Side effects - Have any daily smokers figured out a way to bring back dreaming?

[hawaii808]

Swim has been smoking daily for years and like most others who do the same, finds that either a.) dramatically less dreaming is taking place or b.) no dreams can be remembered. swim cant be sure which one it is all swim knows is that he would like to enjoys dreams again. Is there a way to help with this besides the most definite way of giving up mj (which swim knows brings back the dreams in full force) Swim has read that smoking mj releases massive amounts of melatonin but this confuses swim because he has heard that in non-smokers, melatonin supplements increase dreaming. Swim has hypothesized that perhaps the brain releasing large amounts of melatonin during the daytime, every day due to the weed may be what disrupts the dreaming mechanism (too much melatonin?). Therefore, swim is lead to believe that more melatonin supplementation would only be detrimental. Even so, swim has recently been trying .5 - 2.0 grams of melatonin along with 50-100 mg. 5-htp before bed to see if there would be any positive changes. So far, there have no effects whatsoever on dreaming. With or without the supplements swim seems to get a great sleep, just never any dreaming.

Any swimmers who use mj daily have any luck bringing back the dreams?

[FuBai]

Originally Posted by hawaii808

Swim has been smoking daily for years and like most others who do the same, finds that either a.) dramatically less dreaming is taking place or b.) no dreams can be remembered. swim cant be sure which one it is all swim knows is that he would like to enjoys dreams again. Is there a way to help with this besides the most definite way of giving up mj (which swim knows brings back the dreams in full force) Swim has read that smoking mj releases massive amounts of melatonin but this confuses swim because he has heard that in non-smokers, melatonin supplements increase dreaming. Swim has hypothesized that perhaps the brain releasing large amounts of melatonin during the daytime, every day due to the weed may be what disrupts the dreaming mechanism (too much melatonin?). Therefore, swim is lead to believe that more melatonin supplementation would only be detrimental. Even so, swim has recently been trying .5 - 2.0 grams of melatonin along with 50-100 mg. 5-htp before bed to see if there would be any positive changes. So far, there have no effects whatsoever on dreaming. With or without the supplements swim seems to get a great sleep, just never any dreaming.

Any swimmers who use mj daily have any luck bringing back the dreams?

My understanding is that cannabis does trigger a release of melatonin, but, with regular smoking, it means the body can not produce enough to keep up with demand. I have heard many anecdotal reports that melatonin does bring back dreaming, and I can only assume that this is because over stimulation of melatonin production means depletion in the long term. However I certainly can't back this up with any hard evidence.

[Mr. Giraffe]

My understanding is that regular cannabis use inhibits more vivid levels of dreaming but still allows for dreaming, albeit not of the particularly lucid variety.

My various pet hampsters report that they have no problems dreaming.

[fiveleggedrat]

My cat states that his dreaming has not changed with daily smoking.

Swim will state that it takes about 15mg melatonin and 100mg doxylamine when using the above as a sleep aid to take effect sober.

With cannabis, 6mg melatonin and 25mg doxylamine succinate (both dissolved in liquid) knocked him out very quickly and effectively. He fell asleep on the couch a few hours before his usual bedtime.

[N0ly]

SWIM has always wondered where the dreams have gone. He has found that when he cut back drastically as of lately the dreams have come back. he tried lots of things 5-htp different herbal dreaming blends and nothing would bring them back. SWIM would rather dream than be stoned all the time.

[hawaii808]

thanks a lot for the informative replies. its interesting to swim that some havent noticed a decrease in dreaming. swim wishes that were him. for swim, there have prob only been a handful of dreams that he has remembered in the past couple years. this is starting to get to swim and he may cut down drastically because of it. for now, swim will stick with the melatonin and 5-htp regimen for a while to see if that helps.

and to fiveleggedrat, wow 15 mg seems like alot of melatonin but its interesting because for swim, it seems like even 2-3 mg. sub-lingually puts him into a deep (albeit dreamless) sleep in no more than 30 min, which has lead swim to believe that more wouldn't be necessary. however, maybe he will try a higher dose to see the effect on dreaming...

[fiveleggedrat]

Originally Posted by hawaii808

and to fiveleggedrat, wow 15 mg seems like alot of melatonin but its interesting because for swim, it seems like even 2-3 mg. sub-lingually puts him into a deep (albeit dreamless) sleep in no more than 30 min, which has lead swim to believe that more wouldn't be necessary. however, maybe he will try a higher dose to see the effect on dreaming...

