Dreams are likely a hidden level in the game of life. We spend 14 to 18 hours awake each day and while many of us claim to live life to the fullest we can all probably think of things we would rather do as well. Then we go to sleep for a recommended average of seven hours and wake up the next day to try to live it to the full yet again. But what about those seven hours? What did we do with them? Of course, we need to rest and get our energy back for the next day but if we are embarking on incredible dreams wouldn’t it be nice to at least know what happened? Some people say they don’t dream, others say they do but can’t really remember and a small percentage say that they remember their dreams vividly. The reality is that everyone dreams and with a few tweaks to your routine, you could start remembering them all.
The Dream Book
The dream book sounds like a terrible teen movie but it is also the most important factor in remembering your dreams. It has been proven time and time again that people are most likely to remember their dreams when they wake up and as the day progresses they forget completely what they were dreaming. Studies have shown that if you keep a dream book beside your bed and take notes whenever you wake it will help you to remember your dreams and in the long run trigger your mind to actively remember more dreams. This means the more that you write about your dreams the more you will remember over time. It is like turning on a switch in your brain that says actually this is valuable information to me, please store it.
Get enough sleep
The other important factor in remembering your dreams is ensuring you are getting enough sleep. If you are sleeping less than seven hours a night your sleep pattern is likely acting in a more unconscious manner and is harder to trigger any form of recognition in that mode.
Focus on nutrition
Melatonin and Vitamin B6 are believed to help you both sleep better and recall your dreams. There are many foods that have these ingredients and they are easy to introduce to your diet. Bananas with oatmeal is a delicious breakfast option that has plenty of both nutritious items. However, the harder part of your diet may be in cutting down on the things that will stop you from remembering your dreams. Alcohol and drugs are proven to stop you from remembering any of your dreams. People who drink or use drugs often refer to their sleep as if they were blacking out. They wake up the next day and feel like they got no sleep at all. The worst part is that people who are dependent on these substances often struggle to sleep without them. If you feel that drinking or drugs are getting in the way of your sleep then you should try and stop using them. Talk to a professional as they will be able to advise on the best steps.
Once you have mastered remembering your dreams the next step is to try and practice lucid dreaming. This is the idea of realizing that you are dreaming and then controlling each dream in whatever way you want. Imagine being chased by a dinosaur only to realize you were dreaming and then ride that dinosaur to your fifth-grade teacher’s house and eat him! If you want to live your life to the fullest then you need to learn how to lucid dream. How else can you make the most of all 24 hours?