Typed or written dream journals

Hello, I was wondering if it affects dream recall if you type your dream journal instead of writing

The only impact I could imagine is the time that is elapsed between the dream and the record of the dream. I used to write a basic outline on paper, then flesh it out, and remember more later on in the day.
The important thing is that you are making an effort to remember and think about your dreams, I think.

The sooner you record your dream the fresher it will be in your mind. That said, I find typing is much more comfortable. I rather type out 6 pages than write 6 pages, so I end up putting dowm many many many more details when I type my dreams down, which is awesome for DR :wink: . I suggest you do what makes you comfortable and motivates you the most!

EDIT: what I do is I write down key words on paper when I wake up from the dreams and then later when I get up I type them out with as much detail I can remember.

I prefer writing because I can write immediately after waking. I also like to sketch interesting things that are really hard to describe, like this weird bridge I dreamed of. When it comes to usefulness for lucid dreams, my guess would be either writing is better, or they’re the same. I can see the physical act of writing the words from your dreams possibly helping, but I can’t imagine a way that typing could be more beneficial for lucid dreams. It’s really all preference though :smile:

I don’t think there’s any difference between writing or typing out the dreams, since either way you’re digging into those memories which is what improves the recall and detail of dream recall.

But like the others have said, if you’re waiting to type it out that could affect your DR.

I’ve got pretty good dream recall, but it’s very uncomfortable to write while laying in bed. Especially when all you want to do is fall back asleep. For that reason I frequently don’t end up writing down my dreams until later, and I end up forgetting the details that I had because I didn’t write them down. I’ve since changed over to using a combination of writing and drawings to get dreams down faster, but I still skip it when I don’t want to have to lay uncomfortable, get a light on, write for 5-10minutes.

I’m considering picking up one of those flat tablets for the sole purpose of using it as a dream journal. I wont need to turn on any lights that way since the screen will be bright (and the keyboard will be onscreen), I can type faster than I can write by hand, I can type on it while laying in a natural comfortable position, and I can do little doodles if I want to remember something specific.

Might be worth considering one for yourself too if you would really rather type :smile:

So far the best way I’ve found is a combination like mattias suggested. Write down key phrases and then later write or type out the full dream. The thing is that you’re wanting to get your mind thinking about the dream. The fact you’re writing at all makes your mind realize it’s important to you. I’ve heard people say there’s some correlation between actually writing out the letters and memory, but so far it’s not shown enough of a difference for me to want to write things out.