In many religions and cultures of the world, dreams play a special role. In ancient times, special people were involved in the interpretation of dreams, helping to remember what a person dreamed about. Modern people have to do this on their own. How to remember a dream that you had today is a question that interests many.
Modern researchers have developed several effective techniques that allow not only to remember night visions, but also to correctly interpret what they saw.
Mindful active observation is the key to dream recall
Man is endowed with a unique ability that other living beings do not possess. He knows how to be aware of what he sees or feels, and at the same time is able to connect what he sees with past experiences. Whether life will be successful or problems will arise depends on how developed awareness is.
The perception of the surrounding reality plays an important role in the ability to remember what you dreamed at night. The more a person is able to become aware, the easier it is to manage sleep. For those who seek to increase awareness and improve perception, it is easier to control the sensations of dreams, and therefore easier to remember.
You can increase your level of consciousness through orientation. Feelings and thoughts need to be thrown out. Experts recommend mindful walks for this. It is necessary not to just walk aimlessly along the streets, but to pay attention to everything that is around. People, cars, trees, birds should be the subject of observation.
Learn to pay attention to any little things and let them pass through you. In the rhythm of modern life, this is given to many with great difficulty. However, in the future, conscious observation will allow you to quickly solve emerging problems. It’s easy to remember a dream you had today or even a week ago.
What else do we know about dreams?
The nature and function of dreams remain a mystery. Although researchers can observe, record and analyze brain activity during sleep, they cannot pinpoint when a person is sleeping or determine the content of dreams.
Currently, dream research relies on anecdotal evidence and the ability of people to recall and then explain their dreams in interviews.
Several factors can influence a person's ability to remember dreams. These include lifestyle factors, sleep hygiene practices, and differences in brain physiology.
Maintaining mental activity when falling asleep
All people dream at night. The problem is that sometimes you can't remember what you see. This often happens to people who get very tired during the day and quickly fall into deep sleep. If you want to remember what you dreamed, try to get tired less and rest more so that you remain mentally active before falling asleep.
How you set yourself up plays an important role. Most people notice that they can wake up at the right moment if given the right instructions. A similar rule applies to dreams. Before falling asleep, make sure that when you wake up you will remember the night visions.
Many people claim that they have learned to dream what they want. Before you fall asleep, try to imagine a story that will be interesting. Remember the details and think about them when you fall asleep. There is a high probability that you will see exactly what you want.
Why do you need to remember dreams?
Even in the modern world, people believe that the subconscious mind sends us certain dreams for a reason. They carry a very deep meaning and are extremely important for our real life. By interpreting what you saw in a dream, you can avoid mistakes in reality and correct your actions. You can understand the meaning of sleep with the help of dream books written by famous psychoanalysts. The most popular are the dream books of Miller and Freud. In them you can find the interpretation of a huge number of dreams. The main condition for a correct interpretation is to clearly remember all the details of what you see, because even a small detail can radically change the meaning of a dream.
In addition, dreams have a strong impact on a person’s emotional state. After bad dreams, we feel overwhelmed, it seems to us that we got up on the wrong foot. Good dreams, on the contrary, cause an increase in vitality and energy. If a person does not remember what he dreamed, he will not be able to understand the reasons for his mood after waking up.
Dream recall is related to well-being
You can dream about anything, but if you are in poor physical condition, you will not be able to remember the dream you had today. Your ability to remember dreams is affected by your health status. Try the following recommendations:
- proper nutrition. A lack of vitamins and microelements directly affects brain activity. It is useful to eat fish (preferably fatty sea varieties containing more vitamins), vegetables, fruits, and grains. Drink 2 liters of water daily and limit bad habits. Fatty foods containing large amounts of sugar, preservatives, etc. will worsen brain activity;
- To remember dreams, you need to sleep more. Fatigue affects a person's perception. With chronic lack of sleep, the ability to remember any events decreases;
- communicate more with other people. No matter how strange it may seem, the lack of communication affects the ability to remember dreams. Psychologists believe this occurs due to stress caused by a lack of social interaction. A person loses the desire to develop, which affects memory.
In some cases, recommendations for maintaining a healthy lifestyle are not able to correct the situation. Then you should consult a specialist, since memory problems can be a symptom of a serious illness.
Ways to improve memory
To better remember the necessary information, you can train your memory using the following methods:
- Don't be lazy. Think more, remember, analyze, regularly strain your thinking abilities.
- Use your imagination.
- Read literature that will help improve your memory.
