What makes you remember your dreams

A client drew this picture of a monster who appeared in a nightmare. Dean asked the client to have a dialogue with the monster, to work through fears from the nightmare. A painting by Shady Rose. Image courtesy of Shady Rose Shady Rose, the artist, incorporates their dreams into their creative work, which involves performance , writing, and visual art. Shady Rose is the lead singer of a band called Lightmare. Image courtesy of Mike Kimchi How to remember your dreams Some researchers, including Michael Schredl, have found personality differences between high and low dream recallers.

Retrace your steps. When you wake up, stay in the same position with your eyes closed, and mentally review your dreams for a few minutes. That mixed, or aroused, sleep can make dreams more intense or unusual — and you are more likely to remember emotionally intense and unusual dreams.

Increase your REM sleep. Research now shows we dream in all phases of sleep, not just REM sleep, as previously thought. But our REM sleep dreams may be more vivid and narrative, and we are more likely to remember them. So it helps to get enough sleep in a night not to mention the myriad other benefits sleep has on our physical and mental health.

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You may also like. The Pulse. About Steph Yin Read more. Enter your Email here. And white matter would act as the cables that connect these different components together, allowing brain communication to flow.

Vallat and a research team found that people who frequently remember dreams have more white matter in a region of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex, which is a brain region linked with processing information about oneself. This finding is yet another piece of evidence that shows brain connectivity is somehow important in dream recall. But having more white matter may not just help you remember your dreams, it may also promote dream creation.

As prominent neuropsychologist Mark Solms found in the early s , people who developed rare, brain-damaging lesions within the white matter of the medial prefrontal cortex reported that they stopped dreaming altogether. Another interpretation is that they stopped dreaming. But for most people, much of dream recall boils down to individual characteristics — some within our control, and some not. Scientists also know that women , on average, are more likely to remember their dreams than men.

Teenage boys are less encouraged to speak about their dreams or feelings. But both sexes may notice that their ability to remember our dreams seems to fade with age. As we grow older, our sleep patterns tend to change. Older people get less slow wave sleep, often referred to as deep sleep. Between the ages of 20 and 60, deep sleep decreases at a rate of 2 percent per decade.

But the amount of REM sleep, when our most memorable dreams seem to occur, stays about the same. Do age-related changes make much of a difference when it comes to dream recall? Vallat said probably not. Instead, day-to day stressors like deadlines, bills and appointments often take precedence over our dream worlds. Then you wake up. Of course you wake up during the best part of your dream!

Trying to remember, that is. Make it a habit to actively try to recall your dreams. A small notepad and pen will do the trick.

ThoughtCo recommends that dream journal practitioners close their eyes upon waking so that they can remember dream details more vividly. Opening your eyes immediately upon leaving the dream state may leave you distracted with elements in the room that could cause you to forget. Like most things in life, consistency is key. Moreover, the quality of your sleep will also suffer. You should schedule a power-down hour before you actually intend to fall asleep.

Powering down for an hour implies avoiding screens, loud external buzz, and eating as well. Snoozing for 10 more minutes in the morning may also contribute to lucid dreams. It may well be that the brief wake-up allows the brain to be conscious enough to register and remember dreams in a final REM cycle. Still, be somewhat wary of hitting that snooze button if you want to stick to a healthy sleep schedule.

Plus waking at the same time each day helps keep your body on a consistent sleep schedule , making it easier overall to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

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