My sleep schedule’s taken a serious blow since school started a week and a half ago. I’ve gone from bedtime at midnight and waking at ten, to bedtime at ten and waking at six. This isn’t exactly good. I actually need to be up by six-thirty to get ready for school, but I wake myself up at six every morning so that I’ll have time to write down my dream if I remember it (sometimes it can take awhile, I’m not exactly focused after I’ve just gotten up). The problem is, sleeping from ten to six isn’t exactly good timing for dream recall. I didn’t recall anything at six for several days, which was disconcerning. This morning, however, I woke up and knew I’d just had a vivid dream–I just couldn’t remember it. I lay there, concentrating hard for at least five minutes, then I finally remembered it. It seemed as if the dream I remembered had ended a while ago, and it’s much easier to remember a whole dream if you wake up right after it.
So what exactly is the best time to get myself up to record my dreams? Six obviously isn’t working too well…I’ve heard that four-thirty is a good time because it’s a nice, even multiple of 90 minutes. In fact, reading past entries from my DJ, I’ve been realizing that many of them took place at around four or so in the morning. I’m wondering, though, how I’m going to make it so my alarm can wake me up at two different times each morning. Should I get a separate alarm, or just stick with six?
if it was me … I would stick with 6 am for a while. Once you get used to this change in sleeping times and the stress of returning to school goes down, your recall should improve.
you can always try 2 alarm clocks in the future if necessary
Dreams that have an impact on you are more likely to be remembered. Before I improved my dream recall I only remembered the interesting dreams … now I have a higher percentage of boring ones. So since emotion has an impact on you I would say your observation is correct.
Anyone have any advice on how to get out of dry spells? My DR was okay for a while, but for the past week or so I haven’t remembered ANYTHING. I mean anything! I’ll lie awake in bed and not be able to recall even the tiniest dream snippet. Can anyone help?
I’ve got a bit of a strange problem: I sleep with my eyes open. (as you’re probably thinking 'gross!’)
Prior to my dream journal days, if I’d wake up from a good dream I’d think “(blank) was pretty cool, I need to remember that” then I’d go back to sleep. (Blank) being the appearance of a dream creature, location, or even just an idea. After I would wake up for the day I’d get out of bed and flip on the PC, then write out what I wanted to remember.
Once I started keeping a journal next to the bed I noticed a huge increase in the number of dreams I’d experience (or atleast remember). The very first night I wrote down several dreams. Usually I was getting 3-5 a night. None were LD, unfortunately.
However here’s the problem… as I got more into my work (illustration) my eyes were being strained more during the day. Since they’re open at night that was bad news, and I developed a serious dry eye problem. I now have to wear moisture goggles at night or I suffer for it the whole next day. It’s so bad that I can’t focus on drawing unless I wear them. They seriously affect my dream recall though. It is only on the rare occasion that I wake up and jot down a dream. Maybe once in the past 6 months. I no longer am conscious of myself waking up during the night.
Has anyone else experienced this problem after wearing a mask/goggles to bed? How did you go about solving it? It’s been a year now with no progress. I miss remembering my dreams - I’d gotten so much material out of them.
Go to bed earlier than you usually do (an hour or so) and don’t try to do anything but fall asleep - Don’t try to WILD or MILD, not even AS, just fall asleep naturally.
And taking a nap in the middle of the day works sometimes as well.
instead of writing them down … could you record your voice instead? that way if you have it somewhere handy and learn how to switch it on with your eyes shut you wouldn’t need to remove the goggles.
Hmm… I could try it, thanks I’m not sure if it will work because I don’t remember waking up during the night at all, but it’s worth a shot! It’s as though I sleep all the way through to the morning, even though I know that’s not the case.
The goggles block my vision completely. I think probably waking up and looking at the alarm clock ‘woke’ my mind up previously. Now without that visual cue I simply go back to sleep before the mind returns to a temporary conscious state. I don’t have any problems writing in the dark since I’ve got a thick blind and couldn’t see before. It may not have been the prettiest writing but it was still legible… barely, hehe.
I’ll put a recorder next to my bed tonight and see how it goes Hopefully I wont say anything too strange in my groggy state. Even if it’s not strange my mouth doesn’t work very well in the morning. Anyone finding the tape will likely think I recorded a slurring drunk who’s hallucinating, lol.
