Five Things You Can Do to Help Recall Your Dreams

One of the most difficult aspects of dreams and dream interpretation is the seemingly simple task of recalling your dreams. I’ve heard many people claim that they don’t dream most nights. They actually do. It’s just that they don’t recall the dreams.

At the Christian University and Online Bible College I teach at, we teach about dreams and dream interpretation. If you believe dreams can be important and can contain valid messages as I do, then you must first overcome of the obstacle of forgetting what you have dreamed. Below are five things you can do to help you recall your dreams:

1. Say to yourself, “I believe dreams contain a valid message.” This is a signal to your heart that you are taking it seriously and want to hear what it has to tell you. You are giving it permission, and even asking it to awaken you after each dream. Your heart will do exactly that. You see, if you do not awaken within five minutes of the dream ending, you will not recall it. If, however, you tell your heart that dreams are leftover undigested pizza, then you heart lets you sleep through the dream and doesn’t awaken you after it is over, and thus you do not recall it.

2. Ask God to speak to you through dreams as you fall asleep. Sure it sounds simple enough, but remember God does answer prayers, especially when prayed in accordance to His will! So ask Him to speak to you and ask Him to help you remember your dreams.

3. Put your journal beside your bed and immediately record your dreams upon awakening. This is a standard practice when dealing with dreams. For some reason, you will forget most of your dreams within a few minutes to an hour. So, get up and write them down immediately when you awaken.

4. Get eight hours of sleep. You sleep in four hour cycles. Within those four hours your body goes through several phases of sleep. Only during the last phase do you dream. By making sure you complete you sleep cycle by sleeping a full eight hours, you ensure that the entire last hour will be dream-time.

5. Awaken naturally, without the use of an alarm clock. Alarms shatter dream recall and blast tidbits of dreams into oblivion where they are never found. Similarly, other types of distractions such as television, radio, or even people can cause you to quickly forget your dreams. Make sure you wake up naturally in a distraction free environment and be sure to write down your dreams in a journal immediately before anything can distract you.

If you will do the above five things, you will recall dreams every week. In my next article, I’ll discuss the seven foundational principles for interpreting your dreams.