Now as an adult I have zero dream recall. Are lucid dreams ever going to be possible? Should I try?

[anarchophila]

I remember having lucid dreams as a child where I had near complete control over my actions as well as imagery and atmosphere. Although there were times when I wouldn't have control, for instance if I were flying (floating?) high above my town be suddenly unable to stop a rapid descent which would ultimately result in a fearful and abrupt awakening. I would relish these experiences, even the "bad" ones where I'd fall. Also of note is as a teenager while listening to music I could enter a "trance" where I could quite vividly imagine the concert in my mind. As I got older the dreams became less and less frequent and eventually I wasn't even able to recall dreams at all. That's where I'm at now. I can't remember the last time I even recalled any kind of dream. Given this state of affairs is it going to be difficult to impossible for me to start recalling dreams? From what I gather this is the first step to lucid dreaming. I must say I am fascinated by the idea of recapturing those lucid dreams of my childhood. Any feedback would be much appreciated. -anarchophila

[Phydeaux_3]

Your post was like looking in a mirror for me. I dreamt like a house on fire when I was a kid, never lucid but lots of dreams. Flying dreams too. It was my #1 to-do and my primary reason for trying to achieve lucidity. Like you, my recall was horrible, almost non-existent, now after only a few months of religiously keeping my dream journal my recall has improved tremendously and I've even had one lucid dream, just last Friday. So, my advice to you would be to start journaling, even if it starts out slow it will build momentum. Try getting on some B6 at bedtime, get "too much" sleep whenever possible, including as many naps as you can get during the day. Try to get as much sunlight as possible during the day (for melatonin/seratonin production) and be persistent. If there's one thing I know for sure about lucidity it won't come without a LOT of effort and very serious intent. Good luck! Dream on!

[Seeker]

Hi anarchophila, Welcome to Dream Views. I hope we can help you out with youe recall and lucid dreaming. I am 45 years old and still have pretty good recall. I have noticed however, that if I do not make note f my dreams, that I cannot rememeber any of them. I don't really understand everything that is going on, but it seems that it is harder to form memories as you ge, especially of dreams. Do you keep a dream journal? That seems to work better than anything else for increaseing dream reacall and the ability to have lucid dreams.

[DrTechnical]

I think there are two important points to understand in relation to remembering dreams: 1) You need to realize that your ability to remember a dream is coupled to the need to wake up out of it. 2) You need to understand your sleep cyles and when stage 5 REM occurs within those cycles - most importantly, that stage 5 increases monotonically with each successive cycle. There's some discussion of this on the main dreamviews page. As such, your goal should be to sleep a good number of hours (7-9) to maximize time spent in substantial REM periods, and to take steps to increase the likelihood of waking up. You could get cutsie and try to use an alarm clock. Other simple methods include drinking lots of water before bed and everytime you get up to pee. By the end of your sleep, every time you wake, you should have a 50/50 chance you awoke out of REM, as REM is about 45-50 min of the 90 min cycle. Avoid sedative highs of any kind (alcohol, melatonin, opiates of any kind, etc ...)

[Caradon]

Hi I was in the same situation. I dont know why I ever got out of Lucid dreaming! I think it was to much drinking, and, video game's. But now I am 100% sober, and I quit video game's to focus on becoming Lucid. I brought myself back from zero dream recall, to having multiple Lucid's in a night. It took a lot of hard work and determination. But it was well worth it. If I can do it, you can do it!