[i]edit: Thank you Moogle for the suggestion Last night I woke up from 4 dreams (2 ND). For whatever strange reason I couldn’t remember many details of the dreams, so when I woke up from the ND I went right back to sleep. I was very tired… perhaps that’s why. I nearly fell into a WILD after both of the ND. I would slip back into sleep and very quickly realize “Hey wait, I’m dreaming” at which point I’d wake up.
I decided to sleep in and got rid of the goggles (I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping for long). At that point I had a 5th dream, one I remember much more about. Waking up from it, I had a serious craving for vanilla ice cream (I’d been eating an ice cream cone in the dream) so I blame you for my unhealthy breakfast today, lol
Thanks again! It was great to remember my dreams finally.[/i]
I’ve got a pretty big problem with dream recalling, I tend to get really confused in the morning and I barely ever remember something from my dreams. Lately I’ve remembered like 1 dreams a month and then I’ve only remembered it very slightly (Such as short scenes, or pictures). I think it might either have something with lack of sleep (I usually sleep like 7 hours each night), or possible that im a bit stressed. Anyhow I have read that meditation might help, anyone got any experience in that?
I first started using a dream journal to remember my dreams in April this year. I would usually be able to remember at least one dream a night, sometimes two, and I got a couple of short lucid dreams from doing reality checks in the dream.
A few months later, I started having less dream recall. I’d only remember maybe one dream a week. Sometimes I’d remember something from a dream later in the day though. However, I once got two really good lucid dreams two weeks in a row and I hadn’t recalled any dreams other than them in those two weeks.
Anyway, quite recently I went for almost a month without remembering a dream. Then a few days ago I had a dream which I remembered more of throughout the day, so when I got home I wrote it down. The next night, I remembered a dream and wrote it in my dream journal in the morning, then later that day I remembered another dream I’d had earlier in that night. Last night, before I went to sleep, I told myself that I’d wake up at 4:00 AM (I tend to have better dream recall when I wake up early in the morning and don’t have to get up straight away) and that I’d remember what I dreamt about. I ended up waking up three times during that night (1:00 AM, 3:30 AM and 6:00 AM) and each time, I remembered a dream. I quickly wrote it down in my dream journal each time and then went back to sleep.
The first time I woke up that night, I lay there in the same position and tried to remember my dream, but couldn’t really remember it, but as I started getting up to pick up my flashlight so I could see my clock, I then remembered what the dream had been about! I think 3 dreams is the most I’ve ever remembered in one night. I guess maybe telling myself (before I fall asleep) that I’ll remember my dreams works?
Also, I think maybe I had better dream recall when I woke up straight from the dream, or woke up while I was still having the dream, because that’s what happened then.
sorry windowlicker, I thought someone would reply and then forgot about your post. It would probably be an idea to search for a meditation topic … there is one in pathways which mainly deals with using meditation as a means to LD and you should find some smaller meditation topics in beyond too. I also remember some old meditation topics which would be in the archives forum now.
because we are more aware when lucid it is usually a lot easier to remember LDs than normal dreams.
I have trained myself to remember my dreams.
I found it hard at the start (not so very long ago), but now it seems to be easier.
i actually remembered 2 draeams pretty clear and with many deatails tonight (new record for me )
when i woke up today, i was laying in my bed for about 10 seconds, and then a dream just popped up in my head. when i was writing notes about the dream, I just came on one more dream
I think I did have a vivid dream last night and I recalled most of it when I woke up. But later I couldn’t remember a thing of it. I thought that I might have remembered my dream within a different dream because I don’t remember the dream IRL. It’s just confusing.
There are days I can remember 2 dreams I had that night… Then I can go a week without remembering anything at all, except a tiny hint of maybe my surroundings but not the storyline or characters… Believe me it gets frustrating, and I know what will happen if I just lie there, nothing lol. I have read most of the remembering dreams techniques and am aware of how important it is to recall dreams in order to LD. Can anyone introduce me to any new techniques that have worked for people that are utterly empty when they wake up not remembering anything… Just empty…
That tiny hint I was talking about comes to me randomly through the day, but it isn’t enough to form any kind of clue. Whenever I try to explore this clue further, it sort of disappears and messes with my head. This really gets on my nerves, it is like a tease. It worries me because I may become lucid in these dreams and not even know of my progress.
