Lucid Dreaming Supplements

The truth about lucid dreaming herbs, what works, and what doesn’t.

As lucid dreaming becomes more popular in the media and in our culture people are looking to unique and quicker ways to get start lucid dreaming. Most people are unhappy with the hard work that it takes to achieve the sometimes evasive lucid dreaming state that occurs while we are asleep. It’s for that reason that they look for alternatives.

One of the quickest ways to make improvements to your lucid dreaming ability is to take lucid dreaming herbs, also known as lucid dreaming supplements. Lucid dreaming herbs offer people a type of “cheat code” when it comes to lucid dreaming, as they alter their minds normal processes in sleep. Some lucid dreaming herbs can increase REM as others can increase awareness and memory. Most herbs though are not effective in lucid dreaming and can end up costing hopeful lucid dreamers a great deal of money before they find what works for them. Lucky for you, there has been a great deal of research in finding lucid dreaming herbs that work. This research not only saves you money but also removes the troubles of finding out what actually works and works well.

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Quick Jump to Section:
List of Lucid Dreaming herbs
What to look for In a Lucid Dreaming Herbs
Lucid Dreaming Herbs That Work
How to Use the Lucid Dreaming Herbs
Lucid Dreaming Pills that Don’t Work
Get Serious About Lucid Dreaming

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How Lucid Dreaming Herbs Work

There are a number of lucid dreaming herbs on the market that can affect you one way or another on how your sleep is. Many people today use lucid dreaming herbs to improve their chances to have lucid dreams or to improve their quality of sleep. Since a lot of information on supplements and how they affect our dreams are spread all over the internet, I wanted to provide a way to view that information in one area. I could honestly write a whole book on each supplement, but this guide will be a more simple version to understand.

I learned this information from years of self-exploration, reading peer-reviewed documents on supplements, and books on lucid dreaming. Additionally, there is one great book out there on Advanced Lucid Dreaming Supplements that is worth reading if you have time. It is important to note that mixing and matching supplements can be dangerous and some people are not healthy enough to take specific supplements. I have used all these supplements that I talk about, but in no way is it a good idea to trust my use as means that its safe for you. You should consult a real doctor before you use them and use them at your own risk. Never use dosages that are higher than anything ever recommended as they can cause serious harm to your body and prolonged use can also affect your body in unexpected ways. I support safe-use with everything I talk about, and what is safe for one person doesn’t make it safe for another.

The brain operates off of a number of neurotransmitters, but the ones that most people pay attention do during sleep are the neurotransmitters acetylcholine, serotonin, and GABA. Most if not all lucid dreaming herbs affect those neurotransmitters in some way, causing a person to go to sleep, forget, remember, or have more vivid dreams. Looking hard and long enough you can find that there have been laboratory experiments with these supplements that will show an indication of what they are doing and how. My goal is to provide that information as clearly as possible here.

 

List of Lucid Dreaming herbs

I have provided a list below of the lucid dreaming herbs most used in lucid dreaming and out of body experiences. I have broken them up into sections of what they most seem to be doing, however, they can do many things at once. I also grouped some together as they are doing the same things.

Improving Memory

• 5-HTP and Magnesium Glycinate
• Vitamin B6
• Choline Bitartrate, Alpha GPC, and CDP Choline
• Huperzine-A
• Marijuana (Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica)
• Galantamine
• Yohimbe (Pausinystalia Johimbe)
• Guayusa
• Lions Mane (Mushroom)
• Velvet Bean
• Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris)
• GABA
• L-Theanine
• Mexican Dream Herb (Calea Zacatechichi)
• African Dream Herb (Silene Undulata)
• Salvia Divinorum

Improved Quality of Sleep

• Calea Ternifolia
• Ashwagandha
• Melatonin
• Valerian Root and Lemon Balm
• Niacin
• Chamomile Flower
• Passion Flower
• L-Taurine

Improving Vividness

• Reishi (Mushroom)

5-HTP and Magnesium Glycinate for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

5-HTP and Magnesium Glycinate are precursors to serotonin and serotonin is involved in wakefulness and memory.  The more serotonin in your brain during the sleep often means there is less of acetylcholine. Since REM is caused by acetylcholine being at its highest, we often want to promote acetylcholine during sleep so that we can “remember” our dreams. Serotonin though can push acetylcholine away meaning it reduces REM sleep until its gone.

