Personal Experiment: The effect quitting Marjiuana has on my dreams

[PennyRoyal]

Originally I had planned to take a break from smoking tomorrow for a month or two in order to lower my tolerance. The past 2 weeks or so I have been practicing LDing and have read different things from different people about how smoking affects their recall, etc.. I have been smoking daily every few hours on and off for the past 10 years or so. My roomate states that when he stops, he has the most terrible and vivid nightmares. I have quit for periods from 1 month to over 4 years in the 10 years that I have been smoking - for various reasons. I never really noticed any change in vividness or nightmares like so many other people report, but then for me - dreaming was just always something that my body did. I have a few recurring nightmares from my youth that I can remember vividly to this day, but other than that I never gave dreaming much thought. As a way to distract myself from the cravings I get the first week or two, I decided to keep a log of this break period mostly for me. I don't want to clog up my DJ with these writing, nor do I own any sort of blog. I thought maybe some other people may find it interesting to read as well. So I'll be posting here for the next few weeks keeping track to see if my dream recall improves, any improvement in vividness, etc.. Currently I have been trying to LD with WBTB with little success that results in me waking up the moment I realize I'm dreaming. This has happened twice in the past 2 weeks of practicing LDing. I have only recalled a few dreams since starting my DJ, all of which are on DV if anyone is interested to see how my recall improves. Thank you for taking the time to read this wall of text, feel free to respond to any and all posts. Goals: []Hopefully improve dream recall. []Stabilize dream once I become Lucid. []In the event of stabilization attempt to fly.

[PennyRoyal]

Night before first day: Smoked for the last time 4 hours ago. Going to bed: 9:30PM Wake up: 6:30am No dreams recalled last night, It was the last night that my brother is hanging out from out of state, so I did drink a few beers before bed, I'm not feeling discouraged. -I will remember my dreams -I will record the times I wake up.

[OpheliaBlue]

Good luck with your experiment! I'll peek in here now and then to see how it's going. Regarding waking up right away once you attain lucidity, something that always helped me was to have a goal right away. Something simple and easy to keep me from getting too excited. Like a reality check, although sometimes the results of a RC (like successfully sticking your finger through your palm) is so exciting that it could wake you up too soon. So I usually pick a goal or two, like one of the TOTMs, or something personal little goal. It appears that this little shift in focus calms me down, and anchors me in the LD, sustaining it. Examples might be counting your fingers, picking up and feeling a nearby object, humming a little tune. The more senses you engage, the better. You'll get used to this eventually, and the dreams will get longer. This wasn't really related to your experiment, I just honed in on your comment about waking up the moment you realized you were dreaming. Anyway, best wishes and happy dreams!

[PennyRoyal]

Good luck with your experiment! I'll peek in here now and then to see how it's going. Regarding waking up right away once you attain lucidity, something that always helped me was to have a goal right away. Something simple and easy to keep me from getting too excited. Like a reality check, although sometimes the results of a RC (like successfully sticking your finger through your palm) is so exciting that it could wake you up too soon. So I usually pick a goal or two, like one of the, or something personal little goal. It appears that this little shift in focus calms me down, and anchors me in the LD, sustaining it. Examples might be counting your fingers, picking up and feeling a nearby object, humming a little tune. The more senses you engage, the better. You'll get used to this eventually, and the dreams will get longer. This wasn't really related to your experiment, I just honed in on your comment about waking up the moment you realized you were dreaming. Anyway, best wishes and happy dreams! Hmm thanks for the advice again Ophelia, I'll check out the TOTM and make a goal so I have a purpose once I become lucid.

[Fugue]

I'll be interested to see how it turns out for you. If you find a lot of success I may have to follow suit...

[PennyRoyal]

I'll be interested to see how it turns out for you. If you find a lot of success I may have to follow suit... I'll definitely be updating this daily with my progress, keep an eye out

[PennyRoyal]

I recalled two dreams last night. Only one scene from each, hopefully my ability to remember longer periods of my dreams will improve. One of them is available to read on my DJ if there is any interest. The next one was a little.. personal. I slept AWFUL last night. I'm not sure if this had anything to do with not smoking, but I usually have a hard time falling asleep the first week or so after stopping. I woke up frequently throughout the night, sweating profusely. I honestly don't think this had anything to do my having quit, and am chalking it up to just a poor night's sleep I woke up around 2:30 and couldnt go back to sleep for over an hour. All in all for the first day of no use was a pretty typical night besides sleeping restlessly.