I am not angry at myself, but its more of a worry. Last time I remembered a dream was the 23rd, I remembered 2 that night. Then before that it was the 20th, again I remembered 2 that night as well. I am just a bit worried and confused about what I am doing wrong… Possibly not getting the right kind of sleep, my patterns jumble very often. No I don’t do WILD, so don’t suggest it, I dislike it. My only goal now is to remember dreams.
I have been trying since the start of last summer. Different ones, such as lying there in the same spot with my eyes closed. A lot of others I cannot remember right now, however it is annoying.
ok since you know about the lying still and trying to capture the dream memories and to keep a notebook and pen near by. Also making sure you are getting enough sleep.
The other two keys to success are setting the intention to remember your dreams before you go to sleep … say I will dream and I will remember my dream
a few times before going to sleep
Also set your alarm for a slightly different time, you may be just waking up at the wrong time. Recall is best when woken during or just after REM sleep.
I am getting enough sleep, it’s just split up sometimes over time. Like one time I will sleep for 5 hours, then going back to bed 2-4 hours later. No I cannot take advantage of this and do a WBTB… Trust me, I have work to do during this time. All I need to know are these three things…
Can staying up a long period of time, then getting a full nights sleep affect dream recall?
Splitting your sleep up like that, obviously I start a new cycle after sleeping the 5 hours then going to bed 2 hours later… So could that affect my dream recall? I wouldn’t think so on this one because I am getting a fresh amount of sleep. Meh.
Is there still a way to recall dreams with my schedule?
I get plenty of sleep I guess, it’s like I said, it ends up being split up… Even after I stay up a long period. School can be really bad sometimes. =/
Needless to say, lately and mostly always my sleeping patterns have been jumbled and crap. I hoped that this wouldn’t have effect on my lucid dreaming. Which is my only long term goal I have right now. At this point my only true goal is to remember my dream(s) each night. I will try the autosuggestion though, thanks Moogle. I would appreciate it if someone or you would answer my 3 remaining questions.
Edit: Also let me add something in. I had a small vivid (id say) dream 2 days ago, then last night I remembered a part or an entire event of that dream 2 days ago. At first that day I only remembered what my mom woke me up to which was some guy poking my foot with scizzors… However I remember myself vividly deleting files on my computer. The dream made sense, and I could even see some of the files specifically. It even took the amount time it takes to delete things on my PC. Detailed is one word I could use to represent that small tidbit. Isn’t it odd though to experience dream recall like an entire day later? My computer files reminded me sort of, like an “ah ha” moment. I feel so weird sometimes lol.
The only time I can be positive about what I dreamed about is when I listen to my “Hemi-Sync” DVD while falling asleep. It wakes me after a 90-minute cycle, and usually I remember my dream. I don’t think this helps dream recall, but I am wondering if it does.
I am really despairing, because I believe I had an LD last night. Let me tell you my story.
Through the past few nights I’ve become miserably close to WILD-ing. However, I never quite get there. But, when I go to sleep, halfway through the night, I wake up. Now some people may say this is normal, but let me just tell you, I am a DEEP sleeper. I have slept through a jackhammer in my basement (long story). I have been wondering why I’ve been waking up. But, last night, I know for a fact I accomplished a MILD. I remember waking up from a dream, and saying "Oh Sh**! That was a Dream! Then, I said, “I am sleeping again and going into that dream” With such amazing force that I felt as if I literally took a deep breath, and dove into my dream like it was a lake at night. I KNOW I accomplished it.
But I can’t remember it. And it sucks, because I’ve always had a problem with dream recall, I went for 4 years remembering maybe 5 dreams (although, since I have found this site, I’ve remembered at least fragments of 5 more (I discovered it last week)) So please, does anyone have any hints on dream recall? I’m willing to try anything.
I’m not sure if it will work because I don’t remember waking up during the night at all, but it’s worth a shot! It’s as though I sleep all the way through to the morning, even though I know that’s not the case.
It would probably be an idea to search for a meditation topic … there is one in pathways which mainly deals with using meditation as a means to LD and you should find some smaller meditation topics in beyond too. I also remember some old meditation topics which would be in the archives forum now.
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