Why We Forget Our Dreams After Waking Up

Many people wonder why they forget dreams soon after waking up. This is a common experience for most individuals. Scientists believe that the brain plays a key role in this process. Dreams mostly occur during the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep. However, once we wake up, the brain quickly shifts from short-term memory to long-term memory processing.

During this memory shift, dreams often get lost. If a person wakes up suddenly, like from an alarm or noise, the brain doesn’t get time to store the dream. This rapid change interrupts the process of remembering what we saw while sleeping. As a result, the dream fades away quickly from memory.

Another factor is brain chemistry during sleep. The brain produces lower levels of chemicals like serotonin and norepinephrine during REM sleep. These chemicals are crucial for memory storage. Their low levels make it harder to retain dream details after waking up.

Additionally, the brain tends to keep information it considers important. Dreams are often strange, random, and sometimes illogical. Because of this, the brain may label them as “unnecessary” and choose not to save them.

This explains why even vivid or emotional dreams may be forgotten within minutes. Unless a dream is very striking or we wake up slowly and reflect, it’s hard to recall. Writing down dreams immediately after waking up can help store them better.