Dream Journaling — A Scientist's Guide to Unlocking Your Mind While You Sleep

Discover the practice of Dream Journaling: a way to harness the creative power of your subconscious mind. Recording dreams has long since been a manner of integrating deeper levels of thought into our waking lives. Follow along for this tell-all guide to how and why we spin such intricate webs of thought while we sleep, and how to channel your dreams in a meaningful practice.

Introduction: The Hidden Power of Your Dreams

Have you ever woken from a bizarre dream thinking, “Wow…where did that come from?” You may have tried to piece the memory together, but felt it slipping away the moment your brain caught on a detail. It’s extremely common to forget dreams, even vivid ones, within a few minutes of waking. But for those looking to dive deeper into the context of their dreams, dream journaling can be an extremely useful tactic. Considering that we spend an average of 6 years dreaming throughout our lifetime, getting a read on your dreams can provide provocative insight into your subconscious mind.

Dreams can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, but what happens when your brain enters deep sleep can reveal interesting details about your waking life. Experienced dream journalers use specific tips and tricks to increase daytime creativity, activate emotional healing and self-awareness, and even learn to take control of dreams through lucid dreaming. Through this comprehensive guide on dream journaling, you’ll learn strategies to help you remember dreams more clearly, understand themes and symbols, and increase your creative awareness. Pair that with BetterSleep’s industry-leading recommendations on the science of sleep, productive sleep habits and incredible in-app features and you’ll be well on your way to finally clarifying your most fascinating dreams.

The Science of Dreaming & Why It Matters

“In dreams, we enter a world that is entirely our own.”

— Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)

A dream is a unique and intriguing glimpse into our subconscious mind that generally happens when we’re in deep sleep. But what are dreams, in the first place? Follow along for all the basics of dream science and why it’s important.

What Are Dreams? A Journey Into the Sleeping Brain

The Stages of Sleep and When We Dream Most

Sleep scientists divide the sleep cycle into 2 categories with 4 different stages. The first category is called Non-REM (or NREM) sleep; this is the time when our brains and bodies enter a state of deep relaxation and brain waves slow down dramatically. Non-REM sleep consists of the first three phases of the sleep cycle, also known as N1, N2 and N3. During Phase 1 (N1), we are just beginning to fall asleep. Also known as Sleep Onset, N1 is the time when we’re transitioning between wakefulness and sleep. It’s quite easy to wake from this sleep stage since we’re not fully relaxed yet. It’s possible to dream in N1, but dreams are usually fragmented, low-intensity and non-cohesive. Oftentimes, folks report feeling like they’re in a hazy, dream-like state or thought meditation, half asleep and half awake.

Next comes phase N2. During this light but stable sleep state, heart and breath rates slow, muscles relax and brainwaves deepen. It’s also the longest portion of the sleep cycle, comprising 45-55% of the time spent asleep. Dreams occur during this stage, but they’re often thought-like or mundane, sometimes resembling daydreams. It’s not likely that these dreams will be very emotional, and nightmares are rare during N2. This phase is harder to wake from than N1, so waking from a dream during this part of the sleep cycle can make the dream feel fragmented or incomplete.

In the N3 phase, the body is fully relaxed. It’s harder to wake during this phase, compared to the others. This is the part of the sleep cycle when tissue repair and deep healing take place, and brainwaves slow significantly. Dreaming is possible, but rare, during this phase. Dreams in N3 normally take the form of abstract sensations or imagery, and rarely have a cohesive storyline. It is still possible to dream, of course, but we don’t often remember these dreams in any significant way. Interestingly, phase N3 occurs predominantly during the early hours of the night, making the case to support earlier bedtimes for more restorative sleep.

Finally, the fourth sleep stage: REM sleep. Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep is a time when the brain and body seem to be at odds–the brain is extremely active, but the muscles in the body are almost completely still, with the exception of breath, heart and eyes. Because of this increase in brain activity, dreams are extremely common and quite vivid during this sleep stage. This is when most dreaming occurs and where we have the greatest likelihood of remembering our dreams. Dreams during REM sleep are often emotional and story-like, with characters, settings and vivid details. Strong emotions can arise during REM stage dreams, along with illogical or unrealistic action in the dream’s storyline.

Supporting your sleep stages can result in restful, restorative sleep, whether you’re paying attention to your dream state or not. In order to help your mind relax into deeper sleep stages, you can try integrating Sleep Sounds using the BetterSleep App. Sleep sounds can help you fall asleep faster, avoid nighttime disturbances and sleep more peacefully throughout the night. Why not give yourself the advantage of supporting your sleep cycle to maximize your overnight recovery potential?

