Vitamin B6 could help you remember your dreams a lot better, study states
| Sep 4, 2019, 11:27 IST
Vitamins are of utmost importance for our health. They can help keep you in tip-top condition and can help keep a lot of illnesses and conditions at bay. Now, researchers claim that one vitamin, in particular, Vitamin B6 could even help people remember their dreams. A study was conducted on around 100 participants, all of whom were asked to take a high dosage of vitamin B6 supplements before going to bed. They did this for 5 consecutive days.
"Our results show that taking vitamin B6 improved people's ability to recall dreams as compared to a placebo," said research author Dr Denholm Aspy, from the University's School of Psychology. "This is the first time that such a study into the effects of vitamin B6 and other B vitamins on dreams has been carried out on a large and diverse group of people," Dr Aspy said.
As per the results, participants claimed that before taking the supplements they hardly recalled any of their dreams. However, post taking the supplements they were better able to recall what they had dreamed of. "It seems as time went on my dreams were clearer and clearer and easier to remember. I also did not lose fragments as the day went on," one participant claimed. Another participant added, "My dreams were more real. I couldn't wait to go to bed and dream!"
"The average person spends around six years of their lives dreaming. If we are able to become lucid and control our dreams, we can then use our dreaming time more productively," Dr Aspy said. The doctor added that lucid dreaming could be used for multiple other things like overcoming phobias, controlling nightmares, refining motor skills and even rehabilitating from physical trauma.
What's more, consuming this Vitamin did not have any effect on the colours or patterns people saw in the dreams, as in it did not influence the dreams in any way. It also didn't influence people's sleep patterns so it was completely safe to consume.
"Our results show that taking vitamin B6 improved people's ability to recall dreams as compared to a placebo," said research author Dr Denholm Aspy, from the University's School of Psychology. "This is the first time that such a study into the effects of vitamin B6 and other B vitamins on dreams has been carried out on a large and diverse group of people," Dr Aspy said.
As per the results, participants claimed that before taking the supplements they hardly recalled any of their dreams. However, post taking the supplements they were better able to recall what they had dreamed of. "It seems as time went on my dreams were clearer and clearer and easier to remember. I also did not lose fragments as the day went on," one participant claimed. Another participant added, "My dreams were more real. I couldn't wait to go to bed and dream!"
"The average person spends around six years of their lives dreaming. If we are able to become lucid and control our dreams, we can then use our dreaming time more productively," Dr Aspy said. The doctor added that lucid dreaming could be used for multiple other things like overcoming phobias, controlling nightmares, refining motor skills and even rehabilitating from physical trauma.
What's more, consuming this Vitamin did not have any effect on the colours or patterns people saw in the dreams, as in it did not influence the dreams in any way. It also didn't influence people's sleep patterns so it was completely safe to consume.