What do you do to dream?

[HokuRyu]

An interesting question: what do we do to dream? Sometimes I don't dream, those are the worst nights. I once had a coworker who says nicotine gum helps, it didn't for me but it got me thinking. I usually look at artwork sometime before bed or read. Anybody have any personal tips besides drug use?

 

[Chasejxyz]

I've gotten some weird dreams on melatonin, but they're mostly Painfully Banal. Like I watched an entire episode of my favorite reality tv show, it was an episode that didn't actually exist, but no one did anything weird or out of the ordinary. I was also aware that it was a dream but I could only sit there and watch myself watch tv. It really felt like it was happening in real time, too.

But really it's going to be different for everyone. The best thing you can do is get quality sleep so you can actually enter the REM stages of sleep. Get light blocking curtains, develop a good sleep routine etc. Don't eat a few hours before bed if heartburn is a thing that bothers you. Stuff like that.

 

[WooHooMan]

Best thing you can do is get a routine going: go to bed at the same time each night, wake up at the same time each morning.
Also, eat healthy and drink plenty of water: healthy body equals healthy brain which means more dreams.

I’ve also heard it said that grains and breads and pasta are good for getting your dream engine running.

 

[Prince of Spires]

The issue isn't so much dreaming as actually remembering those dreams. Everyone dreams (apart from a few people with weird genetic mutations who require very little sleep to function). Experiments show that both people dream each night and that if we prevent people from dreaming it's detrimental to your health. Doens't mean you remember all those dreams. The only time I remember my dreams is when I'm running a fever, and then those dreams are very weird and very vivid.

I've been told that the best way to remember them is to train yourself to do so. Keep a journal by your bedside and write down any dream you had as soon as you wake up. It will train your brain to remember them. I've had friends who in the past did this and they stopped since remembering everything became a bit too crazy for them.

Whatever you do, don't reach for substances or specific foods or the like. Substance abuse is not needed to be creative and it's more detrimental then anything else. And if you start relying on a specific diet then it will become an unhealth crutch (unless it's a very healthy diet, then by all means go for it).

 

[Cool-Beans]

Very interesting thread, would like to hear it debated a bit further. I have crazy dreams, every single night without fail, and I remember massive parts of them. So much so that it has become an influence or omen for my waking life, that I don’t even figure writing it down is worth it because I have already felt and put faith in the impact these dreams are weighing down on me.