Dreaming has stumped philosophers, psychologists, and sleep medicine experts for decades. Why do we dream? What do our dreams mean? And can you train yourself to remember your dreams? Here’s what we know.
Do you remember the dream you had last night? First thing in the morning some of us might recall scenes vividly enough to share over breakfast, but later in the afternoon it’s probably fuzzy at best. Others of us tend not to remember our dreams at all. You might be wondering: Does whether or not you can recall imaginative stories from the night before say something about the quality of your sleep?
Not necessarily, experts explain.
“Everyone dreams, but not everyone remembers it,” says Shelby Harris, PsyD, associate professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. And as it turns out, there are a few reasons why you might remember or you might not — and whichever it is probably doesn’t predict how well you’re sleeping.
Most of Our Dreams Happen During REM Sleep
When it comes to the question of why we dream, sleep medicine research has in fact revealed perhaps surprisingly little. Experts suspect the purpose of our dreams may be to help us deal with emotional problems from daily life, to be creative, or to sort through memories and other thoughts, among other theories, according to the National Sleep Foundation.
Research has revealed more about the mechanics of dreaming, and thus why we sometimes remember dreaming and sometimes do not.
Most dreaming occurs during the rapid eye movement (REM) part of sleep, the stage of sleep that most of us spend about 20 percent of the night in, explains Shyamsunder Subramanian, MD, a sleep medicine specialist at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital in Tracy, California. While recalling a dream suggests that you’ve reached a REM sleep cycle at some point during the night, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve had more or less of that important stage of sleep.
If you remember your dream, it could be that you simply woke up during it, so it’s fresh in your mind, says Deborah Givan, MD, sleep specialist at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Or remembering could mean that you’re remembering the very last dream you had rather than the dream in full. People tend to have most of their “dream sleep” in the second half of the night, she explains. If your REM sleep accounts for 20 percent of a seven-hour sleep, that’s a little less than an hour and a half in total — of which you might only remember the last 10 minutes vividly.
Anxiety, Medication, and Personality May All Affect Dreams and Dream Recall
Remembering your dreams doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with how restful your sleep is, Dr. Harris says. Instead, recalling those dreams is a lot more likely to depend on a number of factors, from your current level of stress to the medication you’re taking.
The following can influence whether or not you remember your dreams:
Anxiety Levels Before Bed
People are more likely to remember their dreams when they’re anxious or depressed, Harris says, perhaps because they also tend to wake up more when they’re worried, and do so in the middle of various dreams.
Medication or Health Problems
Certain medicines, including some drugs that treat depression, can suppress dream sleep, says Dr. Subramanian. Similarly, sleep apnea (a condition characterized by short pauses in breath many times while you sleep) can also minimize the time you spend dreaming.
Gender and Personality
Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that adolescent girls were more likely than their male counterparts to remember their dreams. This study also found a link between creativity and dream recall: Participants with stronger dream recall were more likely to identify themselves as creative compared with those less likely to recall their dreams.
Can You Get Better at Remembering Your Dreams?
If you wish you could remember more from the night before, you’re not entirely out of luck. You can improve your dream awareness, says Lauri Loewenberg, author of Dream on It: Unlock Your Dreams, Change Your Life. “The most important thing is giving dreams time and attention.”
The best time to try to recall your dreams is in the first 90 seconds after you wake up, before the memory goes away. Loewenberg recommends trying to keep your body in the exact same position that you were in when you woke up, as this will help boost your dream memory.
After two minutes spent replaying and piecing together the thoughts, feelings, and images from your recent sleep, write them down right away. “If you don’t write your dreams down or tell your partner, they’ll likely be gone after breakfast,” says Loewenberg.
Rereading words on a notebook page, however, stands a chance to trigger a memory of the dream later on. Start keeping a notebook and pen on the nightstand. Not only is it a conscious reminder to focus on recalling your dreams, but it also helps you get into the habit of journaling each morning — a practice that is better than even recounting to another person, according to a review published in May 2016 in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.
Loewenberg also says that nutrition may play a role in dream recall — specifically the amount of vitamin B6 you get. A randomized, prospective study published in April 2018 in the journal Perceptual and Motor Skills that included 100 participants found that individuals who took a vitamin B6 supplement before bed were more likely to remember their dreams compared with individuals who did not take the supplement. It’s worth noting, however, that the lack of corroborating evidence makes this research still preliminary — and those in the study who supplemented with B6 before bed reported worse sleep quality and felt more tired upon waking up.
You can incorporate more B6 into your diet naturally by cooking and eating meals that feature foods like poultry, fish, milk, bananas, and spinach. And pay attention to dosage if you’re getting B6 via supplements. The safe daily upper limit for adults is 100 milligrams a day. An overdose could cause nerve damage or neurological problems, including loss of control over your limb movement and balance issues. It’s always a good idea to check with your doctor before starting any supplements.
Snoozing for 10 more minutes in the morning may also contribute to lucid dreams. Though the connection isn’t perfectly clear, a small study in published in December 2015 in the journal Dreaming found a link between pressing the snooze button for another few minutes of sleep and remembering dreams vividly. It may well be that the brief wake-up allows the brain to be conscious enough to register and remember dreams in a final REM cycle.
Still, be somewhat wary of hitting that snooze button if you want to stick to a healthy sleep schedule. Sleep medicine experts don’t recommend doing it because the sleep you get during those last few minutes of sleep is more likely to be lighter, less restorative sleep. Plus waking at the same time each day helps keep your body on a consistent sleep schedule, making it easier overall to fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning.
Vanessa Caceres
APR