I wake up every morning and can't remember practically any of my dreams, even when I've slept well. My friend says she remembers everything she dreams with details, and I'm curious if that's normal or if something's wrong with me.
Don't worry - there's nothing wrong with you. Remembering dreams is actually the exception, not the rule. Most people forget 90% of their dreams the moment they wake up, and it's all about brain chemistry. When you sleep, your brain produces less noradrenaline, which is the neurotransmitter responsible for memory. Then when you wake up suddenly, especially if an alarm startles you or you just open your eyes normally, that dream memory disappears pretty quickly.
Your friend who remembers everything is the one in the less common situation. Usually people who remember lots of details wake up naturally in the middle of the night or right around their normal wake-up time, so they catch the dream while it's still fresh. Some people take notes as soon as they wake up, or they have the habit of lying in bed for a few minutes thinking about what they dreamed before getting up, and that helps cement it better. If you want to start remembering more, try waking up slowly, stay in bed for a few minutes after waking and try to think if there's any fragment of an image or sensation.
But honestly, not being able to remember dreams doesn't say anything about the quality of your sleep or your health. Did you sleep well? Did you wake up rested? Then everything's fine. Everyone has their own way, and there's nothing wrong with being the type who doesn't carry dreams into waking life.
It's completely normal not to remember your dreams, and most people are in the same boat as you. Dreams happen mainly during the REM stage of sleep, and if you wake up without going through that phase consciously (or if your brain doesn't consolidate the memory), they just disappear. Your friend probably wakes up during or right after REM, which keeps the details fresh in her head; you might be waking up during other stages or have a sleep cycle that doesn't favor that kind of memory. Nothing wrong with it, it's just biology.
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