Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

psypost.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 180 posts

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#111

Post by t_mann »

dgellow wrote: post #108

Lot of people discuss ways to improve dream recalls, or to have more lucid dreams. Is there a way to do the opposite, to stop remembering dreams or stop dreaming at all? I personally very much dislike the concept of dreaming, it feels like being forced to watch (or participate in) a movie I have no interest in. My best sleep is when I feel I was “turned off”, with no dream or at least no memory or feeling of dreaming…

Yes, it totally is (see also my response to user dorkwood). I used to have very unpleasant dreams up until I was a teenager and now all my nights are 'turned off', like you describe. When you wake up and your dream is still present, just think about something in your real life and actively tell yourself to forget the dream.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#112

Post by jk7tarYZAQNpTQa »

dorkwood wrote: post #76

You can improve your dream recall ability. It's not fixed. I did it when I was younger. I was lucky if I could remember one dream per month, and I went to remembering around six per night. Here's how to do it: as soon as you wake up, pay attention to whether you were just dreaming or not. Don't get out of bed and go to the bathroom -- if there was anything to remember from your dreams, you'll lose it by doing this. D…

> if there was anything to remember from your dreams, you'll lose it by doing this. Dream memories are extremely fragile

I've always had a natural ability to remember my dreams. And one of the most curious things about my dreams is that I can recall (as in right now) dreams I had decades ago. I can often remember them until late in the day. I can also know when I had a dream I already had years ago (it happens often). It's almost like a deja vu.

I never had a dream diary, but I would like to make one just to find these repetitions, connections, relations, etc.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#113

Post by encrux »

t_mann wrote: post #105
dorkwood wrote: post #76

You can improve your dream recall ability. It's not fixed. I did it when I was younger. I was lucky if I could remember one dream per month, and I went to remembering around six per night. Here's how to do it: as soon as you wake up, pay attention to whether you were just dreaming or not. Don't get out of bed and go to the bathroom -- if there was anything to remember from your dreams, you'll lose it by doing this. D…

Curious, I've been doing pretty much the opposite, deliberately forgetting my dreams. Most dreams I remembered weren't pleasant, and forgetting them created a sort of 'blacked-out' period of genuine recreation. Like, I usually constantly think about things to optimize/study/do, and being very aware of what was happening in my sleep seemed to carry over that pattern into my sleep, if that makes sense (if not, then jus…

Not a researcher, just interested in the topic:

I see it like this: You spend a third of your life asleep. By not "utilizing" your dreams, you effectively waste that time.

dream recall is very easy to learn and even easier if you actively write down your dreams. From there on, it's not much further to start looking into lucid dreams, where you can take control, even over nightmares.

Facing my nightmares in my teens (even without being lucid) was very liberating.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#114

Post by encrux »

dgellow wrote: post #108

Lot of people discuss ways to improve dream recalls, or to have more lucid dreams. Is there a way to do the opposite, to stop remembering dreams or stop dreaming at all? I personally very much dislike the concept of dreaming, it feels like being forced to watch (or participate in) a movie I have no interest in. My best sleep is when I feel I was “turned off”, with no dream or at least no memory or feeling of dreaming…

I think it's very unfortunate you see it that way, but I guess you can try distracting yourself from it directly after waking up.

Just immediately stand up and start thinking of your day, rather than last night. It's the opposite of dream journaling, so my guess is that'll do.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#115

Post by Terry_Roll »

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #26
Terry_Roll wrote: post #17

Choline will do this for you, 3 eggs (yolks) is suggested to be enough for pregnant women, lecithin, choline bitartrate, CDP Choline, and any choline mimetic like Carnitine. I've found a couple of 000 capsules filled with lecithin 30mins before bed is best. A none supplemental alternative is water fasting but thats something that cant be done all the time.

Interesting because I found if I take B6 I dream away more than usual and it’s way more vivid. Choline please a role in the Transulfuration pathway, as does B6 By stimulating the CBS enzyme. https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fels-jbs-p...

