I can't sleep

[Slinx]

I've recently (less than a week) discovered the possibility of lucid dreaming and since then, have found it very hard to sleep. I think this is due to the excitement of just thinking of what I could do within a lucid dream. Is there any way, besides the obvious "Just try and keep a cool head", that I can decrease my excitement when going to bed? I also have very bad dream recall, usually 0-1 a night. How can I improve my dream recall if I don't recall any dreams? I know keeping a dream journal is a good way to improve dream recall (and I have been writing down any dreams I've had), but if I can't put anything in it how will my dream recall improve? I've been doing random reality checks (and a wide variety of other methods to improve my chance of lucidity), so that achieving lucidity will hopefully not be a problem, the problem is just being able to remember the lucid dreams. On another note, the dreams I have are really weird and random, is this normal? For instance, me and a troll flying on birds in some odd shaped building. Most of the dreams I read that other people have are normal, like them being in a store, or other common location while doing normal things. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and any help is appreciated.

[dutchraptor]

There is nothing you can do against excitement sorry. you'll just have to wait it out. As for recalling dream, even the expectation of remembering them will work and help you remember them. Try to write down any fragment of a dream you can no matter how long. Eventually you will get better at it. Your dreams are normal, mine are the exact same. People with a good imagination have creative dreams, it's that simple. If you have an questions for lucid dreaming or the site just send me message

[Killing]

Welcome to DV! Meh, dutchy here already said it all.. I had sort of a similar problem with falling asleep, when I first found out about lucid dreaming. I was afraid of accidentally ending up in SP, so I wouldn't let myself fall asleep. :L

[Brigid]

Maybe try meditating before you go to sleep? Or listen to some kind of guided sleep meditation tape? Those can be helpful ... Most likely, your excitement about dreaming is stressing your brain out a bit which makes it hard to fall asleep. So, don't go to sleep thinking too hard about dreaming, just calmly tell yourself that you will remember your dreams when you wake up, and go to sleep. You'll just have to trust your brain to remember. As for your dream recall, it will get better over time. As dutchraptor said, write down all your dreams even if they're only two-second fragments. The more you write your dreams down, the more frequently you're going to remember them, and you'll remember them in more detail. As for the weirdness level of your dreams, don't worry about it. Everyone's dreams are different. I sometimes have dreams about pretty average life, like shopping or going to school, etc. But I also get pretty strange dreams as well. For example, last night I had a dream that involved cows and giant chickens with human legs walking around, and one of the giant chickens started peeing corn kernels ... So yeah, you're definitely not the only one with weird dreams!

[Slinx]

I have been listening to a hypnotic type recording before I go to bed, and it seems to help some. If nothing else, it calms me down. Another question I have is if my dreams are weird, wouldn't it make it harder for my brain to recognize it's a dream since it's apparently adapted to weirdness?