Of Dreams

[Jepetto]

I thought I would ask about this here first.

Over the last week, I have begun to remember dreams upon waking. Through my life, I can recall very few times I had dreamed and had memories of them. There were also the occasional times when I would wake and felt that I had dreamed though no recollection of them. But for many many nights, nothing. Sleep has been like a little death to me. I fade away and then I would awake with the only difference was the time on the clock, sometimes the amount of daylight and having renewed energy.

Over the years I have tried several things to help with this issue. Trying to eat better and keep hydrated, sleeping more than my usual 4-5 hrs, increased physical activity, telling myself to remember them, sleeping at night rather than in the day and also using an alarm clock that gradually raises in volume rather than bursts of noise. None of these had any affect on my dreaming or ability to remember them.

Then for some reason I cannot explain, I have had four dream experiences that I have remembered upon awakening within this last week, though after a few hours the memories had faded and I can barely recall anything other than knowing I had dreamed. Though when I had thought about them, nothing struck me as being symbolic of anything. Still, what a great feeling to awaken and remember.

I cannot attribute these rememberings to anything I had done. I still don't drink enough liquids, or eat as well as I know I should, or even have a regular sleeping pattern. There have been no big changes in my life either, recently.

Does anyone else have similar experiences with dreaming or lack of? Does anyone have any tools or methods that have helped them in remembering dreams upon wakening?

*I wasnt sure if this post belonged in this sub-forum or in the General Discussions sub-forum. If the mods feel it should be moved, please do so.

[The.Hermetic.Alchemist]

all i can tell you is when you awake and remember a dream write it down immediately, other than that try eating different things before you go to bed, pizza and beer sometimes works. I have had many dreams in my life, most of them i do not remember but over time can remember parts of them, there are a few that are pretty scary.

[Jepetto]

Thank you for your suggestions, Hermetic.Alchemist.

Since I had posted this, Ive not had a dream or the feeling of having dreamed. But Ill give it a try, keeping a log by my bed to write down what I can remember upon wakening.

I have heard that its unhealthy to eat just before going to bed because the calories are not being burned off and just get put into storage which leads to weight gain. Though Im not concerned very much about health, and am fortunate to have a high metabolism. But when I eat, I get a burst of energy and stat awake longer. Hehe, Im not sure if this could be partially psychological on my part as I would like to stay awake and keep doing whatever I am doing.

Thankfully, I have only had one nightmare or bad dream and that was a recurring dream when I was a child. I still remember it pretty vividly to this day.

[WCH]

Do you smoke marijuana? One of the infrequently discussed side effects of THC is a suppression of the hippocampus, which is involved in the production of dreams, and therefore marijuana users typically report less dreams than those who do not smoke it. There is also a rebound effect where, if you use marijuana heavily for an extended period and stop cold turkey, your dreams will be unusually vivid for the next several nights.

[Jepetto]

Do you smoke marijuana? One of the infrequently discussed side effects of THC is a suppression of the hippocampus, which is involved in the production of dreams, and therefore marijuana users typically report less dreams than those who do not smoke it. There is also a rebound effect where, if you use marijuana heavily for an extended period and stop cold turkey, your dreams will be unusually vivid for the next several nights.

Yes, I am a regular smoker. Though I have not noticed a change either when I am without. Even for periods of 7-8 weeks there was not a difference. I have thought about this before and tested myself. Also this has been something that has been for as long as I can remember. I took no medications as a child. As far as any other mind altering substances, prescribed or otherwise, I have not taken anything for several years.

Thanks for your input, WCH.

[WCH]

One technique that works for a lot of people trying to induce dreams is to get into the habit of always falling asleep at the same time every night, and then, on the night you wish to dream, consume a substantial amount of caffeine immediately before you sleep (say, two cups of coffee, more if your tolerance is high).

Also, I find that I have the most vivid, long-lasting and easy to remember dreams after waking up and going back to sleep due to a lack of interest in getting up yet. So, intending to sleep in but setting an alarm anyway, turning it off and going back to sleep might help.

[Jepetto]

Thanks, these are some good ideas. I will give these a try and see how it goes.

I especially like the idea with the alarm clock. Several of the dreams I have had, did seem to happen after I had woken up and gone back to sleep. I am a deep sleeper, maybe the disturbance will help take me out of that state into a lighter one which I can remember events from.

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