you have all the dream 'points' together, then get up and write it down.
And write down everything and anything that comes to mind. At least for now, until your recall improves again.

About the sleep - have you tried a WBTB? (Sleeping 5 or 6 hours and getting up for 20 minutes or so, and then going back to sleep)
That tends to help recall a lot too.

Set an alarm about 5ish hours after sleep, and 2-3hours after that a few times. You can then get a better idea what you were dreaming about, wright it down, and eventually it should carry over naturally.

I too had dream recall problems. As placebo told , not moving a muscle when waking helps a lot.
When my recall sucked bad , and i coulnd't remember a thing but i wanted to start recalling , i tried to recall after a nap during the day.
I always had many and vivid dreams which i recalled most of them after naps.
You can try it to re-trigger your previous recalling.

I think all this happened cause you thought "my recall is very bad , i'll start a DJ to improve it" , that negative thought was printed in your subconcious.
Try to have more positive thoughts. Say every night "at morning i will remember all my dreams several times"
It really works for me sometimes.

Originally Posted by Placebo

About the sleep - have you tried a WBTB? (Sleeping 5 or 6 hours and getting up for 20 minutes or so, and then going back to sleep)
That tends to help recall a lot too.

That technique is really good. I will usually during the weekdays only sleep approx. 6 hours continuously because I have to get on a bus to a city early in the morning. When I arrow to the city, which takes about an hour, I will go and sleep for 2-3 hours. I will have perfect recall, remembering basicly every event of the dream, and I nearly always have lucids during this second sleep aswell.

I think it also depends on how you are feeling about recall as well. I started out great, remembering and writing down 3 or so vivid dreams a night. Then, as I became a little disenfranchised with LD'ing (through a lack of them) - my recall suffered. Last night I woke up at 7 - remembering nothing!!! Usually, I wake up at 3, 4, 5.

So I suppose just wait - it will hopefully get better!