I’m under a lot of stress lately due to starting school again. I’ve been trying to keep a dream journal, but I (unsurprisingly) have no dreams to record! So, are there any solutions or ways to remember dreams under stress?
My wakeup and recall routine is usually setting a mental timer, then waking up at said time. I keep my eyes closed, recall my dream, then I scribble down my dreams.
How long do you stay still? Do you actively, tentatively try to recapture dream fragments and then expand on them when found by moving up and down the dream timeline? Or do you expect the full dream just to pop up effortlessly?
How much time are you sleeping? Sleep is a determinant factor for dream recall. It’s also a natural remedy for stress. Obviously, you should also look into ways for reducing your overall levels of stress, apart from sleeping. Exercising, meditating (or doing any other relaxation practice), eating a healthy diet, doing activities that are interesting to you, that are fun and distract you for a bit, are all things you can do to de-stress.
Last but not least, affirming to yourself that you remember your dreams every night, before sleep, is a practice that will have a tremendous impact in your ability to recall dreams.
Napping if you can. Try taking a 45min-90min nap between classes. No only will it help with dreams, it should also help with the stress of the day. good luck and hang in there…remember school isn’t forever
I would only like to add that stress does come in various ways and this kind of stress you are experiencing from my opinion is the one you shouldn’t worry at all. All this changes in our lives bring some stress. What you should by my opinion do is what you are already doing and just give yourself time to adjust to this new daily routine.
Once you catch on the sleep schedule and sleep cycles this will normalize and you will start to remember dreams more easily and more vividly…
While my schedule is flexible (I don’t have a job and I’m not in school), I live quite a stressful life, and from my experience the best approach is to try to reduce the stress as much as possible before attempting to work around it.
When I was still in school, I found it helpful to schedule my classes later in the day so that I wouldn’t be pressured to get ready immediately after waking up. The urgent need to direct your attention to waking life (and thus away from your dream and away from writing in your DJ) is often the biggest killer of recall. So if you can manage, modifying your class times and/or your sleep schedule to provide yourself with more time to relax before preparing is a good way to reduce stress.
Another quick fix I’ve found is to not use an alarm clock–at least not a loud, disruptive one. Once again, something that jolts you awake is more likely to draw your attention away from your dreams and interrupt your focus in trying to remember them. Quieter alarm sounds that crescendo until you’re awake are a good choice, but I recommend having a person wake you up gently, if possible.