Dream experts state that everyone dreams. Even those who swear they never remember their dreams are said to experience dreaming when they are in deep sleep.
- How often do you remember your dreams?
- Does it come easily for you to remember or do you forget them most of the time?
The ability to remember dreams varies and some people can remember most dreams, while others wake up not remembering anything.
The good news is that there are things you can do to help you better remember every dream. You simply have to train your brain to start remembering details.
5 Tips to Help You Remember Your Dreams
1. Practice at Your Window.
To remember your dreams, you can try training your brain to remember little details.
One way you can do this is by looking out your window every day and focusing on everything you see. After you’ve studied your surroundings for a few minutes, take a notebook and write it all down.
If you saw green and orange leaves, write that down.
- What kinds of trees?
- What other colors did you see?
- Did you see a squirrel?
- Birds?
Write down every detail you can think of. If you get in the habit of doing this daily, you’re training your brain to notice little details. This can help you remember more details about your dreams at night.
2. Remember Every Day.
Many people have a hard time remembering what they did yesterday or even last week.
This is because you typically don’t focus on every little thing you do throughout the day. If someone asks you what you did last Friday night, most people just tell them the highlight of their day, such as going to the movies, shopping, or going bowling.
What about everything else you did that day?
You may have taken a shower, brushed your hair and teeth, shaved, eaten a delicious dinner, and so on.
Another trick to remembering your dreams is writing down everything you do throughout the day. Journal your thoughts and actions.
This will also help train your brain to remember little details, which in turn can help you remember your dreams.
3. Ease into Your Morning Wake-Up.
If you can, of course.
Immediately jumping out of bed and launching into your day is not going to help you hold onto your dream. Taking time in the morning to slowly wake up, even keeping your eyes closed and letting yourself drift in and out of that sleepy feeling can help you retain what you dreamt.
Even better – if you’re able to wake up naturally – sans alarm – that could also help you carry that dream into the morning.
It’s thought that the disruption of your morning alarm could be contributing to you not remembering your dreams.
If you wake by an alarm, it is surprisingly more difficult to remember your dreams. This is due to the spike in noradrenaline levels as a reaction when the alarm goes off. – Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., Psychology Today
4. Record Your Dreams.
Put a notebook by your bed and as soon as you wake up, record what you remember about your dreams.
Even if it’s just a couple things you remember, write it down. Getting in the habit of recording your dreams can make you far more likely to start remembering them in better detail.
You can also audio record them using your phone.
5. Speak to Your Subconscious.
Just before you fall asleep, tell your subconscious, “I will remember my dreams tonight”.
Say it several times. As you do, you’re giving your subconscious the message loud and clear that you intend to dream and remember your dreams. It’s not necessarily a scientifically proven method, but it does work for some!
Interpreting Your Dreams
Why we dream is still a great mystery – and even more so, what the heck they mean.
…the prevailing theory is that dreaming helps you consolidate and analyze memories (like skills and habits) and likely serves as a “rehearsal” for various situations and challenges that one faces during the daytime. – Cleveland Clinic
For anyone who has struggled with persistent or recurring dreams (or nightmares), you know how unsettling it can be to not know why the same themes keep popping up when you head to bed.
While there are tons of dream interpretation sites, books and even people who claim to be experts, there is no scientific method to doing so. That said, it can’t really hurt to explore these kinds of resources, if they can help you unpack common themes.
Some people find comfort or clarity in recording their recurring dreams and themes and exploring them in daylight, either on their own, with their friends or family and even with a therapist or psychologist.
- Do you ever wonder what your dreams mean?
- Have you ever woken up and wondered why you dreamed about so and so or about an event that happened in childhood?
- Do you keep dreaming about the same thing over and over?
Here are some easy tips that you can use to begin interpreting your dreams.
4 Mind-Clearing Ways to Get Answers From Your Dreams and Nightmares
1. Write Every Detail.
As mentioned, it’s a great idea to keep a notebook and pen beside your bed so that you can write down your dreams as soon as you wake up.
If you don’t do it right away, chances are that you’ll forget within a few hours or by the end of the day.
The dreams don’t have to make sense in order to write them down! In fact, many won’t. Just write down as many details as you can.
2. Summarize.
After you’ve written the details of your dream, jot down a short summary or key words about the dream.
For example, if you were super scared during your dream, write down “fear”. As you go throughout the day, if you think of a different word or phrase, record that as well.
3. Keep Track and Compare it to Your Life.
Keep track of your nightly dreams and compare them to your life.
- Do you see a theme?
- Are you dreaming about a robber coming into your house?
Perhaps in your life you’re feeling violated in some way or that you have no privacy.
Are you dreaming about your childhood?
Perhaps you’ve got some inner childhood conflict that is surfacing and beckoning you to review. Take some time to contemplate your dreams and write down any correlations that come to mind.
Want to Remember Your Dreams?
If you’re absolutely sure you don’t dream, but want to test your theory – try some of these tips and see what happens!
Paying more attention to the little details, waking up slowly, telling yourself you will recall your dreams and recording anything you remember as soon as you wake up are all good tips to boost your chances of success.
Hopefully, these tips will help you start remembering your dreams better and give you some key insights about your life.
Photo by Pixabay
