How to Remember Your Dreams

If you're serious about remembering dreams, it's important to sleep well at night. While people dream during the first 4-6 hours of sleep, most of those dreams are associated with memory and repair. As sleep progresses, periods of REM (rapid eye movement) become longer, leading to more interesting dreams.

You can improve the quality of sleep by making certain you're allowing at least 8 hours to rest, turning off distracting lights, and making certain the room is quiet. It may help to use a sleep mask and earplugs, especially if you're a light sleeper.

After dreaming in the REM stage, it's not uncommon to wake up and then fall back to sleep. Most people forget dreams during these short arousal periods and move on to another sleep cycle. If you wake up from a dream, do not open your eyes or move. Looking around the room or moving may distract you from the dream. Remember the dream as fully as you can. Then open your eyes and write down as much as you can remember before going back to sleep. If you're too tired to write down details, try to record important points and then flesh out the description after you wake up in the morning.

Be sure to keep a pen and paper on the night stand rather than in another room. If you have to leave the room to record dreams, chances are good you'll forget the dream or else lose motivation to record it as soon as you wake up.

If writing isn't your thing, record your dream using a tape recorder or your phone. Make sure to go back and listen to the recording, to see if it jogs your memory, allowing you to recall more detail.

For some people, the only tip needed to recall dreams is to tell yourself you can remember dreams and then remind yourself to do so. An easy way to do this is to write, "I can remember my dreams" on a sticky note, place it somewhere you'll see it before you go to sleep, and read the note aloud. Even if you've never remembered a dream before, believe that you can do it. The note serves as an affirmation, fostering a positive mindset.

For some people, it's easier to remember dreams before opening their eyes. For others, it helps to set a dream anchor. What's a dream anchor? It's an object you see right when you wake up that you choose to associate with your morning goal of remembering dreams. Rather than staring off into space, trying to remember a dream, look at the dream anchor. You don't have to focus on it—looking past or through it is fine. Possible objects could include a lamp, a candle, a glass, or a small object on the night stand. Over time, your brain will associate the object with the task of dream recollection, making it easier.

It will take less effort to recollect dreams if you develop the power of observation. Look out a window and pretend it's a dream that you're observing. Describe the scene, including the colors and sounds. What season is it? Can you identify the plants that you see? What is the weather like? If there are people in your view, what are they doing? Do you see any wildlife? What emotions do you feel? You can write down your observations, record your voice, or draw a picture to capture the practice "dream". Over time, as you repeat this exercise, you'll gain an awareness of details you may have missed and it will become easier to describe the scene. Training yourself to observe the waking world will translate into improved skill describing dreams.

It's easier to remember dreams if they are interesting, exciting, or vivid. One of the ways to stimulate vivid dreams is to do something unusual or interesting during waking hours. Try learning a new skill or visiting a different place. If you're stuck in a routine, try taking a different route to work or school, brush your hair differently, or put on your clothes in a different order.

Foods and supplements can also affect dreams. For example, melatonin affects REM sleep. Foods that contain melatonin include cherries, almonds, bananas, and oatmeal. Bananas are also high in another chemical that affects dreams—vitamin B6. A 2002 study of college students indicated vitamin B6 increased dream vividness and recollection. However, too much of the vitamin led to insomnia and other negative health effects. The "dream herb" Calea zacatechichi is used by the Chontal tribe in Mexico for lucid dreaming and inducing prophetic dreams. Calea leaves, stems, and flowers may be made into a tea.

Other foods and drinks may adversely affect dream recollection. Alcohol and caffeine affect the sleep cycle, potentially making it more difficult to remember dreams. Persons wishing to recall dreams should avoid drinking alcoholic beverages, coffee, or tea at least two hours before going to sleep.

If you try these tips and still can't remember your dreams, you may need to change tactics. Remembering dreams take skill and practice, so start small. When you wake up, think about how you're feeling and see if the emotion causes you to think about a particular person or event. Maybe you can only recall a single image or a color. Start with your waking impressions, consider them throughout the day, and see if the single event triggers anything more.

When you experience success remembering a dream or a dream fragment, think about whether you did anything different the previous day. Dreams can be related to exciting events or stress and may be affected by food choices, bed time, and temperature. Try sleeping in late or taking a nap during the day, as those dreams are often easier to recall.