[MindDaguerreotype]

Hi ! I had zero dream recall too when I discovered lucid dreaming some months ago, so it worried me a bit. But it was very easy to get it back. Like some suggested, I started by setting my alarm clock in the middle of the night at a multiple of 1h30 to wake me up at the end of a REM period. Now I use very simple and more comfortable method: I just repeat to myself before falling asleep "Tonight, I will wake-up at the end of each dream". It may sound silly, but works very well, and will wake you up in the most natural way without bad side-effects. Then you can remember the dream just before, write the most important points in a notepad by your bed, and fall back asleep (don't forget to repeat the magic sentence again). 2 nights ago, I could remember all the 6 REM periods this way

[Cammy]

Hi there, im new myself. I started last week with 0 dream recall. (Maybe 1 or 2 a month). I did what they say on this forum. I told myself i will remember my dreams and wake up. The first night ive tried this i woke up and jotted down dreams. Ive only had 1 blank night in the week, recalling two or three dreams per night. It is slowly working for me, good luck

[Mes Tarrant]

Hey there! I think all these suggestions are great. I think the biggest reason why adults have a harder time remembering dreams than children is because of all the stress of every day life... you might find yourself so preoccupied with other matters that lucid dreaming takes a major back seat. I know for me during college, all I wanted to do at night was collapse! I couldn't afford to wake up during the night and jot down my dreams because all I wanted was to sleep for as long as possible. So I started to try to remember my dreams... this morning, actually! For the first time in about 3 years. At first all I could remember was some tiny, general detail, like "I dreampt that I was at work." I wrote it down anyway, and then lo and behold other dreams started to come back to me. So, I definitely think that anyone at any age has the potential to have really good dream recall.

[anarchophila]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I started my dream journal three nights ago and every night I remember a little bit more. It helps to have my wife saying, "Do you remember any dreams?" every morning. Attempting lucid dreams is definitely something you could not easily hide from your significant other. So as it stands now I have had no lucid dreams but I'm starting to remember fragments. Like last night I dreamt that I flew down to a football field using a piece of cardboard as a hanglider only to captured by security and thrown into an underground "jail" of sorts with Michael J. Fox, Michael Douglas, a chunky Asian girl, and some nondescript dude. Eventually Michael J. Fox was elected by a vote of the football stadium to be released, we all assumed it was a sympathy vote. Then I realized I could just walk out of the jail and I did so, making my way to a super market and from there things got really hazy. My dreams seem like the ravings of a mad man. Oh well, its fun recalling my dreams, next goal is lucid dreaming. -anarchophila

[Mes Tarrant]

Wow looks like you have some exciting nights of dreaming ahead of you!!

[Caradon]

Hey there! I think all these suggestions are great. I think the biggest reason why adults have a harder time remembering dreams than children is because of all the stress of every day life... you might find yourself so preoccupied with other matters that lucid dreaming takes a major back seat. I know for me during college, all I wanted to do at night was collapse! I couldn't afford to wake up during the night and jot down my dreams because all I wanted was to sleep for as long as possible. So I started to try to remember my dreams... this morning, actually! For the first time in about 3 years. At first all I could remember was some tiny, general detail, like "I dreampt that I was at work." I wrote it down anyway, and then lo and behold other dreams started to come back to me. So, I definitely think that anyone at any age has the potential to have really good dream recall. when I wake up at night from a dream, I just click on my flash light real quick. Then write a couple words down from the dream just to remind me later if I forget it. Plus waking up for a second helps make your mind a little more alert, so it's easier to remember the next ones.

[matturquhart]

Hi all, Well, it is a known fact that recollection of dreams during childhood is sharper and more detailed than that during adulthood. As we grow, we start becoming more attracted towards what is going on around us ... and the dream land begins getting less attractive ... One good way to connect, besides the other good suggestions given here, is to actively begin connecting with one's true self throughout the daily humdrum of life. Getting in touch with the true self ... puts you back in touch with the lost world of dreams too.

[Tornado Joe]

Hey all, Among the many factors that effect dream recall mentioned above in this thread (stress, hours of sleep, journaling), there is yet another one I'll mention which deals directly with age: levels of certain chemicals in our brains. Primarily acetycholine. I'll leave it up to you to look it up if interested, but in a nutshell, acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in our body of which levels drop starting around age 35 and up. This chemical is being studied to help find ways of treating (and even curing) Alzheimer's disease. At this time, supplements are available which contain Galantamine, a natural powder that comes from a plant. You could try looking into taking such a supplement along with whatever vitamins you may already take - or on occasional nights to see if it effects your recall (or lucids )