Learn more about REM sleep stages by visiting the BetterSleep Blog.

The "Overnight Therapy" Hypothesis

Dr. Matthew Walker is a professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Founder and Director of the Center for Human Sleep Science. As a leading sleep expert, Dr. Walker specializes in the connection between sleep and human health. He is credited with the hypothesis of “Overnight Therapy” in relation to sleep, especially the REM phase of sleep. This hypothesis suggests that REM sleep is comparable to a type of natural overnight therapy, allowing people to process events and emotions in a safe, peaceful way. During REM sleep, the brain is active, often replaying recent emotional actions or events. The brain is basically processing what it has experienced during the day. Because the brain is in a different state during REM sleep, the neurotransmitter responsible for stress (norepinephrine) is at a much lower level than when we are awake. Dr. Walker therefore suggests that because of this lack of neurochemical stress response, our brains are able to process difficult emotional experiences better while we’re in the REM state. Without the body in fight-or-flight mode, the brain can handle trauma in a calm, rational way. On a 2023 podcast appearance, Dr. Walker distilled his point of view, saying, “It provides a form of overnight therapy. That is during dream sleep, when we strip away emotion from memory. So we can detox those emotional memories, almost like a nocturnal soothing balm that sort of takes the sharp edges off those memories, and you come back the next day feeling better about those things. So in that sense, when it comes to dream sleep, it’s not time that heals all wounds, but it’s time during sleep, and particularly during REM sleep dreaming, that provides that form of emotional convalescence.” In 2009, Dr. Walker also co-wrote a paper by the name of “Overnight Therapy? The role of sleep in overnight brain processing,” which delves into the science behind his ideas.

Why Can't I Remember My Dreams?

We’ve all been there–you wake up from a deep sleep, knowing you’ve just been dreaming about something, but unable to merge all the details into a coherent picture. Even more fruitless is trying to explain your dream to someone else; as soon as you begin pulling on one story thread, the whole thing seems to come unraveled. This phenomenon is something almost everyone on earth has experienced at some point in their lives, and it’s due to a combination of specific factors which impact our ability to remember our dreams.

The Role of the Brain in Forgetting Dreams

The brain, as we all know, is a complex and sometimes mysterious part of the human body. Through brain mapping, modern science has shown us how different parts of the brain activate or disengage during our sleep cycle, as well as how neurological networks change throughout the different stages of sleep. The first important change is that the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s control center for logic, decision-making and self-control is in a sort of “stand-by mode” during deep sleep. This is why dreams often seem illogical or random, and why we’re not always able to consolidate the memory of a dream once we wake up. This is also due to the hippocampus (our brain’s memory captain) being more offline during REM sleep, making it easier for us to forget dreams.

How do we ever remember dreams, then? Well, during the first few minutes of waking from REM sleep, your brain systems are turning back on, allowing those logic and memory functions to come back online. This brief window allows us to remember certain aspects of our dreams, most often familiar people or places and how we felt during the dream.

It’s important to note that the way you wake from a dream can also impact your ability to recall any details. When we wake gradually from a REM cycle, neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, which is tied to memory recall and alertness, release bit by bit. The slow infusion of this chemical back into our brains may allow us to consolidate more memories of dreams. Conversely, if we are startled awake from a deep sleep stage, the brain floods with this chemical (which is also linked to the stress response) and we are unlikely to remember much from our dreams. Like many areas of the brain, the ability to recall dreams can be strengthened if we choose to focus on it more carefully. Dream journaling is a practical way to get started without having to change much in your routine.

Personality and Dream Recall

Some folks report remembering dreams–or at least portions of dreams–on a daily (nightly) basis. Others are naturally predisposed to forgetting their dreams, or perhaps only recalling snippets. This can be partially linked to differences in brain activity or personal sleep patterns, but certain personality traits also play a role. For instance, people who are more introspective, creative and generally interested in remembering dreams have a tendency to recall more dream details. Studies show that people who are more in touch with their emotions have higher dream recall capabilities.

You Can Train Your Brain to Remember

Practice makes progress with most mental habits, and training yourself to remember dreams can be an interesting challenge to undertake. Depending on your baseline ability to recall dreams, you may notice memory improvements in just a few days, or it might take a few weeks for your dream memory to start catching on.