Choline is an chemical in cells walls, it lowers the pressure in the alveoli to facilitate the gas exchange so it can increase physical performance and endurance, its used in connections between neurons, so it keeps brain fog/baby brain at bay.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#116

Post by hnhg »

feanaro wrote: post #98
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #80

How does one know that you don't create the dream at the point that you're explaining it? Like a false memory. Thinking up an idea and remembering an idea probably have similar patterns on EEG. I guess that experiment has been done? At times I've had pretty interesting dreams, but since I was a teen (decades ago) wondered if perhaps the dream was made on the spot as I "remembered" it. Provided the creative part kept…

> At times I've had pretty interesting dreams, but since I was a teen (decades ago) wondered if perhaps the dream was made on the spot as I "remembered" it. This is easily disproved by observing that people sometimes mutter in their sleep as they dream. Cats/dogs vocalize and twitch while dreaming too sometimes.

Not necessarily, unless you have some decent data on this to share? Not everyone might mutter in their sleep. The overlap between the people who mutter and those who self-report might be minimal. Muttering behaviour might have an unexpected relationship with dream recall, etc.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#117

Post by huimang »

dgellow wrote: post #108

Lot of people discuss ways to improve dream recalls, or to have more lucid dreams. Is there a way to do the opposite, to stop remembering dreams or stop dreaming at all? I personally very much dislike the concept of dreaming, it feels like being forced to watch (or participate in) a movie I have no interest in. My best sleep is when I feel I was “turned off”, with no dream or at least no memory or feeling of dreaming…

I hardly ever remember dreams, maybe once per month or less. Sometimes if I eat specific foods like pizza right before bed it can trigger a potent dream, but I avoid eating stuff late at night now anyhow.

I haven't specifically tried to dream less but I've never tried to remember anything either. When I wake up, I immediately start thinking about my plans for the day and/or check HN/instagram (admittedly, a bad habit).

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#118

Post by ushakov »

sweetsocks21 wrote: post #102
ushakov wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

same for me too i remember my dreams in full details, like the stage, lightning, color, cast, interactions, dialogs, etc. but mostly only small part of the whole story music i often hear either when i fall into sleep or wake up, but also when i play it in the dream like a guitar also i dream of pseudo-code yeah, sometimes i wish there was a way to screen-capture my dream, because some of them would make amazing block…

I've often wished for some kind of dream recorder. I have had some very intense dreams, even "inception" style where I fall asleep inside a dream. In these dreams I'll talk to witty people, hear incredible music, see fantastic sights. But once I wake up 90% of the dream is gone and I only remember some highlights. A weird realization for me is all the events in the dream were produced by me. Yet in real life I'm usel…

yeah, a dream within a dream is also a thing

i too hear the best music in the world in my dreams

yet after i wake up i forget it instantly

the only thing i remember then is the fact that i heard it, just not exactly what

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#119

Post by indigochill »

sweetsocks21 wrote: post #102
ushakov wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

same for me too i remember my dreams in full details, like the stage, lightning, color, cast, interactions, dialogs, etc. but mostly only small part of the whole story music i often hear either when i fall into sleep or wake up, but also when i play it in the dream like a guitar also i dream of pseudo-code yeah, sometimes i wish there was a way to screen-capture my dream, because some of them would make amazing block…

I've often wished for some kind of dream recorder. I have had some very intense dreams, even "inception" style where I fall asleep inside a dream. In these dreams I'll talk to witty people, hear incredible music, see fantastic sights. But once I wake up 90% of the dream is gone and I only remember some highlights. A weird realization for me is all the events in the dream were produced by me. Yet in real life I'm usel…

> Yet in real life I'm useless in front of a piano, or a paint brush. It would be great if there was a way to tap into that creativity once awake.

Imagination and technical skill (that is, how well you use a piano or paint brush) are orthogonal domains. The way to tap into your imagination is to develop your technical skill to the level where you're capable of translating what you imagine to the physical motions necessary to convey it on canvas.

Re: Heightened dream recall ability linked to increased creativity, connectivity

#120

Post by eternalban »

deltaonefour wrote: post #109
eternalban wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no rush in analysis. I've had dreams that finally made sense years after the fact.

its not suppose to make any sense. Any analysis you do is more YOU apoplying meaning to it without realizing it.

That is your opinion and we disagree. And your last sentence is equally applicable to anything psychological content (conscious or otherwise, including simple sensing), is it not?
Post reply on HN