How to Remember Dreams: Seven Practical Tips

Dreaming is a fascinating, universal experience. Everyone dreams, and there are many differing explanations as to why we dream. One belief is that it helps you understand your desires and emotions, process memories, and gain insight into your subconscious mind.

By better remembering dreams we can more deeply understand the inner-workings of the mind. Good dream recall will help us work through difficulties and more clearly witness personal growth.

Dream recall is a critically important skill if you’re actively developing a lucid dreaming practice.

In this article, we’ll dive into the science behind why we forget our dreams and why some people can recall them with ease. We’ll then provide seven practical tips to boost your ability to remember your dreams. From establishing a proper sleep routine to keeping a detailed dream journal, the tips are effective and easy to integrate into your daily life.

The Science Behind Dream Recall

Everyone dreams when they sleep. The average person will dream for about two hours every night. Contrary to popular belief, you can dream during any sleep stage—it is not limited to the REM sleep stage. Dreams in REM sleep are more vivid and you’re more likely to remember them.

Although you sleep and have several dreams every night, you often don’t remember most of them.

Why Do We Forget Dreams?

There are several possible explanations as to why people forget dreams. When you wake up, you might find that you only remember fragments of a dream or nothing at all.

One explanation is that during sleep, the brain’s ability to create new memories is reduced and dream content is stored in short-term memory.

Information in short-term storage is held for a relatively short time, usually about 30 seconds. Moving on to the next sleep stage without waking means the dream content likely won’t clearly and comprehensively transfer to long-term memory.

Another explanation is that many people wake up abruptly and start focusing on the day’s activities. They don’t pause to pay attention to their dreams, and the dream content quickly slips from their memory.

Why Some People Can Easily Remember Dreams

The ability to recall dreams varies from individual to individual, with some people having a higher dream recall frequency (DRF) than others. The reasons for the differences in DRF are still unclear and there’s a need for more research. However, current research offers a few possible reasons for this.

A study about dream recall frequency discovered that the density of gray matter and white matter in certain brain regions could affect dream recall. The study included 46 high dream recallers and 46 low dream recallers. According to the results, high dream recallers have a higher density of white matter in the medial prefrontal cortex, a region associated with dream recall.

There is also reason to believe that high dream recall is related to creativity. People who are more creative and open to experiences are more likely to have a higher dream recall frequency.

According to the research paper, some regions of the brain associated with creativity are also associated with dream recall. A few experts even suggest that dreaming and creative thought fall under the same family of thought processes.

Vivid or bizarre dreams are typically easier to remember. Factors like substance abuse and stress might lead to more vivid dreams that are harder to forget.

7 Tips to Help You Remember Your Dreams

Fortunately, if you rarely remember your dreams there are ways to improve dream recall. Here are a few effective ones to try.

1. Establish a Proper Sleep Routine

Sleep and dreaming go hand in hand.

Sleep happens in stages and cycles which keep repeating throughout the night. While you can dream at any stage, REM dreams are more vivid and easier to remember. As the night progresses, the REM phase gets longer.

A good night’s sleep could lead to longer REM phases and, in turn, longer and more vivid dreams. Try to get seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Even better, have a routine where you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day for stability and better quality of sleep.

2. Set Intentions to Remember Your Dreams

Setting intentions is common among lucid dreamers for good reason. Every night before going to sleep, set a clear intention to remember your dreams and repeat to yourself, "when I wake up I will remember my dreams." It may seem simple but having a clear intention can be powerful in training your mind to remember. Sometimes people don’t recall their dreams because they don’t try.

3. Practice Meditation and Relaxation Before Bed

After a day of work, screens, and daily responsibilities your mind is likely overstimulated, making it difficult to relax and focus. Meditation will help quiet your mind, allowing you to be more aware. You’ll also have an easier time falling asleep when your mind is calmer. (If you'd like guidance on learning to meditate, write to us and we'll connect you with high-quality resources.)

Avoid common distractions like scrolling through your phone or checking your computer. Instead, replace these habits with something more relaxing like reading a book or journaling.

4. Wake Up During a Dream Period

If you’re determined to have a higher dream recall, you can set an alarm to wake up during a dream period. One study showed that waking between sleep cycles can increase dream recall frequency. That period of wakefulness enables your brain to transfer dream content from short-term memory to long-term memory.

This technique is similar to the wake-back-to-bed lucid dreaming method where you wake up after several hours of sleep, set the intention to lucid dream, then go back to sleep.

5. Be Still When You Wake Up

When you wake up, do not move the body. Lie motionless and direct attention to your dreams.

When you move the body, you shake off the residue of the dreamworld. By being motionless, you're better persisting the physiological state of night's dreams.

6. Write Your Dreams in Your Dream Journal

Keep a dream journal and write down your dreams when you wake up. At first, you may not be able to write detailed descriptions and that's okay. All you need to do is write down any details you remember. It could be an emotion, a single scene, or a small detail that stands out.

7. Sit With Fragments of Dreams

If all you can remember is a tiny detail or vague feeling of a dream, that's okay. Sit with it. Think about it with an open mind. Oftentimes you'll remember a second detail, then a third, and eventually the full dream will come back to you.

Frequently Asked Questions About Dream Recall

How Do I Make Myself Remember My Dreams?

You can increase dream recall by setting a strong intention to dream before going to bed and repeating the intention to yourself. Keep a dream journal and note down whatever details you remember about your dreams when you wake up. Be motionless when you wake up and direct attention to your dreams.

Why Can't I Remember My Dreams?

It is most likely that you don't have the habit or lifestyle of dream recall. Once you start to practice remembering dreams, dream recall rapidly improves.

You might not be getting enough sleep. REM sleep occurs in the later stages of the night and the early morning. By getting enough sleep you're increasing the amount of time spent in REM, where you are most likely to remember dreams.

How Can I Sleep to Remember My Dreams?

If you want to remember your dreams, try getting at least seven to eight hours of sleep. Go to bed and wake up at the same time daily to establish a routine. Before bed, remove distractions like phones and practice relaxation techniques instead.

How to Have the Same Dream Again?

Having the same dream twice is difficult because dreams typically don’t repeat themselves. Your best bet would be to try doing it with lucid dreaming. If you know how to control your lucid dreams, see if you can put yourself in the same dream setup and replicate some of the details.

Is It Good to Remember Dreams or Not?

Remembering your dreams is healthy and common. There is no harm in recalling or not recalling your dreams. Some people like to remember their dreams for fun or as a way to learn more about themselves.

Conclusion

Everyone sleeps and dreams. While people have been trying to understand dreams for ages, a lot is still unknown about the sleeping mind. Dream recall is an important practice for lucid dreaming and it can also be a way for you to understand yourself more.

Biological and psychological factors like white matter density can affect a person’s ability to recall dreams. To remember your dreams more, start by sleeping well so you can have longer dream phases.

Set clear intentions to recall your dreams every day before bed and try to remember as many details as you can when you wake up. Keep a dream journal so you can note down what you remember. Make it a habit to reflect upon your dreams to train your brain for better recall.