Can you recall the dream you had last night? Most probably, not. Why do we forget our dreams after waking up?
The subject of dreams is still a mystery. And for decades, psychologists, philosophers, and sleep specialists haven’t told us much about dreams. And therefore, we’re left wondering, why do we dream? Do our dreams have meaning?
Why Can’t We Remember Our Dreams?
We spend one third of our lives sleeping, and a good deal of that time dreaming. But most of the time, you don’t remember your dreams. For dreams, however, forgetting is normal.
The primary reason we forget our dreams is the inability of your brain to.
1. Less REM sleep
Dreams usually occur when a person is in REM sleep or deep sleep. If you want to stay healthy, you need deep sleep. If you have sufficient time in REM, you’ll remember at least the last 10 minutes of your dream. But if you have less time, most probably you won’t remember a thing.
2. Fading of electrical signals
As a rule of thumb, dreams fade the moment you wake up. As you regain your consciousness, electrical signals and chemical signatures associated with dreams start to fade.
3. The sleep phase you woke up
If you wake up during the REM phase, you’ll most likely remember your dream. But if the REM phase transitions to another phase, your dream will be forgotten.
4. Brain structure
Evidence indicates people who can’t remember their dreams have low white matter density on their medial prefrontal cortex.
5. Your dream might be non-essential
Your brain is designed in a way that discards most information as non-essential. If your dream gets categorized as non-essential, you won’t remember it.
Is Forgetting Dreams A Sign of Bad Sleep?
The failure to remember dreams does not translate to bad sleep. The next time you feel depressed because you can’t vividly recall your dream, you can find comfort in knowing that, maybe, it’s not worth remembering.
Our brains form memories while we sleep, but this only happens during deep sleep. We move in and out of different sleep stages throughout the night, which means we are more awake or asleep at certain times of the night, depending on where we are in the sleep cycle.
How to Remember Our Dreams?
Try taking these steps and you will gradually remember your dreams.
1. Get ready for bed
Let yourself get a good night’s sleep before you think about anything else. Exercise during the day to keep your body and brain tired, eat healthy at night and relax before bed.
2. Set purpose for dreams
Sometimes, we need the power of suggestion to recall our dreams. Remind yourself that dreams are not only important, but can provide important insights about personal or professional affairs.
3. Try lucid dreaming
Lucid dreaming makes dreams easier to remember. Making yourself aware that you are dreaming before you go to sleep can help you connect the dream with reality.
4. Wake up slowly
The way we wake up is probably the most important factor in remembering our dreams. Therefore, you need to consciously remain half awake and half asleep and slowly wake up from your dreams.
5. Write dreams down
When you wake up and your dreams start to come back, writing down what you can remember can go a long way. Or you could try talking to your loved ones as soon as you wake up.
6. Be patient with yourself
When you begin to recall your dreams, you need to be patient and consistent. For this, you can practice more on a daily basis.
Conclusion
Dreams are a fascinating part of sleep. Mostly, dreams occur during the REM cycle of sleep. While most of us have four to six dreams each night, we forget most of them, but are likely to remember our experiences just before we wake up. Even though you may suffer from not remembering your dream, this sleep state is probably still happening.
