Melatonin?

[Deus-Ex-Machina]

Someone recently told me that if you take melatonin before you go to sleep, your dreams will be more vivid and realistic. anyone know anything about that?

[NeAvO]

I don't know about that, B6 is supposed to work though, haven't tried it personally but lots of people here have.

[Deus-Ex-Machina]

can you get that stuff at a pharmacy?

[NeAvO]

Probably, I haven't bought any, its just vitamins though so I don't see why not.

[badassbob]

Exactly what is melatonin? Some sort of vitamin or what?

[Deus-Ex-Machina]

its a chemical thats produced in you pineal gland in your brain. its supposed to gt you to sleep faster.

[Leixor]

From Wikipedia: Melatonin, 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a hormone found in all living creatures from algae to humans, at levels that vary in a diurnal cycle. In higher animals melatonin is produced by pinealocytes in the pineal gland (located in the brain) and also by the retina and GI tract. It is naturally synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan (derived from serotonin) by the enzyme 5-hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase. Melatonin is generally produced by the brain in response to light levels. Low levels of light cause the brain to produce melatonin. High levels of light inhibits production of it. It is generally thought to be what controls the circadian rhythm. It's also a really really powerful antioxidant. I have never heard of Melatonin increasing dream vividness or recall (in fact, I've heard the opposite). I take Melatonin every night because I have a sleep disorder and it's about the only way I can get to sleep at a decent hour. I have heard of Melatonin ADVERSELY affecting dream recall and vividness, but this has not been the case in my experience (thank goodness). Taken approximately 30 minutes before you intend to go to sleep, in my experience after about 20 minutes I feel that I could go to sleep. Not sleepiness so much as just a feeling that I could sleep. Some people report that it makes them groggy in the morning, I have not noticed this much. You can get Melatonin pretty much anywhere that sells vitamins and such. Health food places, nutritional places, pharmacies, Wal-Mart etc. It isn't very expensive. Last time I went to buy some I noticed that they had a new kind out that was paired with Vitamin B6. B6 is pretty well known to have an effect on dream vividness, but in my experience it causes me to wake up a lot in the middle of the night. Lastly, this is from Wikipedia on Safety of Melatonin: Melatonin is practically nontoxic and exhibits almost no toxic side effects. However, melatonin taken in combination with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) can lead to overdose because MAOIs inhibit the breakdown of melatonin by the body. Exogenous melatonin normally does not affect the endogenous melatonin profile in the short or medium-term, merely advancing the phase of endogenous melatonin production in time. In individuals with auto-immune disorders, there is concern that melatonin supplementation may exacerbate symptoms due to stimulation of the immune system. Melatonin causes somnolence, and therefore should not be taken within five hours before driving, operating machinery, etc. As melatonin is almost always taken at the end of the waking day, this is generally not an issue. Individuals who experience orthostatic intolerance, a cardiovascular condition that results in reduced blood pressure and blood flow to the brain when a person stands, may experience a worsening of symptoms when taking melatonins supplements, a study at Penn State College of Medicine's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center suggests. Melatonin can exacerbate the symptoms by reducing nerve activity in those who experience the condition, the study found. As a natural substance with a virtual absence of problematic side effects, with health benefits to users without illnesses, melatonin has been classified as a dietary supplement and made freely available in the USA, but in the EU over the counter sale without prescription is not yet officially permitted. So there you go. That's what it is.

[Deus-Ex-Machina]

geez leixor, thanks for that. thats a pretty informative post.

[SKA]

