Newbie looking for advice

hello everyone and thank you for taking the time to look at my thread. im new to the world of lucid dreaming but have become very interested after reading other peoples stories and experiences.

i've only been trying to lucid dream for 2 days now, but i have an impossible time even remembering what i dream about. i only remember maybe a handful of dreams a year. the last two nights i have been repeating to myself "i will remember my dreams tonight" before going to bed. i set my alarm clock for about 6 hours after i go to sleep. the last two nights when i've woken up i have only been able to remember very vague details and im not even sure if i was dreaming about what i remember. for example, last night when i woke up i couldn't picture any part of the dream in my mind, but i had this thought come into my mind about doing something work related, outdoors and there was an unidentified person. i couldn't remember anything other then that.

i have never really been able to remember much of any dreams i have had my entire life. i might remember doing 1 or two things in a dream VERY rarely (maybe once a year if i am lucky). im just looking for some tips or to read some experiences that others in my situation (or similiar) may have had when they first started trying to recall their dreams. any input will be greatly appreciated!

:welcome: to DV, EJA. :)

It's frustrating when you can't remember your dreams. You seem to be doing Auto-suggestion, so I'd say keep doing it for a while longer. Have you been recording your fragments in a Dream Journal? Even if they're fragments, recording and rereading them will help put you in the mindset of recalling your dreams. Also, I feel (if you can avoid it) that you shouldn't set an alarm to help you get up and recall your dreams. Others say that setting one disrupts REM, so that you can wake up in the middle of a dream. But for me, if the dream plays out in it's entirety, I have a better chance of remembering it in the morning. But that's just me. Really, experiment and see what works for you. :)

thank you for your reply. i have started a dream journal. im a really deep sleeper, so if i don't set my alarm i will usually sleep a full 9 hours uninterupted (even if the end of the world was going on around me). i seem to have (very) slightly better dream recall when i force myself to wake up in the middle of the night. i will keep your suggestion in mind just incase i don't notice an improvement in a couple of days/weeks.

One of the best suggestions for improving dream recall that I've ever heard is the 'water before and after bed' idea. What you do is drink half a glass of water just before you go to bed and put it on your nightstand while thinking "I will remember my dreams tonight." Then when you wake up drink the other half and try to think of your dreams.

If that doesn't work, then when you wake up, don't move, just concentrate on whatever you're thinking about or feeling. If you remember any fragments, concentrate on them until they develop into a dream.