Dream Recall Tips - Better Remember Your Dreams and Tips for
Keeping a Dream Journal
We've all experienced waking up and just knowing that we were
having a really interesting, creative or even enlightening dream
but we just can't quite remember the details or theme. It's a
very frustrating feeling, especially when it annoys you
throughout the day as activities trigger just a bit of that
previous nights dream... just enough to give you a feeling, but
not enough for you to remember details.
In this article, Brilliant Dreams has compiled a few dream
recall tips that can work on their own or synergistically with
the Brilliant Dreams Dream Enhancement supplement to help you
dramatically improve your dream recall. The first section
contains ten quick dream recall tips, followed by a section
discussing dream journals and tips on maintaining a dream
journal. As with most techniques, these dream recall tips work
best when applied consistently over time.
TIPS TO IMPROVE DREAM RECALL
1) Maintain good, consistent sleep habits. Not getting enough
sleep or going to bed 'dog-tired' can dramatically reduce
natural dreaming activity. The Mayo Clinic website offers a list
of tips if you are having trouble getting restful sleep.
2) When you go to bed tell yourself that you will remember your
dreams. Repeat "I will remember my dreams" to yourself several
times as you drift off to sleep. It sounds odd, but this tip has
been shown again and again to be one of the most helpful.
3) Try to wake up slowly to remain within the 'mood' of your
last dream. Buy an alarm clock with a gentle wake setting
(sometimes called a progressive wake).
4) Awake at least once during the night, many times this will
occur around an REM sleep cycle. Set an alarm or drink a lot of
water prior to bed to ensure you have to wake up at least once.
5) Think about, but do not dwell upon your mood/emotions as you
drift off to sleep.
6) Avoid alcohol near bedtime. Alcohol reduces the frequency and
density of REM sleep.
7) Keep a pad and pencil next to your bed so you can jot down
quick notes about your dream if you awake during the night (you
may not remember it by morning) or as soon as you get up in the
morning. Just the process of writing things down may help you
recall more information about your dreams.
8) Start a dream journal (see dream journal tips below). Take
your notes and recollections of you dreams and record your
dreams in journal or story form.
9) Discuss your dreams with friends and family members. Just
articulating your dreams can help you remember additional
details.
10) If you awake during the night, think about your previous
dream as you go back to sleep. This will help to reinforce the
dream for improved dream recall in the morning.
KEEPING A DREAM JOURNAL
Go ahead, start a Dream Journal tonight! All you need is a pen
and paper (and the ability to recall a least some part of you
dreams, of course!). A dream journal can be anything from just
brief notes on the themes and emotions of your dreams to full
fledged stories based on your dream content. You decide! Find
out more below or feel free to skip ahead to our dream journal
tips.
The best way to start is to take a new notebook and pen and
place them at your bedside. Use this notebook exclusively as
your dream journal (for you high techs out there, you can also
use a personal voice recorder). As you go to bed tonight, take a
moment and reflect on how you are presently feeling. Write the
date on a new page and one or two brief adjectives describing
how you feel, for example: Relaxed, Tired, Anxious, Emotional,
Happy, Stressed, Peaceful, etc. We will come back to why this is
important in a moment. Oh yeah, don't forget to take your
Brilliant Dreams!
If you awake from a dream during the night, make sure you
immediately write down a few notes about what you were dreaming.
What kind of dream were you having? What details can you
remember? How do you feel upon waking up? Why can't you see what
you are writing... (tip turn on a bedside lamp, or, better yet
get a small desk/book light).
When you wake up in the morning (hopefully in an unrushed,
relaxed manner) keep your eyes closed an reflect on what you
were just dreaming, then write down the theme, details, your
emotions, etc. Don't worry if you wake up and don't remember
dreaming at all, just because you have a dream journal handy
doesn't mean your dreams will instantly be at the forefront of
your mind (hint you need Brilliant Dreams for that).
Soon your dream habits will become apparent. You can analyze how
often you remember your dreams and to what detail. More
importantly (remember writing down how you felt when you went to
bed?) you can discover how your emotional mind set at bedtime
affects your dreams and dream recall! This can vary greatly from
person to person. Some people have intense and interesting
dreams during times of stress, others dream little or have poor
quality dreams. You will be able to find out how your bedtime
emotions and events in your life (are you recently in love?
stressed at work/school? on vacation?) affect your dreams. Other
factors to consider would be dreams when you are having your
period or are pregnant (sorry guys, but these are hormone
intensive activities; both are well known to affect dream
habits).
DREAM JOURNAL TIPS
1) Use a notebook exclusively for your dream journal. Fancy or
plain doesn't matter, it's whether or not you use it that
counts.
2) Keep your journal and pen next to your bed and turned to a
blank page for tonight's dreams. Just place them next to your
bottle of Brilliant Dreams!
3) Maintain a consistent format for writing notes about your
dreams. Make sure you date each page. An example format may be
the date, your bedtime emotions, an area for quick
middle-of-the-night or wake up notes and then another are or
subsequent pages for your dream in a more detailed or story
format.
4) As you are writing down details, ask yourself what these
dream symbols, themes or emotions may mean, add your thoughts
about that as well.
5) Don't worry about grammar or punctuation when you are quickly
writing down details. The goal is to get the ideas on paper
before they fade. You can then incorporate these quick notes
done in your own shorthand into well written dream documentation
or stories if you so desire.
6) Title your dreams. Just pick something that fits well or is
interesting or amusing. You can be the highlight of the cocktail
party with lines like "...well, if you want to talk about wild
nights, let me tell you about my 'Trying On Bathing Suits With
Cleopatra And Kramer From Seinfeld' dream.
I hope you have found these Dream Recall and Dream Journal tips
helpful.