Taking drugs to stimulate dreams

[altnipper]

Swim was just wondering if anyone takes substances to enhance their dreams, swim knows that lots of drugs have an effect on dreams but does anyone take them specifically to make them more vivid, if so which ones.

[Paracelsus]

Look up Calea zacatechichi.

Reputation Comments on this post:

beat me to it!

[sknkv2]

SWIM has heard of nutmeg being used to induce lucid dreaming. The theory is that it works because the psychoactive effects of the nutmeg kick in while you are experiencing REM sleep.

[Matches]

Originally Posted by insert_username_here

SWIM has heard of nutmeg being used to induce lucid dreaming. The theory is that it works because the psychoactive effects of the nutmeg kick in while you are experiencing REM sleep.

SWIM was silly and sprinkled a bunch of nutmeg on their blueberry hash. If it increased dream lucidness, SWIM was too blazed for too long to have any recollection of a boost in their REM sleep cycle, and what have SWIY.

Might've mentioned this in another thread, but smoking A. Muscaria closer to bedtime with 3-6mgs of melatonin really improves both dream lucidness and dream recall! Perhaps synergistically, at that, if SWIM knew their synaptic pathways, heh

[FuBai]

Melatonin + alcohol are almost guaranteed to give you some of the weirdest dreams ever. SWIM has had several with this combination, involving sliding pennies apart to fly, being chased by a playground climbing frame with fangs, and having limbs turned into vines, amongst many other strange and weird things. Dreams may also be experienced as being much longer, although there is unlikely to be any significant objective difference in duration.

It may also be worth browsing through Mitton's Practical Modern Herbal, which has some herbs of interest such as Deer's Tongue (Liatris Odoratissima).

After some browsing I found it hard to find out much about Deer's Tongue on the internet so here's the entry from my 1976 edition of Mitton's Practical Modern Herbal:

Deer's Tongue (Liatris Odoratissima)
Also known as American Wild Vanilla
Found Wild United States
Appearance A strong growing climbing plant with obovate-lanceolate leaves. The leaves are used.
Theraputic, or culinary use A powerful stimulant, highly regarded by the North American Indians as an aphrodisiac, and said to induce erotic dreams. Also a most effective diuretic.

Reputation Comments on this post:

thanks for the tip :) I'll try it out

[Dole654]

I'll have to check a couple of my sources when I have time later, but I remember a dose of B6 being used in combination with melatonin and calea z to induce lucid dreaming.

[cannagirl]

2 words. Nicotine Patch.

I don't smoke but used one one day, I was super duper bored. I forgot to take it off when I went to bed and had only had it on for one hours. craziest dreams ever.

[Nucking Futs]

Originally Posted by cannagirl

2 words. Nicotine Patch.

I don't smoke but used one one day, I was super duper bored. I forgot to take it off when I went to bed and had only had it on for one hours. craziest dreams ever.

Ya man I will second that!! Also I find that if I eat chillies before I sleep then I Have lucid dreams !! Tis all good.

[~lostgurl~]

Champix can certainly induce lucid and vivid dreams, but unless you are trying to give up smoking, the side effects wouldn't really be worth it.

[chinpokomaster]

Is there something in cheese that gives people nightmares, or is that an old wives' tale?

On a side note, SWIM finds that the day after using LSD, some crazy dreams incur and SWIM can see lifelike perfect images in full colour in his dreams, rather than the usual hazy visions he gets when totally sober.

[LookingForHer]

Originally Posted by FuBai

being chased by a playground climbing frame with fangs

Coolest thing I heard all day.

I give you a cool award

[RaverHippie]

Originally Posted by chinpokomaster

Is there something in cheese that gives people nightmares, or is that an old wives' tale?

On a side note, SWIM finds that the day after using LSD, some crazy dreams incur and SWIM can see lifelike perfect images in full colour in his dreams, rather than the usual hazy visions he gets when totally sober.

FNORD posted this interesting link recently.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilton_(cheese)#Bizarre_dreams

[purifymymind]

I have a friend who has taken several melatonin pills (about 5-10) before going to bed to enhance their dreams.

[fonogoodreason]

the days after mdma use (especially with post 5htp supplementation) i am able to have very vivid dreams and easily become lucid if i try (or don't sometimes)

fonogoodreason added 31 Minutes and 46 Seconds later...

oh and thinking about it, since swim has been taking piracetam regularly his dreams have become more vivid, lucid and memorable. two nights ago swim had 5 separate dreams, becoming lucid in 4.

also i forgot to mention in the post before when swim take mdma and 5htp, they are able to carry a dream on, even if they wake up in between. it often is quite different, but it links in a way which is fesable.

[FrankenChrist]

Passion flower has had this effect on me.

I have also had this from those bodybuilding milkshakes, because they contain loads of tryptamine and B-vitamins.

[chinpokomaster]

I read the bit about the stilton. Do we know what chemical in the stilton causes this phenomenon?

[FrankenChrist]

Originally Posted by chinpokomaster

I read the bit about the stilton. Do we know what chemical in the stilton causes this phenomenon?

Interesting.

All I know is that cheese is a dairy product and every dairy product has tryptamines in it, but I wonder why " a glass of warm milk will help you sleep" while "cheese will give you nightmares"

Reputation Comments on this post:

lol

[Panthers007]

I concur with the passionflower (Passiflora Incarnata) being capable of stimulating dreams. This plant, brewed as a pleasant tea, contains beta-carbolines - including harmine and tetrahydroharmine. These being known for inducing visual imagery and being present in the form of 10-methoxy-harmalan in the brain. Friends of Bongo's swear by this brew and have been using same for years without any notable ill effect.

