 Dream Dictionary Aids: How do various drugs/nutritional components influence dreaming? Dream FAQ Dictionary: How do various drugs/nutritional components influence dreaming? How do various drugs/nutritional components influence dreaming? [Section compiled from answers by various people] [By turner@remarque.berkeley.edu (Michael Turner)]AMINO ACIDS & SUPPLEMENTSSaw some mention of Taurine recently. B vitamins (6 and 12)? I'veused Choline+Inositol combo w/some success.Inositol is a B-vitamin (12? ) that aids in the uptake of Choline,which is a precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Cholineis present in lecithin, which is itself present in egg whites, soyproducts, and other sources of protein. One would have to constantlyglut oneself with tofu in order to get the equivalent of 500mg tabletof Choline+ Inositol, however. FOODSFish contains some substance that also helps, forget what it's called,though. Cheese (esp. cheddar, for some reason) and bananas to alesser extent, contain some stuff that can cause wild dreams. Soy,eggs, etc., as mentioned above. TEAS and HERBSHave tried various teas and herbs, but most were either ineffective orunspeakably vile. (DON'T like vivid dreams of large bugs burrowingthrough my head, thank you very much.) Would be willing to try againwith some guidance, though. PRESCRIPTION DRUGSPrescription drugs of various kinds can have dream effects; so much sothat most sleep/dream labs have some kind of funding from pharm.companies, if they aren't owned and operated by them outright. Never-theless, prescription drug labels seldom warn of "nightmares"; perhapsthat all falls under "sleep disturbances."Barbiturates can suppress REM. Don't know about tranqs & anti-depressants, though. New Wave antidepressions (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil)are serotonin- effecting, so some effect might be expected. LEGAL PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGSBoth caffeine and alcohol can suppress REM - odd, since one is a CNSstimulant, the other a CNS depressant. Nicotine? Don't know. ILLEGAL PSYCHOACTIVE DRUGSControlled/illegal substances have been studied vis-a-vis dreams, buthazy on the details I learned. (Was high at the time, I guess....)THC can suppress REM somewhat. Various psychedelics effect aspects ofserotonin metabolism. Speed keeps you from sleeping; amphetaminepsychosis might be drug-induced-anxiety + REM deprivation. Newerstuff, such as illegal/controlled "smart drugs", "designer drugs",etc. I don't know about, but it would be surprising if they had nodream effects. [By pryan@prairienet.org (Pamela Ryan)]Someone posted a while back that a combination of Choline (600 mg,equals 1429 mg Choline Bitartrate) and Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5,500 mg) boosts dream recall. [By pzinken@mswe.dnet.ms.philips.nl (P. ZINKEN)]Point is i am at one side a notorious coffee-addict, and on the otherside one who smokes a joint or a hookah from time to time. I'lldescribe my states of dreaming for both, because they are ratherdifferent. Caffeine:Under influence of caffeine (and i mean rather much, after drinking,for example, 10 to 15 0.25l cups), i tend to sleep very light. If iget to dream it usually is a lucid dream. Thus, it seems caffeinechanges the conciousness while sleeping. Also, i tend to have morenightmares if i drink too much coffee. Hasjiesj:There are times when i like to smoke some weed or hasjiesj and then goto bed stoned (on these days i usually smoke between 0.5 and 0.75grams) It does influence the dream state very heavy. Hasjiesj has thetendency of relaxing you, and also has a tendency to make emotionsstronger. While dreaming this results in very real-feeling dreams.Last night i smoked about a half gram of Noorderlicht, a kind of weedgrown here in Eindhoven, and after going to bed and falling to sleep(almost instantly) i dreamt something rather silly, but i couldn'thelp thinking it was the real-world instead of a dream.Thus, hasjiesj makes the dream stronger, more deep. Problem is, anightmare will seem more real too. Also, it seems to make it moredifficult to dream lucid (i am able to dream lucid). Combination:Well, this one is the one i get at the most. After a long day ofworking and coffee-drinking, i sometimes let myself go and make ablow. This results in a combination of an up-drug and adown-drug. And, strangest of things, this combination does neverresult in no-drug.The caffeine still leaves the property of easily getting into a luciddream, while the hasjiesj makes the sleep very deep and the dreamsvery intense. I've yet to wake up from getting into lucidity whileunder influence of hasjiesj.Overal conclusion from my side thus is, drugs do have a certain effecton dreaming. And there is quite a big difference between uppers anddowners. [By bsbyun@uswnvg.uucp (Bryan Byun)] My method isn't the healthiest, so it's not something I want toexperiment on often, although reading your FAQ reminded me of it, andI might try it again sometime.Anyway, this is the exact method I use:1. Stay up late, past your normal sleeping time, until you are very,very tired. Do not get into bed until you are ready to sleep.2. Just before getting into bed, take from 2-4 caffeine tablets of thedosage included in Vivarin brand stimulants (I don't know the exactdosage), depending on your tolerance for caffeine. It's my personal theory that what happens is that your body fallsasleep and begins the REM cycle...then, the caffeine stimulates yourbrain (or at least irritates it) so that your conscious mind awakens.Normally, so would your body, but if you sleep late enough, your bodywill be so fatigued that the fact of your brain awakening won't beenough to rouse it; and, if you take the right amount of caffeine, thestimulant effect will be just enough to wake up your mind, withoutforcing it completely awake. Anyway, I don't know if I would recommend this as a method ofattaining lucid dreaming, but it has worked for me. [By ot] The Kava Kava root, a traditional drug from the Polynesian islands, islittle known but highly recommendable. It is said to take away stressand tension, very mildly tranquilizing while clearing and sharpeningthoughts. Also told to help dreaming, especially for lucid dreamingexercises. From my own experience, it causes a deeper but shorter(!)sleep with more intense dreams. [The following holds for Germany, I don't think other countries aremuch different.] Kava Kava root is available from pharmacies, althoughnot a "standard" drug and sometimes it takes time for the pharmacistto obtain supply. At least one company makes capsules with Kava Kavaroot extracts ("Kava ratiopharm"). They are sold as a stress reliever.Though not as effective as the whole root, perhaps the method ofchoice for many - the traditional way of chewing the roots for a longtime does not suit Western people, who typically find the taste ratherbad. Attention: do not combine with alcohol, it increases theundesired effects of the latter (same with barbiturates, etc.) Source: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/dreams-faq (See also: Drugs and Dreaming, Dream Interpretation FAQ, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Meaning of Dreams)
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