There is no denying that dreams feature regularly in our life. As such, I have provided you with some suggestions to get the most out of your dreams.

Remembering dreams

If you struggle to remember your dreams, just before going to sleep, tell yourself that that tonight you will remember your dreams and will be able to vividly recall them in the morning.

Recording your dreams

If you want to keep a record of your dreams, keep a dream journal. Upon awakening each morning, note down everything to do with the dream. Try to include not only the details of the dream, but how you felt when you first awoke. Such a task may take practice but the details will increase as you get into the habit.

Rather than writing, you could record your dreams on a tape recorder. This is a useful way of recording those dreams you have throughout the night that you generally forget by morning. Each time you awake from a dream, relate all you saw, how you felt and note anything striking about the dream. Let your mind wander freely – it doesn’t have to make sense. Try to keep with the dream so avoid turning lights on or getting too alert / awake. Try to keep still and avoid talking. If you like, you can write out your dreams in the morning.

An alternative way of recording your dreams is to draw them. You do not have to be a great artist to do this. Drawing your dreams may provide you with further insight that merely writing could not provide. You could even give the drawing a name.

It is up to you to decide what you want to do with the dream. Sometimes they are a means of working on your hopes and fears, or they may increase self-awareness. Do you learn something about yourself or other people through your dreams?

Interested in the meaning of your dreams? Reflect on what you have written about your dream and ask yourself, ‘what does the dream mean to me?’ Forget about the details; just get an overall feeling for how important it seems to you. It is your dream – so it is up to you to choose its meaning. Some dreams may not mean anything much and this is fine. Some may just seem like an interesting story to relate back to yourself or other people.

When reflecting on a particular element of your dream, do you think it symbolises something, or can it be attributed to events of the previous day? Let your mind wonder freely and see where you end up. I would say it is up to you to decide what the symbols mean, rather than using a generic description found in a book. After all, that person knows nothing about you and all the elements that make up you.

Dreams can sometimes be used to help problem solve and enhance creativity. For example, Niels Bohr’s work on atoms was partially influenced by a dream he had and Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was inspired by a dream.

If you want to have your dreams help you solve a problem, think about the problem just before going to sleep. Do not try to solve it however. Then request to yourself that you have a dream which will help solve your difficulty. Such a technique will take time, but keep at it if you want to make better use of your dreams.

Note, this technique is not a good idea if you suffer from insomnia however, as it may further prevent you from getting to sleep.

Do you have a dream that occasionally repeats itself? It may not be night after night and is not necessarily a nightmare. It could be a dream that you have every few weeks or months and has a similar theme. Is there anything you can learn from such dreams? What do you think you are trying to tell yourself? Is there an unresolved issue that you have not confronted in your conscious life, but is coming to you in your dream? Do you struggle to accept the ideas that are presented in your dream? Is there any way of resolving these issues and moving on? You can always speak to a counsellor if you have concerns about a particular dream.

With lucid dreams you are aware you are dreaming. When you next have a lucid dream try taking control and change the course of events. If you are afraid, confront your fears. If you are being chased, turn and face your foe.

Also, with a lucid dream it would be interesting to note down in your dream journal the steps you took during your dream that you controlled. What does your waking self think of the decisions made? Are they what you would ordinarily do? Are they something you wish you did more often? Is there anything you can learn about yourself from the person in your dreams?

Want happier dreams? Try this exercise Seligman recommends in his book ‘Authentic Happiness’. He suggests using it with children, but I do not see why it cannot benefit us all. Just before going to sleep, imagine a really positive, happy picture. Conjure up the details and think about how it makes you feel. You could even give the picture a name. Then tell yourself that you intend to dream about it. Happy dreams make happy moods!

Remember we dream throughout the night but generally only remember the last dream we had before awakening. As such you need to consider if the dream you are reflecting on is so very important. This is particularly the case if it was a worrying or anxiety-driven dream. Maybe tell yourself your other dreams that night were far better, happier, soothing (you just can’t remember them!) and decide that you’re better off simply forgetting it.