There are many different theories about what dreams are and why we have them, but some say our dreams tell us what we want. And if that’s true, then analyzing the people, places and things that appear in our dreams can help us learn something about ourselves.
Dreamboard Mobile is a free app that not only serves as an alarm clock, but also allows you to log your dreams, create a dream journal and, hopefully, learn something about yourself in the process.
Click through to take a look.
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How It Works
Dreamboard Mobile is intended to be complementary to the Dreamboard website. (The app is also available for the iPad.) It’s also a great tool to have at your disposal, since it makes logging your dreams so convenient. I know many people, myself included, who sleep with their phones at arm’s length every night and/or even use it as their alarm clock. How handy it is to be able to record details from your dreams immediately after you wake up.
Your home screen is your Dreamboard, which reveals your dream tree. The menu can be accessed by tapping the list button in the top left.
To use the mobile app, you’ll first need an account. This is as simple as entering your email address and password of your choice. Also providing your gender and date of birth is optional.
Next you’ll be taken to your home screen, aka the Dreamboard, where you can add your first dream. One of the app’s goals is to build for you a visually interesting map of your dreams, which it calls your dream tree. The more dreams you enter, the more you “feed” your dream tree.
On the home screen you have a list button in the top left. Tap it to reveal a menu that includes: Dreamboard, Journal, Alarm and Settings. Tap the list button again to close the menu. On the top right of your home screen you have a plus sign, which you will tap any time you want to add a dream.
Adding Dreams
I was impressed to discover that Dreamboard asks for a lot of information related to my dreams. This isn’t one of those diary apps masquerading as a dream journal where you just open up a tab and type out your dream. No, Dreamboard asks you to input information related to: your Mood (choose between pleasant, neutral and unpleasant); Emotions; Colors; Role (were you the main character in your dream?); and Things, Places and People.
Recording a dream is easy, thanks to some predetermined options. You can also add your own details.
There’s also a place for you to narrate the dream, if there are some details you want to include that are best just typed out.
When you tap the Emotions category, it expands to reveal a menu with six squares — surprise, fear, disgust, anger, joy and sadness — that you can choose from to record how you felt during the dream. (You can select more than one.) You can also add more emotions by tapping the plus sign just beneath those squares.
The Color category will reveal a broad spectrum of hues. Tap the ones that were involved in your dream, or that you associated with the feelings brought about by your dream. Multiple colors may be applicable and are permitted.
Attach colors, emotions, moods, people, places and things, and more.
For Role, you select yes or no — were you or weren’t you the main character in your dream? And for Things, Places and People you can type in words and attach them to your dream. You’ll notice that whatever word you type in appears twice — one will have a person symbol next to it, the other will not. Tap the word accompanied by the person icon only if you want to record that word as a person, not a thing.
To narrate your dream, it’s suggested you give the dream a title. After that, enter any relevant thoughts or details you may want to remember later.
When you’re finished, simply tap Add in the upper right corner. Dreamboard will add your dream to your dream tree. Note that all your dreams are private unless you change this in Settings.
Access any individual dream journal entry from the menu. Your home screen reveals lists of details and data.
You’ll notice while using the app that you can only enter a dream for that day. Did you suddenly remember details from your dream the night before? No problem — the full range of features on the Dreamboard website allows you to input dreams that occurred one day earlier or further back in the past.
And More
Your Dreamboard displays all your dreams as dots. To refresh after you’ve made an entry, simply pull the page downward. To add or edit any dream details, tap on Journal in the menu, where you’ll see your dreams listed chronologically. Tap on any one of them to review its details and make any additions or changes.
Notice that while you’re reviewing the journal entry for a dream, there’s a bookmark in the top right that says Similar Dreams. This can be a useful feature for uncovering patterns in your dreams, or determining how frequently you have a certain recurring dream.
Some statistics are provided on your home screen. In Settings you can set a daily reminder for yourself.
Your Dreamboard can provide some interesting, if not at least entertaining, statistics, including the total number of tracked dreams, the average number of dreams per week, and others. You’ll also be informed how “agreeable” (measure of positivity) your dreams are, recurring colors, emotions you might be currently feeling, places or things or people you’ve dreamed about, and more. Tap on any one of the categories on your Dreamboard for a relevant list or percentage chart.
The Settings and Alarm features are pretty straightforward. In the former you can add password protection, plus turn on or off a daily reminder to record your dream, which is a helpful feature. The app is only useful if you actually use it, so reminding yourself to add an entry was smart on the developers’ end of things. In Settings you also have the option to connect Facebook and Twitter, which will allow your social networks to track aspects of your dreams you make public.
Final Thoughts
I wouldn’t say you have to use Dreamboard mobile with the website; I think you could use either one independently and still get a lot out of the experience. That said, there are some things you can do through the website that you just can’t accomplish with the app (such as adding past dreams, including themes and rating the weirdness factor of a dream), yet you can’t beat the convenience of being able to input a dream quickly with your phone. I think the best way to use Dreamboard is through both.