How it Affects our Dreams:

If used during early in the night, serotonin will build up in the brain pushing REM to be activated later in the night. REM rebound will occur which means that more dreams than normal will occur later on in the night. REM rebound is the state where the brain recuperates REM time as a deficit with interest. Because of this, you will have more dreams later in the night. Since acetylcholine is highest when our memory is also highest, we most likely remember REM based dreams for this reason. NREM dreams are produced when acetylcholine is still low, making them hard to almost impossible to remember.

Examples of its Effects:

If you have ever had a long night of drinking you often wake up and remember your dreams as being very vivid and full of life. The reason for this is because alcohol releases serotonin into the brain and represses acetylcholine until it wears off which is often in the early mornings when you become “sober”. Though I don’t recommend a heavy night of drinking or drinking in general, this is an easy to understand example.

How to Best Use:

It is best to use 5-HTP or magnesium glycinate for lucid dreaming before going to bed. This will push back your REM and acetylcholine later into the night when you’re most likely to wake up and remember your dreams. If you are trying to remember non-REM based dreams such as OBEs, you could use 5-HTP or magnesium glycinate during the daytime and before sleep, giving yourself a few hours of sleep and then setting an alarm to wake up during the periods of time that 5-HTP would wear off. 5-HTP has a short half-life, meaning that it’s metabolized by the body pretty quickly, so you would want to take it directly to sleep if you wanted to have the effects felt later on. 5-HTP and its ability to push REM to later parts of the night make it a very powerful lucid dreaming supplement.

Vitamin B6 for Lucid Dreaming

Vitamin B6 is an essential nutrient and is used in the process of keeping our bodies healthy. It is involved in the production of a number of hormones as well as neurotransmitters. Having a lack of B6 has been linked to an increased chance of depression and other negative psychological effects.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Because vitamin B6 is involved in the production of histamines as well as adrenal function in the body, it has huge effects on our sleep. The adrenal function has been linked to being one of the controlling mechanisms of the circadian rhythm which controls our wakefulness during the day and night. Histamines have also been shown to have substantial effects on our sleep and dreaming and this is discussed in length when we later discuss niacin. Improving the function of both the adrenal and histamine function will improve our ability to get to sleep easier, as well as our overall memory recall when sleeping.

How to Best Use:

Take vitamin B6 during the day before going to bed to ensure that it fully absorbs. It also takes time for the body to use vitamin B6 and convert it into necessary hormones and neurotransmitters. Do not take in conjunction with 5-HTP as this could overload the system with serotonin.

Choline Bitartrate, Alpha GPC, and CDP Choline for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Choline bitartrate, alpha GPC, and CDP Choline are precursors to choline which is a precursor to acetylcholine. In short, they make acetylcholine which the end result is an increase in acetylcholine in the brain, activation of the Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, increases memory, and REM. Since we know that memory is important for dream recall, these are key in lucid dreaming herbs. It seems that alpha GPC is the best source of choline when it comes to the three as it has shown to be a little more effective at least turning into acetylcholine and cross the blood-brain barrier.

How it Affects our Dreams: 

This increases our memory recall by increasing the amount of acetylcholine in the brain. This also increases the amount of REM that we have which would also increase the number of dreams we have (remember). This is still debatable though as we have shown that people have dreams during the NREM (non-REM) phases of sleep and the presence of acetylcholine during NREM phases would most likely improve our dream recall of these NREM dreams.

Examples of its Effects:

Unusually I have to refer to the same example as before with the heavy night of drinking. After the alcohol has worn off, your dreams seem to increase and you seem to have more vivid and a higher recall of your dream details. This is because your acetylcholine is higher after you are becoming soberer. Additionally, some foods can increase acetylcholine in the brain and also improve in dream recall in the result.

