Dreaming

[BAndrew]

I will categorize this thread into two sections:

1. As a kid I used to have vivid dreams. However, now I almost never remember a dream. Why is that? Is there a way to "make" your dreams rememberable or more vivid? If so how?
   Does this also happen to you?
   
2. Imagine that somehow (eg with advanced technology) when sleeping we could "trick" or "help" our brains create visuals thus transforming our night sleep into a cinema playing movies. How cool would be that? Free dreams/movies by your brain that you can also remember. Of course then maybe no one would want to wake up because reality would be boring.
   

[7heDubz]

I agree with both. I don't know of any ways to make dreams more vivid or memorable. I really only remember bad dreams now.

[Froge]

I don't actually think that dreams are events that can be remembered. They're more like patterns of thought swimming around in our head, and when we claim to remember dreams it's more like we've allocated memory for a pointer that directs us to that certain pattern of thought. #c++

On my train home from work today, I dozed off a couple of times but only very briefly. Each time I woke up, I felt like I was transitioning from a state of continuous thought to a state of mindfulness. I believe the biggest difference between conscious thinking and dream thinking is only that we're aware of our thoughts when we're awake. In dreams, we take thoughts at face value, which is why sometimes nightmares and / or happy illusions occur.

[PutraenusAlivius]

As a kid I used to have vivid dreams. However, now I almost never remember a dream. Why is that? Is there a way to "make" your dreams rememberable or more vivid? If so how?

It's called a Lucid dream, where dreams are memorable and vivid. And you are conscious.

One possibility is that during childhood, your brain is still relatively young so it's self-aware parts are still active during REM sleep. As the child grows, the parts get automatically turned off and you can't get vivid dreams.

In order to have vivid dreams again, there are 2 methods.
FIRST METHOD

Spoiler below!

Get a dream journal. As you go to sleep, put your journal and pen next to you. After you have woken up, you still can partially remember your dreams. Focus on the journal and write what ever you can. Then you'll notice a pattern and as you get aware of this, the possibilities of you getting a vivid dream multiplies.

SECOND METHOD

Spoiler below!

Throughout the day whilst being wide awake, keep asking yourself is this a dream and then look at something. Let it be your phone or clock. If it's normal, you're not dreaming. But in a dream, things tend to get twisted, so when this becomes a habit, in the dream you can get awake.

The human mind tends to awaken it self when it's self-aware parts are active. When you have control in the dream, the mind likes to awaken it self. If this happens, look to the bottom and spin.

Imagine that somehow (eg with advanced technology) when sleeping we could "trick" or "help" our brains create visuals thus transforming our night sleep into a cinema playing movies. How cool would be that? Free dreams/movies by your brain that you can also remember. Of course then maybe no one would want to wake up because reality would be boring.

You could try to input a sensor of some sorts to your brain (specifically your visual cortex) and decipher that data to a format in which the film can be played, but it probably won't work.

[Potato]

Has anyone else had a sort of thing where some vague memory of a dream comes up in real life, only much, much later? It's a very weird and unsettling feeling of deja vu, especially when its something really specific.

[PutraenusAlivius]

Has anyone else had a sort of thing where some vague memory of a dream comes up in real life, only much, much later? It's a very weird and unsettling feeling of deja vu, especially when its something really specific.

I do. My theory is that some parts of dream get permanently stored in your hippocampus and thus you can access it.

[Romulator]

I tend to force myself into subconscious dreaming states which is in fact, lucid dreaming. My method is to close my eyes, stay still, and think about things. When my body hits REM (you notice), then you wait until that period ends and imagine yourself floating away. It's quite interesting actually :3 I often use it for out of body experiences. Quite fun stuff actually, throwing rocks at someone's house late at night when it feels so real.

Our brains create our dreams. Thus, you can control them to be a "cinema" aspect, but you have to understand how your dreams work to do so.

[Nice]

I tend to force myself into subconscious dreaming states which is in fact, lucid dreaming. My method is to close my eyes, stay still, and think about things. When my body hits REM (you notice), then you wait until that period ends and imagine yourself floating away. It's quite interesting actually :3 I often use it for out of body experiences. Quite fun stuff actually, throwing rocks at someone's house late at night when it feels so real.

Our brains create our dreams. Thus, you can control them to be a "cinema" aspect, but you have to understand how your dreams work to do so.

you get the power to do anything you imagine...You throw rocks at peoples houses xD

[Romulator]

I tend to force myself into subconscious dreaming states which is in fact, lucid dreaming. My method is to close my eyes, stay still, and think about things. When my body hits REM (you notice), then you wait until that period ends and imagine yourself floating away. It's quite interesting actually :3 I often use it for out of body experiences. Quite fun stuff actually, throwing rocks at someone's house late at night when it feels so real.

Our brains create our dreams. Thus, you can control them to be a "cinema" aspect, but you have to understand how your dreams work to do so.

you get the power to do anything you imagine...You throw rocks at peoples houses xD

Well, I'm not going to do it in real life XD If I wanted to, I could just dream that I move from my bed to the couch, and lucid dream a lucid dream. Inception :3

[VaeVictis]

I can't lucid dream, per se, but usually I can recall perfectly the events, sights, sounds, and even smells of a dream.
I also have had dreams come true. Nothing big, just conversations/mundane events that I dreamt about and then happened. Makes me wonder just what exactly our subconscious mind is attached to.