But how do we actually start remembering dreams? There are a few useful steps to take, the most effective of which is to start a dream journal or logbook. Setting intentions before bed can also help, as can monitoring your sleep cycles with BetterSleep’s Sleep Tracker. The Sleep Tracker uses your phone’s microphone to register sounds and movements throughout the night, giving you concrete data about your sleep habits. Since we know that dreams mostly occur during REM cycles, paying attention to the amount and quality of REM sleep you’re getting can do wonders for your dream recall ability. For those who are interested in going further into dream awareness, lucid dreaming techniques exist to help people increase their mindfulness while dreaming, often to the point where they can control the action of a dream.

BetterSleep also offers a variety of Guided Meditations that can help improve dream recall. By calling awareness to the dream state and priming the brain to remember details before you even fall asleep, many listeners report that they are better able to remember more details from their dreams. Want to learn more? Keep reading for our top tips on improving dream recall.

How to Start a Dream Journal: A Practical Guide

Feeling compelled to start remembering more about your dreams? Here’s our practical guide to how you can heighten your recall abilities and learn to harness the power of your dreams.

Your Dream Journaling Toolkit

Dream journaling practices have been around for centuries, with some experts asserting that the history of documenting dreams goes back to the ancient Egyptians! There are many different ways to record dreams including various analog and digital methods. Sleep psychologist Dr. Alaina Tiani of the Cleveland Clinic notes that there’s no “right way” to record your dreams. “A journal could be sketches or drawings of themes, symbols or scenes from our dreams,” says Dr. Tiani. “It could also be an audio recording of you talking through what you remember from the dream experience. The most useful medium is the one that will encourage you to journal regularly and allow you to easily review previous entries.” While there are pros and cons to each, here are some of the major highlights of writing by hand versus using a device to document dreams:

Whether you’re a fan of the oldschool pen-and-paper or the speed and convenience of technology, the best method of dream journaling depends on your personal inclinations.

The BetterSleep app is designed to aid you in your quest for enhanced dream recall; it comes equipped with several integrated features that can prove useful during your nighttime dream sessions. First, bedtime reminders can help you stay on a regular schedule, ensuring your sleep cycles stay consistent to support more stable REM sleep (when dreaming occurs most). The sleep sounds and guided meditations can help get you into a comfortable and relaxed state of mind while falling asleep and are a top-rated feature, according to users. The Sleep Tracker gives you to-the-minute data on your sleep cycle, helping you understand your sleep patterns. Since one of the best ways to improve dream recall is to record what you remember immediately after the dream, using BetterSleep’s smart alarm can be an excellent hack for waking up at the perfect moment to journal about your dream. The smart alarm assesses your Sleep Tracker data and gently wakes you at the optimal post-REM moment. If you take advantage of this clever feature to record your dream, you stand a better chance of recalling more details of your subconscious thoughts.

Setting the Stage for Dream Recall

Once you’re ready to begin the process of dream journaling, you’ll need a few materials next to your bed. Depending on whether you’re logging dreams digitally or by hand, there will be a few key differences to your bedside essentials checklist.

For manual writing, you’ll need a pen and paper, preferably a dedicated notebook to record your dreams. Any scrap of paper can do the trick, but having a specific journal for writing your dreams gives it the feeling of an important ritual and allows you to go back and read through entries at a later date. This also means you can draw or sketch aspects of your dreams, should you feel so inspired. You may want to keep sticky notes or a bookmark handy, so as not to waste precious time or mental energy searching for a new page at the moment you wake up. Finally, a source of light is important when writing by hand. Many folks like to use a dim bedside lamp or small reading light to prevent harsh lighting from disrupting their circadian rhythm during nighttime wakeups.

If you’re the techy type who prefers recording on a device, you’ll need to ensure your phone or tablet is within reach before falling asleep. Make sure it’s charged beforehand so you don’t have to get up and search for a charger just to document your dream. Choose the right app or method for chronicling your dream according to your own preferences and circumstances. Do you like talking out loud to process what you’ve just experienced? You might choose a voice-to-text feature or an audio recording. Maybe you’re a typing whiz and prefer to write out the text in a notes app. Your device can certainly make recording dreams more organized, easier to access, and immediately available no matter where you are. However, experts stress the importance of keeping your phone’s blue light filters on to reduce disturbing your sleep cycle, and recommend keeping devices on airplane mode so you aren’t inundated with notifications the moment you grab your phone or tablet.