How to Best Use:

It is best to use choline precursors later at night as you will most likely be having more dreams during that time. Awake back to bed method (WBTB) where you set an alarm and then go back to bed after taking a supplement such as choline bitartrate and alpha GPC would most likely be the best option. The reason for this is that the longer you sleep the more sleep-wake cycles you go through as the night goes on, and your REM stages continue to increase. This makes it easier to improve the chances you will remember your dreams as well. I personally tend to think there is no bad time to take choline bitartrate and alpha GPC unless you have troubles going to sleep. Remember that serotonin and acetylcholine are in charge of your sleep-wake cycle and taking an acetylcholine precursor could increase your wakefulness as well. For alpha GPC it takes around 3 hours to be processed into the needed chemicals to improve dream recall, so keep that in mind when using.

Huperzine-A for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Huperzine-A operates as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor which promotes the build-up of acetylcholine in the brain by stopping an enzyme from breaking it down. Huperzine-A acts much like Choline does in that it promotes the increase of acetylcholine in the brain but Huperzine-A stops the reuptake of the excess choline by halting the mechanisms that do. This in results should increase memory recall and memory formation.

How it Affects our Dreams:

When used these acetylcholinesterase inhibitors reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine and allow our brains to use it more. This increases the amount of REM we have throughout the night as well as increase our memory recall over a period of time when normally serotonin is present. This would allow us to recall our dreams better over a period of sleep.

How to Best Use:

Most people recommend using acetylcholinesterase inhibitors after performing awake back to bed method (WBTB). This ensures that you have a buildup of acetylcholine naturally since your serotonin levels should have dropped at this point allowing for more REM. Once you wake up you take this and allow it to work on building your acetylcholine levels up as you dream and are now able to remember your dreams more.

Marijuana for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Marijuana is a highly effective acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and it does increase memory formation after you stop using it for a period of time. Additionally, marijuana increases the release of GABA in the brain which is the reason you get calming effects from the substance. GABA release is another reason that you have memory issues while using the substance, as GABA release is known to reduce memory formation and memory recall.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Those using marijuana tend to have a hard time remembering their dreams. This is most likely from those who smoke heavily prior to going to sleep. Marijuana around a six-hour half-life, so after a six-hour period dream recall should increase. If those who use marijuana take a break from the substance for a day or two, dream recall will improve beyond normal, as the brain is most likely compensating for its past effects.

Marijuana does not stop REM from occurring as some news articles would like to have you think. If this was happening, people would not remember their dreams, and it would also cause very negative side effects, including death.

How to Best Use:

Using marijuana sparingly during the early mornings would cause a large enough break in time that you would experience the dream recall increase that you would expect from the substance. Additionally taking 2-3 day breaks in between heavy use would also cause the same effect.

Galantamine for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

I have spent a great deal of time researching galantamine over the last few months to better understand its effects. This supplement is a hidden gem when it comes to not only affecting your memory recall but also affecting your dreams. Galantamine is a powerhouse when it comes to being aware when your dreaming due to its effects on the neurotransmitter glutamate. Glutamate acts as an excitatory neurotransmitter when it comes to the nervous system and because of that, it allows for better memory recall and awareness during sleep.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Galantamine allows for memory recall to occur during sleep. It changes how our minds work during sleep as well. Rather than having a brain that is using GABA to depress the nervous system which also affects the hippocampus and reduces memory recall, galantamine makes it so that the brain is excited, aware, and able to remember what is happening during dreams.

How to Best Use:

The best time to use galantamine is awake back to bed method. Its suggested that you get at least 4-5 hours of sleep before using. It can be increasingly hard to get back to sleep with galantamine due to the excitability of the mind at this time, so take caution. Galantamine and its ability to increase focus while dreaming allows for it to be one of the most powerful lucid dreaming supplement available. Also, its best to take breaks with galantamine which includes a 24 hour period of non-use. This will ensure that tolerance does not build up. You can also combine it with Piracetam which will greatly reduce the change of it building up the tolerance.

Yohimbe for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Yohimbe is made from the root bark of the Pausinystalia Johimbe tree found in West Africa. It has been used for centuries to fight importance. In America and other countries, this supplement is sold for the same reason, as it influences the adrenal glands and improves sexual drive.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Typically when we are asleep we are the most relaxed. With that specific chemical in our brain are released the promote relaxation as well as forgetfulness. Using Yohimbe altered that process and improves on the release of chemicals that improve memory formation. Adrenaline is one such hormone that is essential in memory formation and is most affected by Yohimbe.

