10 Ways to Remember Your Dreams (And 4 Ways to Interpret Them)

According to Sigmund Freud, dreams provide clues about how the unconscious mind works. I am one of those people who is very interested in how the mind works and almost always remember their dreams. One of my most vivid dreams was seeing a triceratops coming towards me and the closer it got the better I could see that it was made of sand. On looking up the meaning of this dream I discovered that I was letting outdated attitudes control my life and this needed to change.

From a little survey within my own friends' circle I've come to find out that not everybody can recall their dreams. So I put together a bunch of tips using which you can not only recall your dreams, but also interpret them to an extent.

Ways to Remember Your Dreams

1. Meditate to improve dream recall.
2. Stay away from stimulating drinks before sleeping.
3. Before sleeping tell yourself that you want to remember your dream.
4. Keep a book nearby so that you can scribble your dream as soon as you wake up.
5. When you wake up, lie still and remember your dream before you proceed to write it down.
6. Get enough sleep. You need to get into rapid eye movement (REM) stage to be able to dream. A REM cycle takes place once every 90 minutes of your sleep.
7. According to experts, you tend to forget about 90% of your dream on waking up. This is because the frontal lobes, that play a key role in the formation of memories, are inactive during REM sleep. Keep thinking about the dream to remember it and look it up later.
8. Try to wake up naturally without a distracting alarm which will make you forget your dream.
9. Make sure you are not disturbed in any way during your sleep, be it people waking you up or environmental disturbances such as an AC set too low or too high. However, note that if you're purposely woken up during REM sleep you are more likely to recall your dreams.
10. If you've tried everything and still can't remember your dream you likely have a condition called 'aphantasia' - the inability to visualize things.

Ways to Interpret Your Dreams

1. Recall how you felt in the dream. Did you feel at peace, were you scared? Anxious? If you felt any negativity, the dream meaning is most likely to be negative. E.g. You dreamed that you were drowning and you felt panicked and scared. This means that you have a fear of being overwhelmed by difficult emotions. (By the way, negative emotions in dreams are common.)
2. Revisit your dream later in the day. You'll be surprised at the insights you get when your mind is at its most energetic.
3. There are quite a few interpretations online. Pick the one that feels like it hits home.
4. Sometimes your dreams are literal. If you dream of traveling you may actually be living that truth or maybe you're looking forward to visiting some place soon.