Swim has dosed all the way up to 40mg of melatonin, bad idea. Hot flashes, anxiety, and a very uncomfortable heaviness of the mind/body. That cat also NEVER got any dreams or such from any amount of melatonin. Frustrating!

Sorry for derailing

[croak]

A guy I know has smoked for years and years and years and seldom remembers a dream. But once a year he takes a sabbatical for a few weeks and dreams like crazy.

[puggy]

SWIM should maybe try dyphenhydramine?

[podge]

Swim usually cant remember his dreams either due to cannabis. Although, 2 days ago he told himself that he wanted to have a particular dream that night, and as a result he actually had that exact dream ( it was a semi-lucid dream of sorts too) . He has also achieved lucid dreams in the past even when going to bed high.

So swim still think its possible to dream ( and lucid dream ) with high levels of cannabis use. Swim thinks that dreaming occurs but its a lot harder to remember if one goes to sleep stoned.

[Nature Boy]

SWIM still dreams, in between pressing the snooze button several times every morning.

[big-lester]

Swim smokes for like 4 years now and he does not have any particular trouble dreaming. Just like everything in life his dreams come in waves. Then he has a period with absolutely stunning dreams almost everynight and then it sort of drifts away.
I hear alot about not dreaming when smoking, I guess it depends on yourself

[onthebrink2]

First of all you need to learn how to Lucid dream by using different techniques. Set your alarm clock for about 4 and a half hours before you go to sleep. Then go back to sleep. The first thing anyone should do to improve their lucid dreaming is to learn how to remember the dream. Keep a dream journal ready.
When you become good at the beginning stages of lucid dreaming, You can now start applying the way I lucid dream which is W.I.L.D.
or Wake Induced Lucid Dream. Google it. There is an amazing site to go to called LD4ALL. Use relaxation techniques whatever you do don't buy any pills or drugs to help with lucid dreaming. You can do it by yourself and your trusty PC. Also complex B vitamins are supposed to give you awkward dreams.

[Norman14]

My friend Clark Kent says he loves dreams that occur when he takes a bit of cannabis before bed to help go to sleep. He says theyre really creative and fun. In contrast he says when he takes normal sleeping pills he just wakes up the next day with no dreams and feeling not too energetic.

[purplehaze]

Phaze took a lunesta and his dreams were very vivid up to atleast a month. This could possibly be due to numerous things, such as he may not have been getting enough sleep and waking up before he reached REM sleep. Regardless, Lunest will invoke vivid dreams for atleast one night.

Phaze dreams normal for him, a normal dream compared to a lunesta dream is like black and white tv compared to HD.

[Greenport]

SwiM dreams all the time. Dunno what these bees are talking about In fact swiM searches for meaning in her dreams, because certain aspects have taught her the importance of what is going through her mind.

[purplehaze]

Dreams are like ink blots on paper and have no meaning IMO and i've done alot of reading on sleeping and the stages.

The main concern to get your dreaming back would be to make sure you are getting enough sleep and try to get in a cycle to set your internal clock.

On howstuffworks.org theres a good article explaining different stages of sleep.

[Greenport]

Originally Posted by purplehaze

Dreams are like ink blots on paper and have no meaning IMO and i've done alot of reading on sleeping and the stages...

I must disagree. Sure, they may be just as random as ink blots on paper -- but if you've ever seen a bunch of blots on paper, your brain still tries to form a sensible image from it based on what is going through your mind at the time. That's why psychiatrists use them

Perception.

The same thing happens when you dream. Your brain puts together seemingly random information it has picked up from its environment and processes it to form some sort of image -- if you think about your dreams they always have SOME relation to the real world you perceive around you.

LSD works in the same way. The drug binds to serotonin receptors in the brain and causes 'fake', random messages to be sent through the user's sensory system. The brain does its best to translate these random patterns based on its perception -- its understanding of the world based on what the person has learned throughout his/her entire life -- and as a result, these completely random messages being fired wildly around are translated into say, an image of a mushroom, or a wall that breathes, or a fucking clock that grows legs and hops at you saying "Aaaaagh! aRRRGH! I need a bowl...of FROSTED FLAKES" then a big tiger jumps out at you...who knows. The user's perception obviously affects the outcome of the LSD trip there.

My point is, dreams - however random they are - are not pointless. They mean something because they still have a direct relation to your perception of things. And by studying what you DO experience in a dream, and how you react to it, you can really learn a lot about yourself.

Sorry that it's a bit off topic, I felt I needed to respond to that