Thread: Not enough sleep, no dream recall.

Why can't you sleep 8 hours?

I can on nights that i don't have to get up early. It's impossible for me to fall asleep at 10pm or even 11.

Try to go to bed a little earlier every night. Try to go to bed at 11:45 for a couple nights then wean it down to 11:30 until you reach about 10:00 or so. Or you could try waking up at 4:00 or earlier for a couple of days so you'll be more tired when 10-11 o clock comes around.

Originally Posted by The Silver Bullet

Try to go to bed a little earlier every night. Try to go to bed at 11:45 for a couple nights then wean it down to 11:30 until you reach about 10:00 or so. Or you could try waking up at 4:00 or earlier for a couple of days so you'll be more tired when 10-11 o clock comes around.

I agree.. It's all about slowly changing your sleeping pattern and getting into a better one.

LDing can be frustrating for people with erratic sleeping schedules... At least this is and always has been the case with me. It's led me to give up many times in fact. I suppose the best advice I can think of is to try your hardest to recall any minor detail and document it. If you can't - you can't. I'm certain it's pointless mentioning not to beat yourself with a studded belt over it, it's no big deal really. Weird though, I usually can't recall much after 8+ hours of sleep, and do my best at 5-6 hours or less.

Yeah thanks for all the reply's, ill try to slowly ween it down and see how that goes.

Yes, the gradual shift is important. It won't happen immediately, but if you're consistent in it you'll get used to it. If you're having trouble sleeping at earlier times like 10PM (or having trouble motivating yourself to go to sleep as opposed to doing other things that late at night), just ask yourself if you'd rather improve your recall or even have lucid dreams versus what you're doing right then when you could be trying to improve/change your sleep schedule.

In my experience, I have to have at least 8 hours of sleep to have good recall - anything less, and the recall just disappears. So, the only real answer I can give you is just to get to bed earlier and get your body used to it. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

I thought dream recall has more to do with when you wake up in the sleep cycles, rather than how much you sleep. Still, it probably helps. Slowly changing it will help though, as will waking up earlier.

But yeah, when my dream is interrupted as I wake up, I tend to remember it better. I also occaisonally wake up peacefully, half-dozing and relaxed, consciously thinking about the dream. However, as soon as I become awake, or open my eyes or focus on something else, I practically instantly lose it.

Good luck though.

Originally Posted by Cabletv

I thought dream recall has more to do with when you wake up in the sleep cycles, rather than how much you sleep.

Both play into factor. Most people tend to remember their dreams if they wake up right after REM cycle. Your first 2-3 REM cycles are far apart and they are short, but after about 4-6 hours of sleep, they get closer together and they are longer. So getting a full 8 hours of sleep means more and longer dreams.

Originally Posted by The Silver Bullet

Both play into factor. Most people tend to remember their dreams if they wake up right after REM cycle. Your first 2-3 REM cycles are far apart and they are short, but after about 4-6 hours of sleep, they get closer together and they are longer. So getting a full 8 hours of sleep means more and longer dreams.

Oh I see, well I'll definitely make more of an effort to stop procrastinating sleep at night now. I don't often get the full 8 hours/night, and my dream recall can quite often be fairly sporadic. But that's nice to know.