Improving Dream Recall

There are many techniques you can use to obtain better dream recall. Below are a few that have worked for me. Try them out to find what works best for you. Also note that your attention to your dreams in general will send a message to your subconscious mind that your dreams are important to you, and this alone will help to improve your dream recall.

MY METHODS:

Repetition via Mental Dialog (my favorite)
The one that has worked best for me is repeating the dream. When you wake during sleep with a dream fresh in your memory, recite the dream in your mind as if you were telling it to a friend, including all the details you want to remember.

Talking With Others
Also talking about your dreams with others in waking life helps. Often when we are talking something through it will trigger more memories of the event, in this case the event is a dream. I love to analyze dreams so some of my friends and I really get into talking about our dreams together. This helps each of us.

Affirmations Before Bed
Repeat aloud when you get into bed that, “I am remembering my dreams in great detail when I awake in the morning.“ This really works well! You can also use affirmations to dream about something specific to get answers, etc.

Get Plenty of Quality sleep!
I can't emphasize how important this is! Our bodies work in rhythmic cycles and patters, or at least it tries to. Dreams are no exception. If it can, your subconscious mind will try to set a regular time for your dreams to occur, which is usually before waking (great for better recall too). It can't do this if your sleep clock is constantly out of whack. You need plenty of sleep.

Wake Peacefully
Jarring alarm clocks or other loud stimuli waking you up jolts your conscious mind into awake mode and it can lose all dream retention. If you wake gently and naturally, your dreams will still be fresh and available.

OTHER METHODS:

Dream Journal
While this method never really worked for me personally, it has worked very well for many, many people. Keep a dream journal by your bed and when you awake after a dream, write as many details as you can or draw symbols or something that will trigger your memory upon waking.

Post Triggers/Note Reminders
You can try leaving note around your home, car, work, etc. to stimulate your dream recall from the night before. I have not tried this and do not know how well it works. If you try this please let me know how it works for you!

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