[PennyRoyal]

I was thinking about this thread at work today. I will be continuing this thread for 2-4 weeks after I finish this experiment as well to see if any improvement's in recall I've made seem to decline. I did a lot of searching on DV and the internet for some definitive answer on this topic, but everyone seems to have varying opinions. So for my sake, and anyone else who is interested in knowing a day-to-day record of someone's experience from the first day of stopping, 4-6 weeks of dry period, then 2-4 weeks once I begin again. Feel free to post anything relevant to this topic for the sake of discussion, as I was unable to find an active thread regarding this topic.

[PennyRoyal]

I slept MUCH better last night, I was only able to recall one dream but it was about as vivid as waking life. Since I began recording my dreams I've only been able to remember fragments that feel like they last 2-3 minutes. Last night i remember a much bigger portion of my dream, it felt like it lasted maybe 10 minutes. I log all of my dreams on DV so if there is any interest feel free to check them out on my DJ

[PennyRoyal]

Unfortunately and embarassingly I kind of folded on this -.- I had some life events happen and I smoked the last few nights. BUT - I didn't completely abandon experimentation. I smoked only once a day at at difference times, getting later in the evening each day. I find that if I hadn't smoked for ~6 hours I woke up naturally around the regular times 1am. 2:30am, 3:45am. BUT If i had smoked close to the time before I went to sleep, I find that I would wake up my first time around 4am.

[Alyzarin]

My dreams always get crazier whenever I stop smoking. I think I'm about to do this again.... Good luck with quitting and getting results. Something I feel I should note is that research has shown that detectable cognitive deficits from smoking weed persist on average for about seven days after your last toke. This is true whether you've only smoked once in your life or you've been a daily smoker for decades, and it happens because one of THC's metabolites really does last that long in your body. So keep in mind that it may take at least a week to see some significant improvement in dreams, which is usually what happens for me and my friends when we quit.

[PennyRoyal]

Something I feel I should note is that research has shown that detectable cognitive deficits from smoking weed persist on average for about seven days after your last toke. Wow, that is interesting thank you very much. Do you personally notice a difference in your ability to recall dreams while smoking/not smoking?

[Alyzarin]

You're very welcome. I do notice a difference, very much so. I'm still often able to recall a number of dreams while smoking if I really want to (it helps that I wake up a lot during the night), but they're usually very short and lacking a lot of detail. Motivation to DJ usually also takes a large hit, whether or not we like to admit it. Dream memories also just become a lot more fleeting when you wake up if you still have any in your system, particularly if your last smoke was within a few hours before going to bed. It's sort of like how... whenever you're high you can think you're thinking to your full capabilities, but then when you stop you start to realize just how shallow your trains of thought were compared to when you're sober. It can seem like you recall a lot of dream details when you're high, until you stop and realize just how vivid your memories can actually be. I slowed my intake significantly over the past week or so and went from writing a few sentences in my DJ to a few paragraphs this morning. The difference is always significant, for me anyway. The thing is too, that if you're smoking you still can get lucid and recall dreams and all that, but if you're just starting to get into it then you really should stop smoking at least for a while so you can get the hang of it first, and then apply the handicap. Trying to begin an avid lucid dreaming career with a daily smoking habit is basically fighting an uphill battle, but once you get your footing and you can start smoking again and see the difference for yourself coming from a sober perspective, then you can decide what's really best for you.

[Flex]

You're very welcome. I do notice a difference, very much so. I'm still often able to recall a number of dreams while smoking if I really want to (it helps that I wake up a lot during the night), but they're usually very short and lacking a lot of detail. Motivation to DJ usually also takes a large hit, whether or not we like to admit it. Dream memories also just become a lot more fleeting when you wake up if you still have any in your system, particularly if your last smoke was within a few hours before going to bed. It's sort of like how... whenever you're high you can think you're thinking to your full capabilities, but then when you stop you start to realize just how shallow your trains of thought were compared to when you're sober. It can seem like you recall a lot of dream details when you're high, until you stop and realize just how vivid your memories can actually be. I slowed my intake significantly over the past week or so and went from writing a few sentences in my DJ to a few paragraphs this morning. The difference is always significant, for me anyway. The thing is too, that if you're smoking you still can get lucid and recall dreams and all that, but if you're just starting to get into it then you really should stop smoking at least for a while so you can get the hang of it first, and then apply the handicap. Trying to begin an avid lucid dreaming career with a daily smoking habit is basically fighting an uphill battle, but once you get your footing and you can start smoking again and see the difference for yourself coming from a sober perspective, then you can decide what's really best for you. Exactly! I still get lucid, but my recall is complete crap. I guess I'll stop for now too... atleast until I get LDs more regularly.

