Tips for Remembering Dreams

There are a few tips that I have found useful in remembering my dreams and thought I would share them here.

• Keep a journal near your bed - this is a suggestion I've seen numerous times and it is helpful, as many times you will start to forget the dream once you wake up. If not a paper journal, having a computer, laptop, or netbook close can work as well, but if you have to wait for it to boot up, you could lose the dream.


• Meditate - I have found that meditating tends to give me more vivid dreams, which makes them easier to remember. The results of meditation can also help you on focusing on remembering a dream and not get distracted by the mind's random chatter. I've also noticed, since meditating, that I can forget that I had a dream, and then suddenly remember it hours later out of nowhere.


• Go over the dream before waking up - This one is a bit tricky and takes some practice. I have found this particularly helpful when I come out of the dream state and into consciousness in the middle of the night or before I am ready to get up, but want to remember the dream. Keeping my eyes closed, I go over as much of the dream as possible, generally in chronological order, to try to help cement the dream in my mind, so that I can recall it later when I've woken up and write it out in a journal.

I hope these tips help you remember your own dreams.