Regardless of the method you choose to record your dreams, optimizing your sleep environment is an important step for dream recall success. Expert Charles Czeisler of Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Division of Sleep Medicine expresses the importance of having a consistent bedtime for circadian stability, as well as optimizing our bedroom setup to get good quality sleep. Dr. Czeisler asserts that having a dark, cool bedroom is a great place to start. “You should be able to regulate the temperature, because if you’re not in a thermo-neutral environment, it will impair your ability to go into rapid-eye-movement sleep, which is the sleep stage associated with vivid dreaming,” says Dr. Czeisler. You may also want to keep a glass of water on your bedside table, as staying lightly hydrated at night can help you wake at the ideal time in your sleep cycle to record your dreams.

The BetterSleep app can also help in this regard, by providing bedtime support, sleep sounds and smart alarms for the optimal moment of awakening. This industry-leading app offers hundreds of sleep sounds, all at the touch of a button, to help support a healthy bedtime routine. Experts note that having a consistent routine before bed, such as dimming lights and listening to soothing sounds, has a profound effect on our brain’s ability to regulate sleep. Dr. Rebecca Robbins, a Mass General Brigham researcher and Harvard Medical School professor stresses how bedtime routines help us optimize sleep, saying that “Consistency in your evening wind-down routine trains your body and brain to expect sleep.” BetterSleep can therefore support our pre-sleep routine, provide soothing sleep sounds for the moment we’re ready to fall asleep, and assess our sleep data to make sure we wake up at the smoothest arc of our sleep cycle. Sounds like a no brainer–the sleep science is in, and BetterSleep is here to help cultivate your healthiest sleep habits yet!

The Bedside Ritual

According to recent findings in dream science, the most critical time for dream recall is the first 5 minutes upon waking from a dream. The brain is generally still in “sleep mode,” with certain rational, control and logic centers still suppressed. This magic moment is the time when dream recall is most heightened because the brain has not completely woken up and started engaging with other stimuli. If you’re able to capture your dream, even in fragments, you’ll be building the muscle that can help you recall more and more about your subconscious musings.

So, how do you actually do it? The steps are simple and come naturally to most people. As soon as you wake up, follow this 5-step guide to record your dreams in the method of your choosing:

1. Stay still and mentally recall the dream as soon as you wake up. Keeping your body still and your eyes closed, let the dream replay in your mind as if you’re watching a video. Notice the different aspects, such as emotions, faces, environment and mood.

2. Record it immediately, even if it’s just fragments. Dream experts note that even cataloging snippets from a dream helps improve dream recall–fragments can provide fascinating insight and symbolism. Remember, it doesn’t have to be a complete dream to warrant documentation!

3. Add quick details like emotions, people, and key images. Did you wake up feeling a certain emotion? Did anyone in particular appear in your dreams? Try to recall details of your dream, even if they don’t seem overtly important at the moment. You may end up noticing patterns in your dreams over time.

4. Give the dream a short title so you can reference it later. This does two important things. First, it makes it easier to come back to dream entries at a later date. Second, it helps your brain categorize the dream, improving future recall by marking it as important to remember.

5. Reflect on what stood out or felt meaningful. This can be quite personal and can change depending on your mood. It is a thought-provoking piece of the dream recall puzzle that your future self will thank you for.

Dream journal templates can be found online, but the most important aspect is that you make it work for your own personal preferences. Since there are countless ways to effectively record dreams, try a few methods for yourself and develop a habit that feels natural and most authentic to you.

Unlocking the Benefits: What Your Dreams Can Do for You

Now that you’re becoming well-versed in the subconscious world of dreams, you may have already guessed some of the benefits that come along with this fascinating practice. Dreaming can promote creativity and problem-solving, help us process difficult emotions and deepen our understanding of our own psyche. Through the techniques used in dream journaling, discover how you can expand your mental capacity and channel the wisdom of your dreams.

Boost Your Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills

Dreaming, often seen as a glimpse into the subconscious mind, allows us a rare opportunity to explore our own creative power in previously unexplored ways. Recording dreams can be used as a tool to enhance creativity, find answers to difficult problems, and has even been credited with some important inventions over the years.