- Lead an active lifestyle, move more. Since this will improve blood circulation in the brain, thereby activating processes that promote memory.
- Learn poems by your favorite poets and foreign languages.
- Handicraft classes.
- Learn to associate what is happening.
- Train your memory. For example, after reading, say everything you read or write it down in a notebook.
No need to cram information. Focus on the process of memorization, remembering what happened in the present, past, all the details, events and smells. Proper nutrition will help you remember and remember what you need.
Medicines to improve memory
Taking medications in order to stop forgetting necessary events when dreams are not remembered is necessary in extreme cases. The main thing is not to abuse it, carefully read the instructions and consult a specialist. Doctors may prescribe medications such as:
- Glycine;
- Nootropil;
- Phezam;
- Phenotropil;
- Aminalon;
- Cavinton;
- Cerebrolysin;
- Eleutherococcus tincture.
These and many other medications are in most cases available without prescription, but they are not a panacea.
Herbs to improve memory
Proper nutrition and taking certain herbs will help you remember and retain the necessary information. You can improve brain function by changing your diet by eating:
- vegetables;
- fruit;
- spinach;
- nuts;
- sprouted wheat;
- flaxseeds;
- fish, especially salmon, herring and sardines.
Herbs such as:
- rosemary;
- sage;
- linden honey;
- onion juice;
- mint.
For these purposes, you can drink a decoction of rowan in spring and autumn. You also need to sleep more and set aside enough time for proper rest.
Memory Exercises
You can train your brain and learn to remember details using the following actions:
- to sing songs;
- quote poetry;
- remember fairy tales.
Develop visual memory and abstract thinking. Help in this will be solving crosswords, puzzles, solving puzzles, solving riddles, playing chess or dominoes. In addition, communicate a lot with well-rounded people, maintain a positive attitude, and read useful information.
Techniques for remembering dreams
Sleep researchers offer many ways to remember night visions that are quickly forgotten. The first step is to understand how sleep cycles are formed. When falling asleep, a person enters the deep sleep phase. It allows the brain and nervous system to rest. During these periods nothing is dreamed. Every hour and a half a person begins to sleep superficially and is easily awakened. This phase is characterized by vivid dreams.
The easiest way to remember what you dreamed is to wake up in this phase. Today there are special alarm clocks that read heartbeat, respiration, and pulse indicators. They wake a person at the moment of superficial sleep.
Another way is to ask your loved ones to wake you up at the moment when the cycles change. During such periods it is easiest to wake up, and the dream you have just seen will be remembered vividly and most fully.
It is not necessary to use radical methods. You can remember a dream immediately after waking up. To do this, you need to exit it smoothly, trying not to immediately plunge into the real world. Lie down for a while, don't rush to get up or move. Remember the details of the plot you saw, let them pass through yourself. If you feel that the dream is still slipping away, try closing your eyes and seeing it again. Some elements may emerge gradually.
It is not enough to simply remember night vision. In most cases, the plot, which only an hour ago appeared before the eyes in colorful details, begins to gradually be forgotten. Therefore, take another tip - write down everything you remember as soon as you wake up.
Place a pen and notepad next to your bed. After waking up, write down the plot as completely as you can. Describe current events, people's appearance, and other vivid memories. In the future, try to analyze what you saw. Perhaps your subconscious is trying to direct you along a certain path of development.
Hyperactive dreams
Although we cannot remember every dream in vivid detail, some dream experiences are so vivid that people can remember them years later.
Hyperactive or vivid dreams may result from:
- sleep deprivation, especially due to lack of REM sleep
- drinking alcohol
- substance use
- frequent or chronic emotional stress
- hormonal fluctuations, especially during pregnancy
- mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia
- sleep disorders such as narcolepsy and sleep behavior disorder
Tips for remembering dreams
Other ways to remember dreams:
- before falling asleep, give yourself the setting to remember your dreams;
- get a kind of talisman. It can be any thing that, when you look at it, you want to remember what you dreamed about. Keep it close to the bed, within sight;
- get enough sleep so you don't feel tired;
- fall asleep in a dark, ventilated room.
Try not just to remember dreams, but also to interpret them correctly. Night visions are a way of interaction between consciousness and subconscious.
The ability to remember dreams develops within one to two months. If you keep a diary of observations and begin to adhere to a healthy lifestyle, you will be able to remember nightly scenes without additional preparation.
With further practice, a person can learn the practice of lucid dreaming. This will reduce the gap between the conscious and the subconscious. Psychologists believe that this practice allows you to get rid of suppressed negative emotions and improves a person’s psychological state.
