How To Remember Dreams
We’ve just wrapped up a series of posts that all discuss state tests. Those are key questions you ask yourself and habits that you develop in order to realize you are dreaming and from there start controlling dreams.
Memory plays a big role here: both remembering to perform these techniques within the dream state, and then remembering the dream itself after waking.
Though we often mention dream recall methods, we’ve decided to dedicate an entire post to the question of how to remember dreams?
Firstly, there is the issue of getting enough sleep. We already hear some of you groaning.
Yes, modern life has wreaked havoc on the time and quality of sleep for many people. However, there is nothing lazy about being well-rested. As we all know, it’s healthy.
If you are serious about being an oneironaut, (dream explorer), but usually wake up with an alarm clock, feeling like you need more sleep, then get to work by hitting the sheets a little early! Hey, at least you have an excuse now…
A well-rested mind is more apt to recall dreams. But more sleep addresses the question of how to remember dreams in another regard as well. We dream more as we go through the latter cycles of sleep.
If you’ve noticed that you’re most likely to remember your early-morning dreams, closest to when you awaken, this is why.
As some may know, each sleep cycle is approximately 90 minutes long.
During the first such cycle, our dreaming period may only correlate to ten waking-life minutes. On the other end of the scale, after 8 hours of sleep, the dreaming period dramatically increases, sometimes lasting up to an hour of actual time.*
Your ability to remember dreams is also dependent on when you awaken in the sleep cycle.
Some kind of awakened state is necessary for dream recall (again, this is why early mornings, before naturally arising, is when people report the most dream activity.)
Therefore, if you set an alarm for ninety minute intervals of the natural human sleep cycle, you will be able to increase your dream recall.
You probably don’t have to do this for the first two cycles, but rather start at the 4 1/2 hour mark.
If you’ve read other article on this site, you may have seen mention of a personal dream journal and its importance.
This is where it comes into play. Keep it handy by your bedside, as it is a gateway in training your brain in learning how to remember dreams.
Once you’re awake (albeit a little bleary from getting woken up by an alarm in the middle of the night), then what?
Ask yourself “What was I just dreaming?”
Simple as it sounds, you’d be amazed at how many people don’t follow through on this, yet how effective it is when utilized.
If you begin to think about chores, concerns, or what you have to do after you wake up, you must gently stop yourself. Such thoughts take your mind to a different place.
If nothing comes to you after asking what you were just dreaming, take a broader perspective. Ask yourself what you were feeling as you were waking up. Be easy with yourself and let you mind stay relaxed.
If a waking-life concern keeps nagging you, you may then ask, “okay, was I just dreaming about that?”
If nothing comes to you after several minutes, allow yourself to fall asleep again.
Do not fret.
You are training your mind, making subconscious links as you learn how to remember dreams.
You may very well end up encountering something in your waking day that finally reminds you of what you’d been dreaming about the night before!
…as well as getting the most out of every aspect of life.
The OmHarmonicstools utilize cutting-edge technology to take you into highly beneficial states of meditation.
Regardless of your experience level.
That’s it for this article on how to remember dreams.
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*(This information was presented in the book Exploring The World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge & Howard Rheingold)
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