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The Pad by the Bed
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Keeping something to write on within arm's reach has consistent evidence behind it. In a study of 285 people, keeping a diary for two weeks raised recall for those who usually remembered few or a moderate number of dreams, and lowered it for those who usually remembered many.
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A later study confirmed that the diary does not just catch what was already there: it trains something, so that more of what you saw survives the morning. What exactly it trains is still debated, but the result holds up.
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In practice it is simple. Wake up, stay still, and replay the last image in your mind before you reach for anything. Then write what you saw. If nothing comes, write "nothing," because the empty entry still tells the sleeping mind you were paying attention.
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How to Start Tonight
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Put something by the bed before you close your eyes. A pad, the back of a receipt, a notebook with a pen clipped to it. It does not matter what it is, as long as your hand finds it before your feet touch the floor.
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When you wake, lie still, let the last image play back, then write before the kettle or the phone or anything else. Two weeks is what one study measured. You do not need to do this forever, just long enough for the habit to catch.
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✦ WRITE BACK
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If you try this tonight, tell me what you wrote down in the morning, or "nothing" if nothing came.
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TELL ME HOW IT WENT
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What I saw on Monday is still gone, but the pad is on the floor tonight.
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| Sleep well, |
| Dream Signs |
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P.S. The woman at the launderette told me she writes everything down the second she wakes, because if she turns around it is gone. She shrugged and went back to folding. If you had a dream this week, tell me who else was in the room.
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