Some people just have more trouble remembering them than other people. If you're one of those people, it can help to tell yourself you're going to remember it before you go to sleep. It may seem silly, but this conscious step can help signal your mind to remember. It may take a few weeks for this process to work. In fact, you likely dream an average of 5 times a night if you're getting your recommended 8 hours of sleep. When possible, skip the alarm clock. If you want to remember your dream, you need to wake up after REM sleep. An alarm clock can interrupt your sleep cycle at the wrong time. In addition, if you move or hear noise, it can cause your dream to disappear. When you hear the alarm clock, it's loud, and you probably lean over to turn it off immediately. Skipping the alarm clock allows you to wake up more gradually and without the added sensory input. People who don't sleep as soundly remember more dreams. That's because they naturally wake up multiple times per night, often when they are coming out of a sleep cycle. If you take a pill to sleep soundly, you might skip it a few nights to see if it helps you remember your dreams. Always ask your doctor before skipping a medication, especially if it's a prescription. Another way to help you remember your dreams is to guzzle water before you go to bed, about 4 glasses. The reason this step can help you remember your dreams is because your full bladder will interrupt your sleep multiple times throughout the night, often right when you're coming out of REM sleep. Since you're waking after REM sleep, you're more likely to remember what you dreamed. Alcohol tends to deter dreaming because it tends to suppress REM sleep. Therefore, to increase your dreams, you should avoid alcohol, especially at night. Antidepressants can also have the same effect, but you should talk to your doctor about the fact that you're not dreaming if you want to change or go off your antidepressant. Don't go off your antidepressants without talking to your doctor first. While getting enough sleep is always best, studies have shown that losing sleep can help you remember your dreams. In fact, you go through a rebound process when you haven't gotten enough sleep, meaning that your dreams will be more intense. Some people have luck focusing on certain foods to increase their dreams. For instance, taking 100 milligrams of vitamin B6 an hour or two before bed could help increase the intensity of your dreams. Another option is eating foods rich in tryptophan, such as chicken, soybeans, turkey, and tuna. Instead of tryptophan-rich foods, try taking a 5-HTP supplement a couple of hours before bed.
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One-sentence summary -- Decide you are going to remember your dreams. Skip the alarm clock. Avoid sleeping pills. Drink large amounts of water. Skip the alcohol. Lose a little sleep. Try different foods or supplements.

Make sure no one's using any appliances, sinks, or toilets. If you'd like, you can even turn off the water at each individual valve or outside at the water meter. Doing this will allow you to see if water is moving through your pipes when it shouldn't be. If you have a basement, this will likely be the spot where you'll most easily hear water in the pipes. Walk down the stairs and stand quietly for a few minutes. If you hear water running even though no one is using any, there's a leak somewhere in the house. If possible, try to follow the pipe back to the source of the water. If you don't have a basement, walk around each room and hallway in your house and listen for water moving through pipes. If you can't follow the pipe back to the source of your leak (or if you couldn't hear running water), you'll need to search for other signs of leaks. Walk around your house and look under your sinks for wet spots or water damage. These pipes are common sources of leaks. You should also check for water damage on each ceiling, which could indicate a burst pipe. You might also find signs of damage on carpets or wood floors. Be aware that if you have damage on your floors or ceilings, you may have a problem with your roof rather than your pipes. It's a good idea to call a contractor to be sure. Your hot water heater is likely located in a closet or the garage. Without touching it, carefully examine your heater. If you see water dripping from any part of the appliance, call a hot water heater specialist to get it looked at and repaired. It's not a good idea to attempt to fix your hot water heater on your own. It can be very dangerous, and you may injure yourself. Squirt a few drops of food coloring into the tanks of every toilet in your home. Don't flush them for 1 hour. Check the toilet bowls after the hour is up. If any of the bowls contain food coloring, there's a leak in the toilet. To figure out where it is, turn off the water supply by twisting the valve at the base of the toilet. After you've turned off the water, open the tank again and draw a line to mark the water level. Wait 1 more hour. If the water has fallen during that hour, the leak is in the flush valve or flapper. If it hasn't dropped, the leak is in the fill valve or float. If you're not comfortable fixing your toilet, call the plumber! You don't want to make the problem worse. Leaky faucets are one of the more common types of leaks. While you might think it's not worth it to fix these faucets, they can actually waste several thousand gallons of water per year.
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One-sentence summary --
Turn off all sources of water in the house. Start in the basement and listen for water in pipes. Check for water damage under sinks and on ceilings. Listen for running water in or near your hot water heater. Use food coloring to test for leaks in your toilets. Don't ignore leaky faucets.