Dreams Invented the Sewing Machine and Broke Ground in Neuroscience

Throughout history, dreams have played an important role in many decisions, discoveries, and even scientific breakthroughs. One notable invention that was affected by a dream was the sewing machine. In 1845, American inventor Elias Howe was working on improving the design of the sewing machine, specifically the placement and shape of the needle. According to his family’s historical records, Howe stumbled upon the answer to his predicament while dreaming. Author Thomas W.M. Draper describes the process, saying:

“He might have failed altogether if he had not dreamed he was building a sewing machine for a savage king in a strange country. [...] He thought the king gave him twenty-four hours in which to complete the machine and make it sew. If not finished in that time death was to be the punishment. Howe worked and worked, and puzzled, and finally gave it up. Then he thought he was taken out to be executed. [...] Instantly came the solution of the difficulty, and while the inventor was begging for time he awoke.”

Through the mysterious power of a dream, Howe reportedly solved the issue that had been plaguing him for some time, and was able to patent the technology in 1846.

Another dream-inspired discovery was the way nerves communicate, known as neurochemical transmission. In 1920, scientist Otto Loewi self-reportedly dreamed up a complete experiment to prove how nerves communicate chemically. He immediately recorded the dream, but described that his notes were impossible to read. Surprisingly, he had the same dream the next night, immediately rushing to his lab to perform the experiment. From there, the field of neuroscience was solidified, making Loewi’s discovery a scientifically significant finding. In fact, he won a Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 1936. What a dream that turned out to be!

The Science of Dream-Fueled Creativity

Do dream inspirations come from thin air? How are we able to access certain ideas while asleep but not during waking hours? The answer may be simpler than you think. Part of the key to unlocking dream creativity is that certain areas of the brain are functioning at higher or lower states during REM sleep. In this phase of the sleep cycle, the prefrontal cortex–the part of the brain responsible for logic and reasoning–is operating at a minimum. This explains the often unrealistic events we experience while dreaming, but also accounts for our outside-the-box creative capacity during dreams. Because our rational mind is muted, we have an increased ability to think creatively without the restriction of logic. Additionally, during REM sleep the visual cortex and associative areas of the brain remain active, which can contribute to novel imagery in dreams, as if the imagination is in overdrive. As reflected in the examples of Howe and Loewi above, who were both said to have dreamed up the solution to their conundrums, the abstract conceptualization that occurs in dreams can bring new and creative results.

Dr. Diedre Barrett, author, psychologist and expert in the fields of dreams, hypnosis and imagery, works with dreaming as a method of problem-solving. She wrote an article on the link between creative problem solving and dreaming, noting that, “Dreaming is essentially our brain thinking in another neurophysiologic state—and therefore it is likely to solve some problems on which our waking minds have become stuck.” After conducting experiments in which participants recorded their dreams over the course of a week, Dr. Barrett noticed a positive correlation between “dream incubation,” as she calls it, and coming up with a practical solution. Dream incubation refers to the process of thinking about a problem before sleeping, with the intention of using the creative power of dreams to help solve the issue. While Dr. Barrett asserts that dream-induced creativity can help people find novel solutions, she cautions that it’s not magic and does not always yield results. Instead, dream journaling can be used as a tool to help improve this type of creative thinking, which can also translate to waking-life innovative thought.

Dream Incubation Exercise

If you are interested in discerning subconscious thoughts to help solve real-life problems, there’s a simple, 5-step process to try Dream Incubation for yourself.

1. Identify a problem or issue you’re facing in your life. It could be something creative, like a design decision, or more practical, like a conflict at work.
2. Focus before bed on the problem. You might want to write or visualize the issue, or repeat a phrase like “How can I solve ___?” before falling asleep.
3. Sleep and dream to let your brain ruminate on the issue. Supporting your sleep hygiene is important to ensure you enter REM sleep as much as possible.
4. Record the dream in your dream journal, making note of any fragments or imagery that may come up, even if they don’t seem important at the moment.
5. Test solutions and try again the next night. You may notice that it takes some repetitions to come up with a possible answer to your problem. Many dream solutions come in the form of symbols or imagery, so reading back through your dream journal can be a great way to notice patterns and decipher symbolism.

Dream incubation is just one way to help get your brain into the right mindset for solving a problem, but according to Dr. Barrett’s research, it can be pretty effective. Over the course of a week, roughly two-thirds of study participants had dreams related to their “incubated” problems, and about one-third came up with possible solutions.

Process Emotions and Enhance Mental Well-Being

Not only can dreams exercise your creativity, they can also be used as a way to process real life emotional experiences in a safe environment. Read on to learn how dreams can mirror feelings and occurrences from your waking life and how embracing dreams can help you make sense of certain events.

