How many times have you woken up thinking ‘what a strange dream’ but have then been unable to recall it later during the day? And how many times do you wake up thinking you haven’t dreamt at all? Dreams can occur during any stage of sleep, but mainly happen during rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep when the brain is most active. It is estimated the average person dreams 4-6 times per night. No-one knows for sure why we dream, but it is thought of as a way for our brains to process the events of the day. Lucid dreaming, sometimes called a ‘waking dream’, is a type of dream where the subject realises they are dreaming and is able to control the dream. Apart from being a lot of fun, lucid dreaming is an active area of research for psychologists, as it could be used as a way to control or prevent nightmares, or provide therapy for PTSD patients.
Lucid dreaming is actually a skill that can be taught or developed. But the first step to lucid dreaming is being able to remember your dreams. A recent study by researchers at The University of Adelaide has found that taking a vitamin B6 supplement before bed could help you to remember your dreams. The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation (that means it’s pretty good in terms of scientific studies) involved 100 participants. The study found that participants who took a 240 mg supplement of vitamin B6 before bed experienced 61% better dream recall than the control group over the 5-day period. It’s still not clear why this effect occurs. One theory is that it happens because vitamin B6 plays a role in converting the amino acid tryptophan into the neurotransmitter serotonin, which increases time spent in REM sleep. An alternative theory is that vitamin B6 disrupts sleep, so sleepers are more likely to wake mid-dream and remember their dream. However, no significant effect on time awake during the night or sleep quality was observed in this study. Participants during the study were advised to avoid foods naturally high in vitamin B6, like wholegrain cereals, milk, cheese, legumes and eggs, so it is unclear as to whether this boost in dream recall only occurs if there is a deficiency in vitamin B6. And, if you want to try this for yourself, the researchers warn that taking vitamin B6 supplements before bed may exacerbate existing REM sleep conditions, and the effects on dream recall may diminish over time. In the future, the researchers hope to investigate the validity of the serotonin theory, and determine if the effects of vitamin B6 vary according to how much is included in the diet. If you want to try this for yourself, or learn more about lucid dreaming, you can check out the researcher’s website at www.luciddreamingaustralia.com.
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Emi Schutz Archives
March 2018
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