[PennyRoyal]

This was the main purpose of my experiment. I'm pretty brand new to all of this (going on my 3rd week) and I didn't want to handicap myself If I could help it. I folded on staying sober last week because I went through a stressful day and had a weak moment I'm definitely going to be taking a few weeks off from smoking though, especially now that you have given me a bit of insight into your personal experience. Thanks again, I appreciate it.

[Alyzarin]

Hehe, don't worry, we've all been there. Isn't it ridiculous how easily being high for a little bit while awake can outweigh infinite potential while asleep? No problem though, I look forward to seeing your progress if you continue to track it.

[PennyRoyal]

Hehe, don't worry, we've all been there. Isn't it ridiculous how easily being high for a little bit while awake can outweigh infinite potential while asleep? No problem though, I look forward to seeing your progress if you continue to track it. It is! My girlfriend was blown away when I told her that I was going to be quitting for a while and the reason was for dreaming I certainly plan to keep this thread updated, mostly for anyone else that may be starting out and would like to have a reference of someone's experience Before/During/After.

[PennyRoyal]

I've neglected to update this thread. I tend to completely lose my appetite when I'm stressed out, and with so many life changes recently I've found myself in that familiar place - therefore have lapsed in my experiment! However I havn't lost the spirit of experimentation. I have smoked with longer intervals before going to sleep to see how it affects things. I started with smoking right before sleep, then an hour, 2 hours, etc. I find that if I smoke 4-6 hours BEFORE going to bed, my recall is much easier to accomplish. Anyhow.Things have calmed and It's time to make good with what I said and actually do this experiment. Tomorrow will begin my first day without ANY use. FOR SCIENCE!

[PennyRoyal]

Ok, No THC for almost 48 hours now. (2 days) Just for the purpose of putting my previous successes on record; I typically remember 1 dream per night with a fragment or two. My personal best so far has been 4 dreams in one night. I've had 2 DEILDS that were two weeks apart. I actually had my first DILD and remembered a fragment last night.

[PennyRoyal]

Sorry, I have neglected to update this thread because I really have not noticed any difference smoking or not smoking. I didn't experience any kind of REM rebound that I could notice or a dramatic difference in my recall or anything of that nature. I've been remembering maybe 1 dream per night still, I havn't had a Lucid since the DILD on the 8th. I think that it possibly depends person to person. Ive had people tell me that it destroys their recall ability, I've had people tell me that as long as they focus their intention enough at night they dont notice a difference. Personally, I noticed no difference at all. What I DID notice from before quitting entirely is that the longer the span of time between smoking and going to sleep the easier it was for me to recall. My warning to those of you who are new to Lucid Dreaming or who are curious what the effects of using THC might have on your recall or ability is not to take what everyone tells you at face value. The first time I heard that smoking Marijuana destroys your recall, etc. I went through a dry spell for 4 days and was pretty discouraged. Then i realized.. I had been practicing for 3-4 weeks WHILE smoking and it appeared to me that I was progressing faster than a lot of other newbies on the forum who had started around the same time as I. Don't let anyone tell you what WILL or WILL NOT work for you. Just putting the idea that it would negatively effect me in my head caused me to have a dry spell because I THOUGHT i was ruining my chances. But, one thing I've learned since becoming involved with the world of lucid dreaming is that everyone is different. Experiment yourself and find your own answers. Cheers, PennyRoyal

[PennyRoyal]

Today is a little over 3 weeks. I still had not noticed any improvement in recall or an increase in Lucids. In fact, this last week I have had no recall and havn't been lucid the entire time I've been sober.

[jwbaron]

Totally surprised by your results; I expected just the opposite, being a smoker myself. Glad to learn from your experience. Thanks for sharing!

[PennyRoyal]

I started smoking again April 1st, results as follows; Day 1 Absolutely NO recall. Day 2: 2 Fragments and 2 lucid dreams in one night, personal best. Smoked around 2 hours before bed Day 3: 2 Fregmanets 1 Lucid, 2 nights in a row personal best. Smoked around 5 hours before bed I did not expect these results.

[Alyzarin]

I did not expect these results. I don't think anyone did lol. You know, damn near every person I've ever heard reported a loss of lucidity and recall when smoking and an increase in it when not... but there was one person, just one, who said when they smoked they actually remembered dreams better and it helped them get lucid a lot. It's been too long for me to remember who now, but I usually just remember them as "that lucky asshole". Maybe you've got the gift?

[PennyRoyal]

I don't think anyone did lol. You know, damn near every person I've ever heard reported a loss of lucidity and recall when smoking and an increase in it when not... but there was one person, just one, who said when they smoked they actually remembered dreams better and it helped them get lucid a lot. It's been too long for me to remember who now, but I usually just remember them as "that lucky asshole". Maybe you've got the gift? Hahah. I wouldn't mind being "that lucky asshole#2"