Your Dreams as Mirror to Inner World

Have you ever had a dream that closely resembled something that’s actually happened to you in your daily life? Most folks would probably agree that this is a pretty common occurrence since our brains often use the dream state to process complex emotions. One set of researchers, Nicholas Pesant and Antonio Zadra of the Université de Montréal, conducted a longitudinal study over 10 years which showed a strong correlation between participants’ dream content and their psychological well-being. The research aimed to investigate the continuity hypothesis, the theory that people’s waking emotional experience can be reflected in their dreams, especially in the case of negative emotions. According to the study, when participants reported lower emotional well-being, they also recorded more aggressive interactions and negative emotions in their dreams. Another 2017 study confirmed similar findings, and went on to notice that these emotional states were also reflected in recurring dreams. Many experts assert that dreams can help us process emotions that we experience throughout the day, without the interference from the prefrontal cortex (the rational mind) or other forms of self-judgement that we employ while awake. Dr. Alaina Tiani recommends dream journaling for emotional healing, since “Dreams may help you recognize and even process some emotions that you may not be fully aware of or in tune with in your waking life.”

While we all experience different dreams, here are some of the most common themes for dream pattern recognition, and what they might say about your emotional state:

Working with Nightmares and Difficult Dreams

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, up to 85% of adults report having at least occasional nightmares. With such a high statistic, having a strategy to help with nightmares–especially recurring ones–would be a great source of relief!

A technique called IRT (Imagery Rehearsal Therapy) is an “Evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy that can help to reduce nightmare frequency and severity. Part of this therapy involves keeping a version of a dream journal,” says Dr. Tiani. IRT employs a technique in which participants attempt to rewrite the script of their dreams by rehearsing the action during waking hours, therefore giving the dreamer a sense of control. A 2012 meta-analysis on IRT effectiveness showed that this intervention was effective not only at reducing the frequency of nightmares, but also helped support better overall sleep quality. The study suggests that IRT typically takes 2-4 weeks to show results, and can be supported further by a mental health professional.

For occasional nightmares, bad dreams or a pesky recurring dream that is annoying but not psychologically traumatic, BetterSleep offers some nighttime meditations that can help soothe you back into a peaceful sleep. Guided meditations can help calm a busy, racing mind and often make people feel more relaxed after a bad dream.

If nightmares recur frequently or contain troubling content, it might be time to speak to a professional. Mental health experts suggest that regular nightmares may be linked to deeper psychological issues. If you’re experiencing persistent nightmares or if your dreams bring up dangerous, self-harming or distressing content, please speak with your doctor right away. While IRT and BetterSleep are great tools for helping with mild to moderate nightmares, they do not replace medical advice.

Tracking Emotional Health Over Time

Through the use of a dream journal, it is possible to identify patterns and recurring symbols in your dreams. Some dream trackers add a “how did I feel?” section into their dream journals to notice repeated feelings, symbols or emotional markers. The insight one might gain from recording not only dreams, but emotions experienced through dreams, can be used as evidence for long-term mental health assessment. If you’re not quite sure if dream journaling is right for you, why not give it a shot for a few weeks? You might be surprised to see some behavioral changes, patterns and emotional insights.

Achieve Deeper Self-Awareness and Personal Growth

Listening to your inner voice, suspending ego, building mindfulness…these terms may sound esoteric to some, but they are all aspects of personal growth that can be achieved through dream journaling.

The inner voice, also known as intuition, has often been said to come to the forefront in dreams. Because your brain’s logic centers are hushed during REM sleep–combined with the fact that emotional and visual areas are heightened–dreaming is a great place to get in touch with subconscious feelings. Intuition is our ability to sense or understand something without immediate proof. We often get this feeling during waking hours when something immediately “clicks” within our mind without logic or reasoning, or when we feel certain vibes about a situation. Through dream journaling, we foster a relationship with our intuition by acknowledging the underlying feelings we experience while asleep. Some of these feelings are inaccessible to us during waking hours because our ego (our perceived sense of self) gets in the way. While we sleep, our subconscious mind fills in certain gaps and makes connections that our rational brains might not allow. “[Dream journaling] cultivates an ability to suspend your ego and listen to your inner voice of intuition, your true self,” says Dr. Kelly Bulkeley of Stanford University.

