Tryptophan: Tryptophan is an amino acid taken by Vitamin B6 and converted into Serotonin. Serotonin can cause extremely vivid dreams at higher levels. Tryptophan is found in such foods as cheddar cheese, chicken, salmon, lamb, egg, flour, white rice, and milk. Cheddar cheese has the most amount of tryptophan.
Going to bed hungry and thirsty could also cause more vivid dreams, according to Nielson's research. "Subjects who reported more often going for long times between eating had more vivid dreams, and we know that fasting is historically associated with incubating vivid dreams," he says.
External stimulation applied during REM sleep has been used to trigger lucid dreaming. During REM sleep, an external cue could be presented to the dreamer and this could trigger a lucid dream. The most popular form of external stimulation is a sleep mask that produces light stimuli.
The activation-synthesis theory of dreams offers a neurobiological explanation of dream development. According to the activation-synthesis theory, dreams are the result of the cerebral cortex's attempt to make sense of the neural activity occurring in other parts of the brain during sleep.
Remind yourself you're dreaming.
If you're having a lucid dream, it's more likely that you'll remember the dream in greater detail. This will result in a more vivid memory of the dream. Reminding yourself you're dreaming won't be easy unless you have experience and knowledge of your dream signs already.
Medical conditions: Vivid dreams may be linked to conditions such as narcolepsy, insomnia, and schizophrenia. 3. Medications: You may experience vivid dreams as a result of taking medication, including beta blockers, antidepressants, blood pressure medications, and some sleep medicines.
Of these, some 43.8 percent of students reported that eating dairy products produced disturbing dreams, while 38.5 percent reported that dairy influenced bizarre dreams.
The length of a dream can vary; they may last for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes. People are more likely to remember the dream if they are awakened during the REM phase.
Indeed, in one study they were associated with increased mental health and self-confidence (Doll et al., 2009). Another study exploring LD and personality found that lucid dreamers were socially bold, dominant, experimenting, enthusiastic, and warm (Gruber et al., 1995).
Chocolate
Opposite to cheese, chocolate and sweet foods have been shown to cause nightmares and bizarre dreams. Studies have proven that the sugar and caffeine in chocolate and sweet foods can make it difficult to fall asleep, and when you do, produce disturbing nightmares during the night.
Cheese is listed as a food for sleep, because of one of the amino acids it contains – tryptophan. Tryptophan has been proven to reduce stress, balance hormones and induce sleep. On top of this, cheese is high in B vitamins. The vitamin B6 can also improve your quality of sleep and apparently leads to vivid dreams.
While cheese is generally considered a comfort food, it is actually one of the worst foods to eat before bed. Strong or aged cheese, as well as preserved meats such as bacon, ham and pepperoni, contains naturally high levels of the amino acid, tyramine, which make us feel alert.
Vitamin B6 Deficiency
Vitamin B6 actually affects our subconscious as much as our conscious self by having an impact on how we dream.
If you wake up every morning with vivid memories of last night's dreams, chances are you're getting at least some decent quality REM sleep, says Walker.
Generally, having a vivid dream once in a while isn't a cause for concern. However, if you are having vivid dreams frequently and it is interfering with your day-to-day life, it can cause harmful effects on your overall health and well-being.
Your dreams may be more vivid for different reasons, including lifestyle changes like a disruption in normal daily activities, exercise routine, eating habits and sleep pattern.
Is it normal to have really weird dreams? Yes, it's normal and even expected to have strange dreams at night. You may even uncover some sense in the dream if you sit down, think about its details, and think about your life recently.
How to have a wet lucid dream. Lucid dreams are dreams where you know that you're having them. You get to walk around in your dreamland, aware that this is where you are. As for wet dreams? Their scientific name is nocturnal emission, and they basically boil down to having an orgasm in your sleep due to a dream.
External stimulation: This technique involves flashing lights and other stimuli that are activated while the subject is in REM sleep. The rationale behind this method is that the sleeper will incorporate this stimuli into their dreams, triggering lucidity in the process.
Eating too much of certain foods—like foods high in sugar—can make your body uncomfortable. The resulting discomfort at night from late-night meals could disrupt your sleep and cause nightmares.
“In a nutshell, cheese is just very difficult to digest. So, while your body is trying to digest it, it's basically keeping you slightly awake. You stay in the REM (rapid eye movement) state of sleep for longer, which is where you have lots more vivid dreams.”