Poor dream recall is one of the biggest stumbling blocks when it comes to using your dreams to heal and empower your life.

Immediately on waking, you are in that twilight stage between sleep and wakefulness. Sometimes it can be hard to know the di?erence between your dreams and reality in this stage. The reason for this is that your brainwaves are in theta. Delta is the stage when you are fast asleep. Theta is when you are relaxed just before sleeping or just after waking. (Alpha is when you are calm and awake; beta is when you are fully awake and active, with gamma being a state of intense concentration and alertness.)

Theta brainwaves are the optimum state for recalling dreams and reprogramming your mind. When you are fully awake and your brain becomes more alert in alpha, beta, and gamma, your brain is just not as receptive to dream recall. So, what you think about on waking can be potentially life changing. It's also why this time—when you are as close as possible to your dreams—is the perfect time to gently reach for them.

Although a dream can pop into your mind later in the day when something you see, think about, or sense triggers a dream memory, dream recall tends to occur within the first thirty minutes after waking, with the first two minutes being the most likely time.

What you may not realize is that everything you are currently doing in those first thirty minutes on waking might be the enemy of dream recall. But there is something you can do to significantly increase your chances of better dream recall. You just need to keep calm and still.

Don't Blink
If you are practicing good sleep hygiene, you will ideally be waking up around the same time each day without an alarm. That's the optimum way to wake up for dream recall, because an alarm of any kind thrusts you rudely into the land of waking and doesn't give you any transition time to gently recall your dreams.

Your dreaming mind struggles to make its presence felt when your conscious mind takes over, with all the logic and endless "to dos" that come with waking awareness. Also, movement increases your level of alertness and moves you right out of theta. It also signals to your brain that it is time to rise and get busy. So, what you need to do is stay a little longer in the shadows with your dreams.

Keeping your eyes closed fools your brain into thinking you are still asleep and dreaming. Opening your eyes and blinking will decrease your chances of dream recall. A fascinating study has shown that every time you blink, your brain redirects its attention. You want to focus your brain's attention on your dreams as long as possible, so try to avoid blinking and follow this sequence on waking:

• Keep your eyes closed and aim to stay exactly in the position you woke up in for around ninety seconds.
• As you lie there, just let your thoughts take you back to the land of your dreams.
• Ask for dream memories, or focus on one question (only): What can I remember from my dreams?
• Notice whatever images, symbols or sensations come up. See them on the backs of your eyelids if you can.
• If nothing comes through, check in with your feelings, as these will also be symptoms of a dream.
• Do a body scan to see if there is any tension in your body, as your intuition will often speak to you that way.
• Then, when images come flooding in, just let them come alive. Don't try to analyze or interpret or make sense of them at this stage, simply relish and relive the memories for a moment or two before sitting up and writing them down immediately in a journal.

Note: You might wake up bursting to go to the bathroom. If nature is calling you, of course you need to answer it. You can return to bed after you have used the bathroom and close your eyes to see if any dreams and reflections come to you.

Optimizing Your Dream Recall Time
It's easy to forget to keep still in the first few minutes of waking, but don't despair if this doesn't work for you. Dream recall is also likely in the first thirty minutes or after you awake, so optimize that time, too. Whatever your morning routine, try to ensure that in those first thirty minutes you don't reach for your phone. As soon as you do that, you shift your focus from your own needs to the needs of others or to your newsfeed. Checking your phone will put a damper on the mood of your whole day. It will also drive any dream recall away.

Instead of worrying about your phone, do a glorious whole-body stretch and yawn when you first get out of bed. Not only is this energizing, but it may also encourage more expansive thinking. And wherever your waking thinking is expansive, your dreams aren't far behind. Yes, your mind influences your body, but your body also influences your mind. It's amazing how many of us minimize ourselves physically when we get out of bed in the morning, and our mind will follow suit.

So, in those precious early morning moments that set the tone for your day, focus on your needs, on who you are, on your dreams.

It really is crucial, both for your dream recall and for your life in general, that you put yourself centre stage in what many highly successful people call their "power hour." Acknowledging your own needs first and foremost isn't selfish. In fact, it's the most unselfish thing you can do, because you can't give to others what you don't have yourself.

Eureka!
You may well find as you go about your usual morning routine, especially when you wash or shower, that dream memories suddenly break through like a rainbow after rain.

Your conscious awareness is on autopilot when you perform routine activities such as walking, driving, or sitting on a train, and this offers your dreams a chance to take center stage.

If dream memories bubble through when you wake up or during in your morning routine or anytime later in the day, write them down instantly or they will fly away. Don't worry at this stage about understanding or decoding them. Don't try to make any sense of them, either. They won't make sense just yet. Save your dream decoding for later in the day. Right now, your focus should just be on catching those dreams and savoring them.

Your Dream Works
What you have learned: The threads connecting you to your dreams are strongest when you wake. So, stay still for a minute or two in bed with your eyes closed and recall whatever images, stories, feelings, sensations and symbols that you can. Any activity that focuses on the busy day ahead will push your dreams into the background, where they are easily forgotten.

Take Note: Notice how staying calm first thing contributes to better dream recall and/or early morning inspirations. When dream memories bubble to the surface sit up, reach for your dream journal or a blank notebook and immediately write down whatever you recall or whatever is on your mind as it will have been inspired by a vision in your dreams.