In addition, dream researcher Ryan Hurd describes a conversation he had with Dr. Bulkeley, stating that dream journaling can become a kind of meditative practice. By increasing your mindfulness related to dreaming, you train your brain to remember more about your dreams as time goes on. As Hurd suggests, “Over time, this shift of consciousness becomes quicker and easier — much like an experienced meditator can quickly shift into meditative awareness.” As with most mindfulness practices, the more you train yourself, the easier it becomes. If you’re new to the practice of meditation or mindfulness, BetterSleep offers many guided meditations and sounds to help you, from calming breathing exercises to full body scans.

Advanced Dream Journaling Techniques

Once you’re comfortable with dream journalling regularly and starting to notice the benefits of this unique peek into your subconscious mind, you might be interested in taking things to the next level. Lucid dreaming is a concept that many have practiced over the years to become even more integrated into the dreaming process. Dreams can be turned into art, used to manifest desires and shared with others to increase self-awareness.

Lucid Dreaming: Taking Control

What is Lucid Dreaming?

Lucid dreaming refers to the awareness that one is dreaming, even while asleep. The ability to control or affect the action of a dream can also be part of a lucid dream. For centuries, and maybe even millenia, lucid dreaming has been used as part of religious and spiritual practices. Some people lucid dream without meaning to, while others intentionally engage in the process to deepen their understanding of their subconscious.

How Journaling is Foundation for Lucidity

Embarking on the journey toward lucid dreaming requires groundwork in dream journaling. The basis of both is awareness of dreams, so it is imperative that budding lucid dreamers establish detailed dream journaling techniques. This practice will allow dreamers to improve dream recall, recognize patterns and symbols and increase awareness that one is actually dreaming. To take things to the next level, a method called MILD (Mnemonic Induction of Lucid Dreams) is used to prime the mind for deeper attunement to the dream state. But how does it work? Here’s a quick guide to the MILD approach for channeling lucid dreams:

1. Wake and Recall after approximately 5-6 hours of sleep. This puts you in the ideal sleep cycle zone for dream recall.
2. Set an intention to remember your dreams. For example, “Next time I’m dreaming, I will realize I’m dreaming.”
3. Visualize Lucidity by trying to return to the dream. Close your eyes and try to put yourself back into the same dream, but this time imagine taking control of the dream.
4. Fall asleep with intention by reminding yourself of the phrase you repeated earlier. Keep the intention in your mind as you drift back to sleep.
5. (Optional) Wake-back-to-bed (WBTB) technique: by waking for 10-30 minutes during the night and focusing your attention on lucid dreaming, you increase the chances of experiencing increased dream awareness. You can write in or review your dream journal, meditate on lucid dreaming or continue practicing the MILD technique.

A 2022 systematic review of research methods in lucid dreaming aimed to compare lucid dreaming strategies and techniques found that MILD is still the most effective method, but there is emerging evidence to support other techniques, as well. To further enhance the WBTB technique, try setting a smart alarm using the BetterSleep Sleep Tracker; it will wake you up at the ideal point in your sleep cycle, when you’re just about to come out of REM sleep. Waking at the perfect moment might just be the key to catching those slippery dream threads, leading to more success with lucid dreaming.

Dream Art: Drawing and Sketching

Dream journaling can take many forms; those who have more visual minds may enjoy sketching or drawing a representation of their dreams. These artistic visions can inspire future artwork, harness creative ideas and even spur dream recall. Dream art is a unique form of self-expression and some people find it more accessible than trying to find words to describe a dream. When we let our hands manifest the feelings we experience during a dream, the result may translate more abstract imagery or symbolism from the dream.

Working with Therapist or Dream Group

To take a step further, some people may choose to share their dream journals with a therapist or dream group in order to extract even more meaning from dreams. In some cases, professionals can see links between our dream content and our waking lives that we as individuals cannot. Similarly, sharing dreams with a group of like-minded people may shed light on otherwise overlooked portions of a dream. Shared insight can bring up new information or connections that you might not notice on your own.

If you decide to share with a professional, privacy may not be a concern. However, divulging dreams to others should only be done in a context of highly trusted individuals. Since dreams are so personal and often sensitive, it’s easy to regret oversharing. Dreams can potentially be used to manipulate a person, so be sure to disclose them cautiously. Additionally, if you decide to create a digital dream journal, make sure it is password protected and only accessible to you. You don’t want your dreams to fall into the wrong hands–what a nightmare!

