7 Tips for Developing a Dream Journaling Habit

Dreams are a unifying trait of human behavior, and through our dreams we gain a window into our own unconscious. But for many of us, remembering our dreams can be a huge challenge. Although harnessing our dreams can have huge emotional health benefits, our dreams can't be harnessed if they are not remembered. Learning to dream journal is meaningful tool for remembering and channeling our dreams. Before dream journaling can really be helpful, though, you have to make it a habit. This habit will help you recognize patterns in your dreams which will make you more capable of understanding and interpreting your nightly visions. Now that we've talked a bit about importance of dream journaling, here are some ways to help you develop your dream journaling habit. Below I've shared 7 tips to help you make dream journaling a regular part of your life.

1. Designate a Dream Journal

Your dream journal will be a tool that helps you to harness the power of your dreams. With the power of your dreams, you will be able to improve your emotional health and reap serious benefits in your waking life, and that means you should choose your journal very carefully. A great dream journal should be easy to organize, small enough to fit by your bed, and should inspire you to use it regularly (I suggest doodling on the cover or filling it with quotes about dreams to make it more visually appealing).

2. Make Space for Your Dream Journal

If your journal is buried under a pile of clutter, kept across the room, or simply out of sight, odds are you will forget to use it. To improve your dream journaling consistency, designate a space for your journal. The ideal dream journal spot should be near your bed, easy to reach, and uncovered by clutter.

3. Set a Goal

Much like other healthy habits, dream journaling will be much easier if you have a goal in mind. Whether you are hoping to improve your emotional health, experiment with lucid dreaming or simply start remembering your dreams, having a goal in mind will result in success. Make sure your dream journaling goal is as clear as possible and that you keep it in mind as you work towards developing your dream journaling habit.

4. Organize Your Journal

Your dream journal should be organized in a way that works for you, and no one way will work for every dreamer but there are a few simple methods to consider:

• By topic. One interesting organization technique is to desperate dreams into topics. This will make it much easier to recognize and group patterns.

• In columns for interpretation. This can be a great tool for interpretation. Put the dream in one column and your interpretation in the next. Remember that as the dreamer, you are the most qualified person to interpret your own dreams.

• Designate questions or prompts. It can be very helpful to designate specific questions to answer within each journal entry. This can ensure that you make the most of your journaling experience.

5. Set up Regular Sleep Patterns

You will be much more likely to record your dreams if your sleeping habits are fairly regular. If you don't have a regular sleep schedule right now, you might want to work on setting one up! Consider falling to sleep and waking up at the same time as often as possible. This will help your body get in the dreaming mode, and make falling asleep much easier.

6. Wake up as Naturally as Possible

Certain alarms, particularly those that use music with lyrics and talk radio, can make it more difficult to remember your dreams. If possible, try to wake up without an alarm or with a basic beeping model. This will make it easier to remember your dreams when you first wake up.

7. Record Your Dreams Immediately

The longer you wait to write down your dreams, the fuzzier they will become. So make sure to journal your dreams as soon as you wake up for the best results! Don’t be afraid to write your dreams in the middle of the night if you wake up with a remembered dream in mind. Writing it down right after the dream will be much simpler than writing your late night dream the next morning. Dream journaling is an unbeatable tool for remembering your dreams and embracing their power. Writing your dreams is a catalyst to deepening your dreaming experience. It has been shown to improve dream recall, emotional health, and even promote lucid dreaming.