September 14, 2004
Remembering dreams: An add-on topic
Lachesis suggested it and I think it's a good idea:
Lachesis:
How in the WORLD do you remember all those details??? I never! have a dream when I can remember that many details...
Me:
Lately...the best way I've been able to retain a mental image of the dream that I had is to either:
a) Write it down the moment I wake up
b) Recite a scene or scenes. Really. Just say it out loud
Another way, and I know this is going to sound strange, is to try to retain a "snapshot" of your dream in memory.
Lachesis:
I don't even recall those kind of details immediately on waking. It's like whatever I was dreaming about is immediately erased upon waking.
You know, say you draw a huge mural on a chalkboard. Then you take a big eraser and suddenly erase the whole thing as quickly as you can. When you're done, inevitably there are a couple of chalk marks left behind here and there, unrelated.
Those little chalk marks are what I recall on waking most of the time, if at all.
My response: [September 14, 2004 @ 14:04]
I think it's why it's important to see if you could remember one single image from your dream. It's how I was able to remember some details from the second part of this dream The kid with what looks like he has a tumour gave me sort of a snapshot of me being in front of the house/school.
Memories of dreams could also be lost due to stress, I would imagine.
I don't know. What do you think?
Lachesis:
That's the question. I've seen lots of commentary on dream recall, where people are advised to keep a dream journal, write stuff down before getting out of bed, etc. - even take things like vitamin B6 before bed.
I do all that (even tried the B6 for a while) but my problem is deeper - recalling anything at all of dreams on waking. Maybe it's a larger, memory-specific problem....
Me: I couldn't think of a proper response at the time
I was asking someone online about how she remembers dreams. She told me that she remembers triggers. For example, a character from Friends who shares the same name of someone who was in your dreams. There's got to be some other techniques out there. I think I've read once how someone bought a tape recorder to record their dreams as soon as they woke up, only to repeat "What an incredible dream" over and over again.
Lachesis:
How in the WORLD do you remember all those details??? I never! have a dream when I can remember that many details...
Me:
Lately...the best way I've been able to retain a mental image of the dream that I had is to either:
a) Write it down the moment I wake up
b) Recite a scene or scenes. Really. Just say it out loud
Another way, and I know this is going to sound strange, is to try to retain a "snapshot" of your dream in memory.
Lachesis:
I don't even recall those kind of details immediately on waking. It's like whatever I was dreaming about is immediately erased upon waking.
You know, say you draw a huge mural on a chalkboard. Then you take a big eraser and suddenly erase the whole thing as quickly as you can. When you're done, inevitably there are a couple of chalk marks left behind here and there, unrelated.
Those little chalk marks are what I recall on waking most of the time, if at all.
My response: [September 14, 2004 @ 14:04]
I think it's why it's important to see if you could remember one single image from your dream. It's how I was able to remember some details from the second part of this dream The kid with what looks like he has a tumour gave me sort of a snapshot of me being in front of the house/school.
Memories of dreams could also be lost due to stress, I would imagine.
I don't know. What do you think?
Lachesis:
That's the question. I've seen lots of commentary on dream recall, where people are advised to keep a dream journal, write stuff down before getting out of bed, etc. - even take things like vitamin B6 before bed.
I do all that (even tried the B6 for a while) but my problem is deeper - recalling anything at all of dreams on waking. Maybe it's a larger, memory-specific problem....
Me: I couldn't think of a proper response at the time
I was asking someone online about how she remembers dreams. She told me that she remembers triggers. For example, a character from Friends who shares the same name of someone who was in your dreams. There's got to be some other techniques out there. I think I've read once how someone bought a tape recorder to record their dreams as soon as they woke up, only to repeat "What an incredible dream" over and over again.
Comments:
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That's the question. I've seen lots of commentary on dream recall, where people are advised to keep a dream journal, write stuff down before getting out of bed, etc. - even take things like vitamin B6 before bed.
I do all that (even tried the B6 for a while) but my problem is deeper - recalling anything at all of dreams on waking. Maybe it's a larger, memory-specific problem....
Lachesis
I do all that (even tried the B6 for a while) but my problem is deeper - recalling anything at all of dreams on waking. Maybe it's a larger, memory-specific problem....
Lachesis
# posted by 
: 3:34 p.m.
: 3:34 p.m. 
*grin*
Consider yourself commissioned!
Seriously, I also have a problem with short-term memory recall on waking, but I've long attributed that to a high distraction rate.
i.e. You could give me a standard 7-digit phone number to memorize - I could repeat it to myself over and over again for 15-30 seconds, then stop. 3 minutes later I wouldn't be able to recall pieces of it, then 5 minutes later almost all of it would disappear from my memory.
Swiss cheese ;)
But this doesn't really happen in interactive memories - for instance, I just returned from giving a presentation to 20-25 people. I can recall plenty of details about the meeting, and I remember images, feelings, etc. I remember faces, where people were sitting, the general cadence and sequence of my presentation. If it were a dream, I wouldn't recall any of that, even though the "experience" would've been close to real.
So what's different, I wonder?
Lachesis
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Consider yourself commissioned!
Seriously, I also have a problem with short-term memory recall on waking, but I've long attributed that to a high distraction rate.
i.e. You could give me a standard 7-digit phone number to memorize - I could repeat it to myself over and over again for 15-30 seconds, then stop. 3 minutes later I wouldn't be able to recall pieces of it, then 5 minutes later almost all of it would disappear from my memory.
Swiss cheese ;)
But this doesn't really happen in interactive memories - for instance, I just returned from giving a presentation to 20-25 people. I can recall plenty of details about the meeting, and I remember images, feelings, etc. I remember faces, where people were sitting, the general cadence and sequence of my presentation. If it were a dream, I wouldn't recall any of that, even though the "experience" would've been close to real.
So what's different, I wonder?
Lachesis
# posted by : 4:38 p.m.
: 4:38 p.m. << Home