[seeingred]

well, stattera

[Qurik]

Swim was browsing wikipedia and found this:

Several drugs have been shown to improve the probability of a lucid dream occurring and/or increase the length of such a dream:

• Galantamine is a nootropic that can substantially increase the odds of success when used along with a lucid dream or out-of-body experience induction technique.[34][35][36] Choline bitartrate or Alpha-GPC can be used with Galantamine to increase its effectiveness.[37]

• An amino acid blend made up of 2000mg L-aspartic acid, 4000mg L-glutamine, and 300mg L-theanine can greatly increase the odds of having a lucid dream.[38]

• 5-HTP can increase the chances of success of having a lucid dream by taking advantage of the REM rebound effect.[39]

• Melatonin has been shown clinically to increase the time spent in REM sleep in the morning hours (as the dose is wearing off). It is theorized that this phenomenon is due to a REM rebound effect.[40]

• Vitamin B6 can increase dream vividness when taken with tryptophan. This is due to the role this vitamin plays in the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin.[41]

• Damiana, a medicial herb used in a variety of treatments, has is known to have the ability to potentiate vivid and often lucid dreams.[42]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_Dream

Reputation Comments on this post:

	nice one!
	Thanks for looking that up

[FrankenChrist]

Originally Posted by chinpokomaster

I read the bit about the stilton. Do we know what chemical in the stilton causes this phenomenon?

Originally Posted by FrankenChrist

Interesting.

All I know is that cheese is a dairy product and every dairy product has tryptamines in it, but I wonder why " a glass of warm milk will help you sleep" while "cheese will give you nightmares"

And meanwhile, I stumbled upon this article: 7 common foods that can actually get you high page 2, #4 is Stilton!

Reputation Comments on this post:

fun article

[The Enlightened One]

SWIM finds that smoking marijuana for an extended period of time daily, and then abstaining, can make dreams EXTREMELY vivid and lucid.

The first and second week of SWIY's abstinance from ganja should be filled with very vidid dreams. Swim has trouble, upon awakening and throughout the day, trying to sort out the dream from what actually happened.

Sleeping while high alone osent really offer anything in terms of dreams for swim. This may be due to cannabis's tendency to fuck up REM sleep (where the most vivid dreams occur). When abstaining, the body overcompensates for the REM sleep, thereby propelling you into very realistic dreams that are easily accsessible to memory.

Friends have also reported this strange phenomenon.

I have also had some sucess with combining a very strong extact of calea zaleachechi (sp?) with a very strong extract of blue lotus before bed.

Hope that was helpful

The Enlightened One added 2 Minutes and 51 Seconds later...

Oh and to clarify, the above herbs do not really constitute drugs...they are not illegal in any country in the world, including the US, where I reside.
I actually bought them at my local herbal store.

I just wanted to clear that up, thanks

[TripsBalls]

I am not sure where to post this, I am just trying to put together a list of all the drugs that can potentiate dreams or effect dreams in any way.. Or any experiences people have had with chemicals that can effect the dreaming state..

[The Dreamer]

SWIY has posted in the appropriate section I believe. Dream Herb, Xhosa, and African Dream Nut are all reported to increase vividness (colorful, realistic dreams), recall (ability to remember in the morning) and lucidity (knowing that you're dreaming and being in control).

My cat has actually tried dream herb and it was very mild and VERY bitter. He noticed a pronounced increase in vividness and a moderate increase in recall but didn't seem to be any more lucid. He only tried it for about a week and then his supply ran out. Overall he would try it again but is thinking about growing his own and perhaps extracting it to avoid the taste. SWIY may want to try Xhosa first as it is supposed to be the most effective and my cat has not heard that it's taste is a problem.

Salvia, while not directly effective in dream stimulation does appear to increase vividness and recall when done consistently. My cat smokes raw foliage (1x) often and found that occasionally he has a very stimulating and quite enjoyable dream that he's on some sort of adventure. Before salvia he hadn't had a single dream that he remembered since childhood. He's heard whispers around the forum that other peoples cats experienced this as well.

In addition, good sleep produces more dreams so any mild sedative (not a strong one as these tend to knock you out entirely) should improve your chances of dreaming. Kava, Dagga or a little alcohol do the trick for my cat. If you're looking for a more lucid slay-the-dragon type experience try some hallucinogens (shrooms, Flys, or LSA containing herbs) in slightly lower doses right before bed; allowing yourself to fall asleep before the effects take hold. My cat has heard that these will cause very vivid and very lucid dreams and is in the process of acquiring them.

Ideally a good dreamer monitors his diet, exercise and mood during the day. Strength training is especially effective as this forces your body to sleep off the damage you've done to muscle tissue. Good Dreamers are healthy happy and they medicate their depression (but not to the point of feeling like a zombie as this will produce even less dreams) if they have even a mild case; they try to stay active but clam and stress-free. These are the things that have helped my cat the most in the past few months. But this last paragraph is a bit off-topic as it is not a drug as you had asked for. If SWIY is interested look up articles about insomnia and most of the info will apply to a normal person's sleep.

Please post SWIY's experiences if he goes on to procure any rewarding plants as they are of great interest to my cat.

[Nodnarb]

Swim's had remarkably vivid dreams on Syrian rue on several occasions. He was testing the rue on its own before using it in combination with DMT containing plants and found that he had enhanced, highly involved dreams. The images felt nearly real. He could pull a bow across the strings of a violin in his mind and play songs he knew from the waking-world in the dream.

The body load of Syrian rue is such that swim would not use it for recreation but still thinks the experience might be worth a once or twice over in the event that it is even more magical for some.