Thread: 0% Dream Recall.

A few questions before suggestions

Lets start with the obvious: what are you currently doing to try and improve recall?

I hit a dry patch recently, and used a mantra to get my recall going back in the right direction. I also used a mantra when I first started my dream journal and it started out strongly. So I believe that it really does help.

When you go to bed repeat a mantra that tells you that you are going to remember and record your dreams. My mantra is "I will wake up from my dreams and when I wake up from my dreams I will write down my dreams." Yes, I'm aware that it's terrible English, but it works well. The result is that when I wake during the night, I'm more aware that I've just woken up and I remember straight away to try and recall my dreams and then write them down.

Don't just say the words in your head. Visualise waking up then visualise sitting up and writing in your journal. You might have trouble getting to sleep if you focus too much on the words, so they should just eventually floe and your thoughts should be on the visualisation. Eventually you'll drift off to sleep.

When you do try to recall your dreams you ask yourself, "What was I just dreaming about?" As soon as anything emerges in your mind, focus on it and ask yourself, "What happened before that?" and "What happened next?" When you've got as much as you can, write it down. Hopefully more will come to you as you write. Then in the morning, type or write up a best copy. If all goes well you should be able to pick out some more details at that point.

When you go back to sleep after taking notes, use the mantra again.

1. How long are you sleeping each night? If you are only getting say 6 hours, you will not get the longer REM periods needed for dreaming, which occur later in the night. Also being tired you will sleep deeper which makes it harder to remember dreams. You need to regularly get 8 hours to get better recall.

2. Whenever you awaken, DO NOT MOVE. Try to stay still. The mind is programmed with a 'roll over' mechanism to free the body from sleep and break 'sleep paralysis'. If you can remain still, not only will you remember dreams but increase your chances of re-entering a dream, and of having lucid dreams.

Agreeing with joggerman, don't move when you wake up. If you have to turn an alarm off go ahead, but then just lay there and try to think of the last thing you can remember. Try to recall anything: a color, a character, an emotion, a landscape, an object, etc. Often I've found that if I can recall one detail, that usually unlocks more details and I try to work backwards to figure out just what happened. Then, when I feel I have a good grasp on my memory of the dream, I grab my DJ and write down a summary. I then go back later and fill in the details.

Just keep at it. Some people take a little more time before their recall really jumps, especially if you're not in the habit, but it will get better and easier. Just keep trying! Let us know if there are any other ways we can help.

-Amé