From Wikipedia: Melatonin, 5-methoxy-N-acetyltryptamine, is a hormone found in all living creatures from algae to humans, at levels that vary in a diurnal cycle. In higher animals melatonin is produced by pinealocytes in the pineal gland (located in the brain) and also by the retina and GI tract. It is naturally synthesized from the amino acid tryptophan (derived from serotonin) by the enzyme 5-hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase. Melatonin is generally produced by the brain in response to light levels. Low levels of light cause the brain to produce melatonin. High levels of light inhibits production of it. It is generally thought to be what controls the circadian rhythm. It's also a really really powerful antioxidant. I have never heard of Melatonin increasing dream vividness or recall (in fact, I've heard the opposite). I take Melatonin every night because I have a sleep disorder and it's about the only way I can get to sleep at a decent hour. I have heard of Melatonin ADVERSELY affecting dream recall and vividness, but this has not been the case in my experience (thank goodness). Taken approximately 30 minutes before you intend to go to sleep, in my experience after about 20 minutes I feel that I could go to sleep. Not sleepiness so much as just a feeling that I could sleep. Some people report that it makes them groggy in the morning, I have not noticed this much. You can get Melatonin pretty much anywhere that sells vitamins and such. Health food places, nutritional places, pharmacies, Wal-Mart etc. It isn't very expensive. Last time I went to buy some I noticed that they had a new kind out that was paired with Vitamin B6. B6 is pretty well known to have an effect on dream vividness, but in my experience it causes me to wake up a lot in the middle of the night. Lastly, this is from Wikipedia on Safety of Melatonin: Melatonin is practically nontoxic and exhibits almost no toxic side effects. However, melatonin taken in combination with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) can lead to overdose because MAOIs inhibit the breakdown of melatonin by the body. Exogenous melatonin normally does not affect the endogenous melatonin profile in the short or medium-term, merely advancing the phase of endogenous melatonin production in time. In individuals with auto-immune disorders, there is concern that melatonin supplementation may exacerbate symptoms due to stimulation of the immune system. Melatonin causes somnolence, and therefore should not be taken within five hours before driving, operating machinery, etc. As melatonin is almost always taken at the end of the waking day, this is generally not an issue. Individuals who experience orthostatic intolerance, a cardiovascular condition that results in reduced blood pressure and blood flow to the brain when a person stands, may experience a worsening of symptoms when taking melatonins supplements, a study at Penn State College of Medicine's Milton S. Hershey Medical Center suggests. Melatonin can exacerbate the symptoms by reducing nerve activity in those who experience the condition, the study found. As a natural substance with a virtual absence of problematic side effects, with health benefits to users without illnesses, melatonin has been classified as a dietary supplement and made freely available in the USA, but in the EU over the counter sale without prescription is not yet officially permitted. So there you go. That's what it is. [/b] I am also a Chronically Horrible Sleeper and I have Melatonin as a Prescription-drug. I used to take it dayly but it whiped out my dream recall completely. for years. I started having Insomnia again and stopped taking it. Now I have a better dream recall and better overal sleep-cycle again and I very rarely take Melatonin. Only on the Occasion I want to experiment with it in how it can affect my dreams. From my experience, with a loss of years of dreamrecall, I think Melatonin is a Hormone that induces the deep-sleep feeling when very tired. It is what makes you drowsy and sleepy. I guess too much of it or wrong doses, or wrong times of Melatonin-ingestion may only serve to Surpress REM-sleep, giving a more Comatic, deeper sleep instead of a Light sleep full of Dreams. Melatonin is an REM-sleep killer. I speak from years of experience. I advise only to take Melatonin in the occasion you want to experiment with it, but from what I've heard the brain naturally starts producing it at long lasting low-light conditions so it only works if'you take it in during dawn/sundown. Or you could Recreate such Conditions in your Bedroom with lights and spend an hour or 2 in the Semi-dark before taking the Melatonin. To the best of my knowings this is the way Melatonin works best and Optimally. I still have a storage of bottles of melatonin pills. 3 MG pills. Anyone in for a Melatonin experiment? Perhaps I could add this up to my Temperature-experiment I made up earlier. Read it here if you like. I could try to do a Melatonin experiment after Dinner, during an early eveningnap in a Moderately Cold room.Minimum Comfort: A matras with no sheets, covers or pillows. Window left open for a gentle cool breeze. Right after Dinner, when I usually feel bloated and tired allready, I'll go and sit in my dark atelier room with the curtains closed and the window open. I'll sit there in the dark room for about an hour, with a Cup of tea (Calms me down) and I can smoke a couple of Joints, Hashis or Marijuana, untill I feel I'm really ready to sleep. Not too much Joints or it'll surpress my REM-sleep too much, but just enough to make me calmed and relaxed enough to fall alseep easily and fast. And hopefully consciously. When the Hour has passed I'll take one 3MG pill of Melatonin with a little of water, empty my bladder and lay down to sleep. Anyone wants to do the same thing and report the results of it here? I wonder what the results will be. And if they're unsatisfactory in the level of awareness, Lucidity and DreamRecall they give, we can try following experiments where we slightly change the conditions everytime. 2 hours in the Dark. Sleeping in the dark. Sleeping in moderate daylight. Taking the Melatonin Earlier or Later, or in a WBTB fashion. Taking Higher or Lower Doses of Melatonin..etc Maybe we could finetune the effects and after-effects of Melatonin to best fitt a Lucid Dreamers desires.

[Deus-Ex-Machina]

absolutley, i want in on that experiment

[SKA]

what about doing this experiment tonight? I'm going to put open my window to vent my room and roll some hashis or weed-joints. I'll sit there for about an hour or so in the Dark, to potentiate natural Melatonin production. In that hour I'll be smoking the Joints and having a cup of Tea. At the end of the hour I'll take a 3MG pill of Melatonin and wait some more 15/30 minutes before I finally lay down to sleep. With an empty bladder on a humble, pillow, sheet and cover-less matras.