How to dream again?

[Uncle Sam]

I don't know how this started. Every single night, night after night, I don't dream at all. It is like I fall asleep and then get up a couple of seconds to find out hours passed. I try to dream but I can't dream, regardless if my day was eventful or not. Searching through the internet, everyone says it is the holy grail of sleep, but really it seems like a curse. Honestly who wouldn't want to dream? Has anyone experienced this and managed to get their dreams back, or I am plagued with dreamless sleep. Serious... dreamless sleep is a curse.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Uncle Sam

[Ever Learning]

what about cheese before bed, have you tried that? i find that i dream more if i dont eat much or drink caffeine before bed. some Tibetans say you shouldn't drink tea after 1pm, as it effects your sleep cycle. if you find out how to dream again, i would be very happy if you pm me the results as im studying sleeping myself.

[John from Lowell]

Hi US,

What if the issue is that you do not recall the dreams that you are having each night. Can you consider that point of view?

John

[sarah_444]

You say you want to "get your dreams back", so I'm assuming that you used to be able to recall them? Do you remember an approximate point in your life when you stopped recalling them or was it more of a gradual thing?

[White Crane Feather]

I don't know how this started. Every single night, night after night, I don't dream at all. It is like I fall asleep and then get up a couple of seconds to find out hours passed. I try to dream but I can't dream, regardless if my day was eventful or not. Searching through the internet, everyone says it is the holy grail of sleep, but really it seems like a curse. Honestly who wouldn't want to dream? Has anyone experienced this and managed to get their dreams back, or I am plagued with dreamless sleep. Serious... dreamless sleep is a curse.

You are dreaming, you just are not recalling your dreams. Have you tried anything so far? I have several suggestions, but I want to know what is not working.

[constantine_337]

I used to take Cymbalta for anxiety and it stopped me from remembering my dreams. Usually if I missed a dose I would recall my dream that same night. Before I started taking the meds, If I couldnt recall a dream,I still knew that I had one. Now I only take them once a week and I am flooded with dreams.

Their are many factors that play into recall of dreams.We do dream when we sleep (except in rare cases usually involving a brain injury). You are just having trouble recalling your dreams, obviously something has changed for you. Try to remember, if anything environmental happened right before your dreaming stopped, albeit change in diet, emotional stress, traumatic experience, medication,... etc.

Edited October 23, 2012 by constantine_337

[Professor T]

I was in the same boat as you as far as remembering dreams went only about 4 months ago. The problem isn't that you aren't dreaming, it's that you just dont recall them.. And it all comes down to how you wake up and what thoughts are on your mind when you wake..

The first thing I did was get a book (Dream diary) and before I go to bed I write down a mantra 3 times.. I change my mantras often, but to start with I used "I will remember my dreams" three times.. Also I try to make sure that when I'm going to sleep I'm thinking to myself the mantra and most importantly, if that mantra is on your mind when you wake up the next morning or during the night your first thoughts before you move or get up or do anything is think "What was I dreaming?"

It's really important that you dont move or do anything for a few seconds and just think to yourself "What was I dreaming?" After a day or so of this I started remembering small snippets, feelings, images which I scribbled down in my book, even if it was only one word, write it down, and before you go to bed the next night review what you dreamed.. After a week or two I started recalling more and more dreams, and then believe it or not I went through a few periods where I was remembering dreams I'd had years ago that I'd forgotten.. Sometimes too it helps if you set the alarm for an ungodly our of 3am..

After a few months I went through a real intense period where I was waking up 3-4 times a night, turning the light on and writing down my dreams.. Some of them were pretty intense and very thought provoking, and remembering details that would otherwise be fogotten.. Basically now I sometimes go a night or two without remembering, but have at least 4 to 6 dreams a week.. Also some foods and diet plays a big role in dream recall as well. this link might proove usefull.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=234912

Oh yes, and meditating before bed helps me too. 30 minutes to an hour.

[Uncle Sam]

Well... I will try the dream journal. But my question is, why people want to be dreamless in the first place? I mean I can't recall time very easily because of the dreams. Sometimes I pass out and wake up hours from now, not suspecting time has flown by. He really gets on my nerves... to me, I used to enjoy my dreams regardless if they are scary or not. They help my imagination and helped me be very creative.

Edited October 23, 2012 by Uncle Sam

[sarah_444]

I'm not sure why some people don't want to dream, but i would suspect its for personal reasons based on thier experiences with dreaming

I'm a little confused by what you mean by not recalling time because of the dreams? Are you feeling rested when you wake up? Reason I ask is maybe there could be a imbalance with you sleep cycles. That could also affect dreaming.

[Professor T]

Well... I will try the dream journal. But my question is, why people want to be dreamless in the first place? I mean I can't recall time very easily because of the dreams. Sometimes I pass out and wake up hours from now, not suspecting time has flown by. He really gets on my nerves... to me, I used to enjoy my dreams regardless if they are scary or not. They help my imagination and helped me be very creative.

