Incresing Dream Recall

**Paralorfal** · 02-07-2012 05:14 PM

I have a question about dream recall. I have had quite a few dreams that I remembered since I started trying(Around 13-14). However, Lately, I have had a hard time recalling my dreams. I have tried for many days on end. To my demise, I have only remember 2 dreams and they were very small fragments. Like, split second memories... I have been trying very hard but can't figure out how to increase my recall. I was looking for tips to increase my recall. Does tiredness affect recall? What about sleep schedule? Any tips would be very appreciated! Thank you!

**Robot_Butler** · 02-07-2012 06:29 PM

Your sleep schedule can definitely influence your recall. It is easy to remember a dream when you wake directly out of REM. If your alarm is waking you up from a deep sleep, there will not be any dreams to remember. Try adjusting your alarm to catch the end of a REM cycle. Move it back 5 minutes every day until it wakes you from a dream.

Alternately, you can train yourself to wake after every dream. Most people wake briefly after every REM cycle, then just roll over and go back to sleep, forgetting it ever happened. As you go to bed at night, commit to noticing every awakening throughout your sleep. Tell yourself a few times, "I will wake after every dream, and write it down." Visualize yourself doing it, then go to sleep normally.

**Arch** · 02-07-2012 07:41 PM

I lay in my bed for 10 minutes every morning and mull over what happened the night before, that seems to work great for me.
Try writing them down, anything you see, even a fragment.

**b12** · 02-07-2012 10:30 PM

Dream Journal! The more you write, the more you subconsciously realize that you want to remember your dreams, and you will!

Also, there's some information out there (that I can't find at the moment) about dreams and muscle memory. If you wake up, and stay completely still in the position you slept in, and ponder your dreams, it will come back to you. Once you start moving, the muscle memory starts going, and your dreams start fading.

**OctoberWind** · 02-07-2012 11:23 PM

For me, even just a tiny fragment is enough for me to unravel it all.

Start off by (like what arch said) laying in bed for a few minutes and just thinking things over. Let your thoughts randomly flow, and think about anything that could have possibly been on your mind the night before.

Once you get even a tiny fragment, grab onto that and replay it in your mind as often as you can, each time try to get it clearer than the last. After that, think "How did I get to that?" (if it was an event) or "What did I do with it?" (if it was just a thing). Close your eyes and think back, don't strain too hard though, or else it's likely to slip through and go away. It's kinda like scooping up water, if you rush or clench your hands, it'll drip out of your fingers, but if you gently take your time-but be persistent- it'll come to you.

Finally, think of any dream characters or outstanding details you can recall, and re-do the above steps until you uncover as much as the dream as you possibly can.

This 99% of the time works for me, but every person is different.

Good luck ^__^

**Zoth** · 02-07-2012 11:55 PM

Originally Posted by OwO

It's kinda like scooping up water, if you rush or clench your hands, it'll drip out of your fingers, but if you gently take your time-but be persistent- it'll come to you.

Amazing example, it fits perfectly on my situation as well

If I start rushing recall it simply goes through my fingers like I was to grab a very slippery fish