Conclusion: Begin Your Dream Journey Tonight

“Keeping a dream journal is a kindred practice of deep, long-term psychological and spiritual growth.” - Dr. Kelly Bulkeley

Dream journaling, as a practice, offers an intriguing peek into a person’s subconscious. It inspires creativity, problem-solving, personal improvement and a host of other benefits. The best part is: it’s extremely simple! Grab yourself a pen and paper and get started on your dream journey tonight. With BetterSleep’s innovative integrations, you’ll be closer than ever to getting restful and dream-filled sleep.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to see results from dream journaling?

Generally speaking, it takes about 2-4 weeks of dream journaling to heighten recall capabilities. As with any practice, some folks catch on quickly and notice changes within days, while others may take up to 8 weeks to notice improvement. Several factors impact a person’s ability to recall dreams, such as consistency, baseline emotional awareness, stress, intention and of course, sleep quality. The best chance at success involves creating a consistent dream journaling routine and supporting your sleep habits to be as healthy as possible. You can utilize BetterSleep’s extensive library of helpful tools to get your sleep hygiene in check, ensuring you get plenty of REM sleep.

What if I don't remember any dreams at all?

It’s perfectly normal not to remember your dreams. Most people report forgetting dreams frequently and sometimes only recalling small snippets of dreams. But don’t worry, you are dreaming, even if you don’t remember. To jump start dream recall, try setting an intention before going to sleep. You could try repeating a phrase like, “Tonight I will remember my dreams” as you fall asleep. Stay still when you first wake up, trying to let your dream replay in your head. If you can only catch tiny details, don’t worry! This is very common, and can still be helpful in long-term dream recall. Improving sleep quality can also help support dream memory, so try to maintain a consistent bedtime and wake-up time each day. You can also use BetterSleep’s library of meditations, sleep stories and sleep sounds to help calm down before bed, fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. It’s also worth mentioning that certain habits can impact sleep quality, such as using devices right before bed, bright lights, or using caffeine, alcohol or cannabis too frequently. Most importantly, be patient with yourself. Dream journaling is a practice and doesn’t snap into place overnight; it takes time, good intentions and a positive attitude to make really the most of your dreams.

Do dream symbols have universal meanings?

The short answer is no; dream symbols mean different things to different people. Imagery in dreams is open to subjective interpretation. For example, the presence of water in a dream might mean peace to some people, and may represent terror to another. The most important thing to remember is that the symbols you find significant are meaningful to you for a reason. Perhaps your dream symbol is a manifestation of something going on in your own life–your curiosity about the connection is what makes it important.

Should I journal every single dream, even boring ones?

In order to maintain consistency in your practice, it’s a good idea to journal every detail of dreams that you can remember. Even if a fragment of a dream seems inconsequential at the moment, you may be surprised to notice patterns later on, once you’ve collected a dream archive in your journal. After all, dream journaling is a process which does not produce an immediate result. First, you must train your mind to remember more and more pieces of dreams, amass some baseline data about your dreams and improve your ability to extract the hidden meaning of your dream symbols. Over time, you’ll notice that this gets easier and easier, as with any practiced skill. You will also foster a closer relationship with your own intuition, which can translate into enhanced creativity and learning to “trust your gut” during both dreams and waking hours.

Can dream journaling help with insomnia or sleep problems?

Though it is not a treatment for insomnia, some dream journalers report that they have noticed sleep improvements since starting the practice. Some indirect benefits include stress reduction, subdued nightmares, sleep awareness, and increased mindfulness. Dream journaling is meant to be a positive, pressure-free experience, so try your best to keep it light and don’t worry too much if you miss recording dreams sometimes.

If you think you might be experiencing clinical insomnia or a genuine sleep disorder, please seek professional help straight away. Dream journaling is not a medical practice, nor is BetterSleep a substitute for medical intervention. If you or someone you know is experiencing trauma, sleep disorders or recurring nightmares, please speak to your doctor immediately.

Is it normal to have disturbing or weird dreams?

Absolutely! We all have crazy dreams sometimes. When we enter REM sleep, the logical part of our brain is in “hibernation mode,” allowing wild imagery and unusual events to occur during dreams. Some people remember dreams vividly, while others tend to forget them immediately. Dreams can reflect our emotional state at the time, including both positive and negative life experiences. Is there ever a time to be concerned about dream content? Sure–if you’re experiencing frequent nightmares, distress during the day, PTSD symptoms or dreams involving self-harm, it may be time to speak to a healthcare professional. If your dreams are just bizarre, weird or unrealistic, though, it’s probably just your brain working through emotions. Dream journaling can help you to understand and embrace these strange occurrences, rather than fear them.