Valerian root can help alleviate nightmares as well as improve dream recall and relieve stress. It's natural but should not be used as a sleep aid for more than 6 months at a time. You can, however, take smaller doses during the day to relieve anxiety and/or control hyperactivity (if that's a problem). In this regard, it's like a safe, over-the-counter benzodiazepine.

Hi, A low dose of salvia divinorum it is great for dreaming? Syl

Hi Syl,

Is that a question or a statement?

If its a statement please expand. I'm interested because I,ve got some Saliva tincture and have read of how it apparently influences the synapses usualy fired when entering r.e.m. sleep (normally mind altering substances effect other areas of the brain) But as yet I havent tried it (basicaly because I'm a little anxious)

So if you've been more adventures please write more.

Rob

I suggest avoiding sleeping pills and benzodiazepines. Sleeping pills like Tylenol PM suppress REM sleep and benzodiazepines like Valium and Xanax can be psychologically addicting. They also sometimes leave you groggy in the morning. Valerian root can be used as a substitute because it isn't addicting. Earlier, I mentioned not to take it for more than 6 months at a time, but perhaps that is okay, too. Tolerance to the herb does not develop. According to Andrew Weil (a guru of alternative medicine), melatonin is another completely safe sleep aid. However, it might not be wise to take it with certain medications. He recommends kava kava as well but I'm not sure if kava kava increases the probability of lucid dreaming or just promotes restful sleep.

DMAE, despite the fact that it's a "multi-syllabic-hyphenated-acronymed chemical compound", is naturally found in small amounts in the brain and in some sea food. Its suggested dose is usually 500 or 1000 mg. If you take more than the recommended dose it can result in dull headaches and tension. As with most "smart drugs", taking more DMAE than recommended does not neccesarily make it more effective, and with synergistic substances less can work equally well. For me, the first night of taking DMAE was amazing with regard to its lucid dream enhancement, although I've read that it may take up to three weeks for it to boost intelligence. BTW, www.nootropics.com is a great site!

Last night I had Mediterranean pizza with added Italian saussage and I ate it quite late. Talk about odd dreams! I was flying with some type of bungie jumping apparatus and landing on bridges, then crawling under them. I was walking slowly through thick, porous, concrete walls that snapped and crackled as I passed through them.

I experienced lucidity in different degrees on and off throughout the entire dream. Pizza does not usually give me strange dreams but perhaps it was because I ate it shortly before retiring

Blue Topaz

Eggs contain acetylcholine. Therefore, they might increase lucidity if eaten as a midnight snack. Nonetheless, you should limit your egg intake to about two per week because they also contain a lot of cholesterol.

I have recently stumbled across a herb named "Brahmi" (Bacopa monnieri)

It is used in Ayurvedic medicine to promote Awareness (amongst other things.) From what research I've done so far looks like it is becoming rather popular for increasing brain functioning in various levels including memory.

Just interested to know if anyone has experimented with this or knows more about the chemistry involved?

Last night, I made a tea out of the herb commonly called The dream herb. I won't even try to pronounce the botanical name. Calea something or other. I think i used too much of the plant, because the tea was extremely bitter. Mind, the online info said that people prefer to smoke the herb because it is so bitter to drink, but the Exoca Indians traditionally drank it as a tea, then when the effects began, smoked it as a cigarette before going to bed. Apparently, this herb was scientifically proven to increase lucidity. I didn't become lucid on it, just felt kind of sick and anxious, but that could have been because of the Effexor I take. Most psychiatric meds also play heck with REM and sleep, as well as other side effects such as gastrointestinal, so it seems I won't be able to use calea as a tea. Since I don't smoke, I'm not sure what to do with the rest of it, and I am a little disappointed that my body doesn't seem to tolerate experimentation of this kind, as I like the inner voyage, whether enhanced by herbs or not. The dreams I had on the tea were bizarre, but like I said, I enjoy the inner voyage. Since I can't drink or smoke it, I guess the only other option is for me to stuff the herb into a pillow for its aromatic effects, as some people do. Anyone ever used this herb as a drink, smoke, or in a dream pillow? Have you found any way to make the tea drinkable? I mean, I tried honey, milk, the whole gambit, and I couldn't make it taste worth a damn. Thea

Thea, When a substance can't be taken orally or intravenously, there is one more way that it can be administered which doesn't involve stuffing it...in a pillow.

I would suggest, though, looking into possible contraindications before experimenting, especially when you are unsure about dosage.