Who's the He who get's on your nerves?

I hated being dreamless. I would go months without remembering any dreams.. Like you say, it's great and you find that it helps your imagination when you wake up with some form of craziness to feed your thoughts thoughout the day..

[White Crane Feather]

Also wake up earlier then normal then go back to sleep. If your alarm interrupts your rem cycle you should remember what you were dreaming about.

Edited October 26, 2012 by Seeker79

[34th prototype]

I too really recommend what he said,'having a pre-sleep'..You'll be surprised if done it right.

[sickpuppy]

let us know how it turns out..?

..i 'recall' most of my dreams as the day unfolds... (it's really bizarre to be half way through a conversation and have this happen spontaneously) i agree with the folks saying it's more an issue of 'remembering' them (..i think we're having them regardless)

william s. burroughs had some interesting thoughts on dreams and their purpose (these recordings are available from archive.org if you're interested?)

[Jweath92]

I II don't remember my dreams every night and I totally agree that it feels like it cursed but I personally made the choice to choose not to dream anymore because I had night terrors as a kid but now I'm trying to figure out how to recall my dreams I think it might be as simple as doing what I did before but in the opposite fashion

[MissJatti]

Everyone dreams every time we sleep. But trying to remember all of them, is impossible. People remember them varies, for me I remember dreams every night, then once a week, then once a month, then back to once a week, and so on, the variation in endless.

[Jweath92]

See in my situation is a little different as a child I have night terrors so I read online that you can do the opposite of lucid dreaming now I feel like I've had an age where I need to have my dreams and have my subconscious work things out with itself or whatever dreams are for 

[eight bits]

@Jweath92

Welcome aboard.

You might try a dream journaling project; you can find lots of advice about that online, and right here at UM are all sorts of people who have done such projects.

[psyche101]

On 10/23/2012 at 10:02 PM, Uncle Sam said:

I don't know how this started. Every single night, night after night, I don't dream at all. It is like I fall asleep and then get up a couple of seconds to find out hours passed. I try to dream but I can't dream, regardless if my day was eventful or not. Searching through the internet, everyone says it is the holy grail of sleep, but really it seems like a curse. Honestly who wouldn't want to dream? Has anyone experienced this and managed to get their dreams back, or I am plagued with dreamless sleep. Serious... dreamless sleep is a curse.

I have the same thing happening. Scince my early 20s.i remember what dreaming was like, I just don't seem to recall them at all any more. 

[SpectateSwamp]

You have to work at it 

Take the last dream you can remember and play that back time and again. 

The same channel is what you need to loosen up. 

Lay in bed a few minutes before you get up and let thoughts pass through your head. 

Once you get a new one play that back a lot in the days that follow.. 

Dreaming is such fun. 

[White Crane Feather]

On 10/23/2012 at 1:16 PM, Professor T said:

I was in the same boat as you as far as remembering dreams went only about 4 months ago. The problem isn't that you aren't dreaming, it's that you just dont recall them.. And it all comes down to how you wake up and what thoughts are on your mind when you wake..

The first thing I did was get a book (Dream diary) and before I go to bed I write down a mantra 3 times.. I change my mantras often, but to start with I used "I will remember my dreams" three times.. Also I try to make sure that when I'm going to sleep I'm thinking to myself the mantra and most importantly, if that mantra is on your mind when you wake up the next morning or during the night your first thoughts before you move or get up or do anything is think "What was I dreaming?"

It's really important that you dont move or do anything for a few seconds and just think to yourself "What was I dreaming?" After a day or so of this I started remembering small snippets, feelings, images which I scribbled down in my book, even if it was only one word, write it down, and before you go to bed the next night review what you dreamed.. After a week or two I started recalling more and more dreams, and then believe it or not I went through a few periods where I was remembering dreams I'd had years ago that I'd forgotten.. Sometimes too it helps if you set the alarm for an ungodly our of 3am..

After a few months I went through a real intense period where I was waking up 3-4 times a night, turning the light on and writing down my dreams.. Some of them were pretty intense and very thought provoking, and remembering details that would otherwise be fogotten.. Basically now I sometimes go a night or two without remembering, but have at least 4 to 6 dreams a week.. Also some foods and diet plays a big role in dream recall as well. this link might proove usefull.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=234912

Oh yes, and meditating before bed helps me too. 30 minutes to an hour.

Dang professor, can you believe these conversations are six years old. 

[GoodReality]

I know this thread is old, but mugwort as a tea can help induce dreams

[qxcontinuum]

It happened to me one time when I was kid. I fallen asleep while my head was landing on the pillow. My brain counted 1,2,3 and woke up in the morning. I wish to be like you but by contrary the dreams I have are so vivid , movie like that sometimes I fell like I have a second live in bed.