RESEARCH INDICATES that everyone dreams every night. In fact, those who are sleep deprived, and therefore dream deprived, show symptoms of hallucinations in their waking lives! Not everyone remembers his dreams though. Like today’s dreamer, some people report not remembering any dreams for long periods of time.

I am interested in my dreams and I think they’re cool, but I go for weeks and weeks without dreaming. My friends are always talking about their dreams, but it’s almost six months now since I can remember even a little piece of a dream.

I put a note pad and pen beside my bed so I could write everything down. I even keep my cell phone there so I can use it to record a dream. (I did this once but it was pretty hard to understand my voice! Too sleepy I guess.) If I have an acidy snack before bed, I don’t sleep very well, so no dreams there.

Also, I’m a little worried about what might be happening subconsciously since I fall asleep with the TV on the science fiction channel most of the time. Sometimes I wake up in the night and the scariest things will be going on in the movies on that channel — werewolves howling and stuff like that. Once, I dreamed about someone warning me to get out of the way and when I woke up, the guy on the TV was screaming, “Get out of the way!” That’s about the closest to a dream as I’ve had in a long time.

What’s the best thing I can do to get my dreams going?

Signed,

Missing My Dreams

Dear Missing,

Let’s start here: You are dreaming every night. That fact that you are not remembering your dreams may be due to any number of factors. Let’s review the things you have mentioned.

You’ve taken a good first step in dream recall by having a pen and paper close by your bedside. And, with practice, you may get better at speaking into your cell phone or another recorder. But that’s the limit of your positive bedtime habits! The other habits you mention are working against dream recall.

If you must have the TV on, a better practice than sleeping with it on through the night would be to set the sleep timer. Then you can fall asleep as you are accustomed, but the TV will shut off and the creepy programming won’t intrude on your dreams or your subconscious.

Rather than snacking on any old thing that’s in the fridge, consider stocking a few soothing items — chamomile tea or even milk or yogurt, for example — and making them a part of your bedtime routine. The structure will enhance your sleeping and dreaming success.

Next, do a little pre-writing before you settle in. Use that pen and paper to write a brief rehash of a circumstance or issue that is concerning you. Your Dreaming Self will soon take note of this and offer some insights for your benefit.

Sweet Dreams to you!

Carolyn Plath, M.Ed., is a Benicia resident and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Reach her at sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com.

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