How to Best Use:

Yohimbe is extremely potent. Used in combination with galantamine it can improve dream recall significantly. It does, however, build up a tolerance very quickly. It’s best to use .75 grams or even .50 grams in combination with galantamine during WBTB. This will improve the chances of it taking effect. Additionally taking 3-4 days off after using Yohimbe will ensure that tolerance does not build up. You can also combine it with Piracetam which will greatly reduce the change of it building up the tolerance.

Guayusa for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Guayusa is made from Ilex Guayusa which is a tree that is found naturally in the Amazon. Generally, it is used as a tea which causes stimulating effects much like a mixture of caffeine and Yohimbe. There isn’t much known about this supplement besides it traditional use in many rituals found in the Amazon and its purgative like effects if used in high enough dosages. If used in mild forms this plant will improve wakefulness throughout the day and is used by some as a replacement for coffee.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Few individuals on the internet have described Guayusa to improve dream recall after waking having used this supplement. They have indicated that it acts much like Yohimbe in that it’s not just like coffee in its stimulating effects, but that it also somehow improves memory recall in waking. There is not much known about this supplement but it seems that there is some evidence that this plant is more effective in lucidity causing effects than simply a placebo or the use of coffee.

How to Best Use:

Use before going to bed as a tea. If used you will increase your awareness which also will make it much harder for you to go to sleep. If you choose to use this make sure that you are not prone to insomnia and Guayusa has been known to cause this in some individuals. You could also use this tea after sleeping for some time and using it in conjunction with the WBTB method.

Lion’s Mane for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

More and more research is being conducted with Lion’s Mane as it has shown to have great results in its ability to improve memory and cognitive function. Not only is it great to improve memory, but it has also been shown to regrow the myelin sheath that improves communication speed from neuron to neuron. There is also information being released of Lion’s Mane’s ability to remove the plaque that is believed to be the cause of Alzheimer’s.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Lion’s Mane has been shown to act as a neurotrophic and allows for improved memory as well as cognitive function. When the brain is most need to remember as well as think would be when we are dreaming. The reason for this is that serotonin levels are most high when we are in light sleep which is considered some of the most reflective and lucid time for dreaming. This doesn’t necessarily mean that we will have a “lucid” dream but does mean to improve our ability to remember and think regardless of when we are dreaming. Individual results have been found to represent a more vivid and higher number of remembered dreams while using Lion’s Mane.

How to Best Use:

Paul Stamets, the go-to for all things mushrooms, have suggested that Lion’s Mane is used daily to improve cognitive function. He also suggested combining Lion’s Mane with niacin to improve its ability to be more effective as due to the niacin flush.

Velvet Bean for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Velvet Bean is one plant that has some of the highest extract rates of L-dopa. L-Dopa is a precursor to dopamine which is important to our cognitive function, memory, dreaming, and our reward systems. Low levels of dopamine are also believed to be one of the leading causes of depression. Dopamine is also highly addictive and is the reason that nicotine is considered one of the most addictive substances in the world, because of its ability to release dopamine in the brain.

How it Affects our Dreams:

In the year 2000 research was released showing that dreaming was a separate process not reliant on REM to occur. The research showed that dreams were produced in the frontal areas of the brain right above the eyes. This activation of this area of the brain was also caused by dopamine. Additionally, it was shown that dopamine was required for memories to form, and not acetylcholine. Acetylcholine seemed to be important in making choices but dopamine seems to be important in remembering, and especially for remembering dreams. Velvet Bean improves the ability to have more dopamine in the brain, which in result would lead to more dreams and memories of these dreams.

How to Best Use:

Using before bed prior to sleeping should help improve your ability to activate the areas of your brain which result in dreaming. It’s important to note the anything that deals with dopamine has the possibility to become addictive and cause other harms, so please keep the use of this supplement to a low dose and take breaks.

Mugwort for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Mugwort is somewhat a hidden treasure when it comes to lucid dreaming and sleep. Its also becoming one of my favorite dreaming herbs. Mugwort is a bitter tasting supplement that is also used to prolong the age of beers. It also has been said to affect serotonin levels as well as GABA in the brain.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Mugwort seems to improve sleep onset and push back REM to later states of the night. It also affects the memory of dreams due to its relationship to the GABA neurotransmitter. This relationship to GABA increases the ability to recall dreams at later periods of time in the night when GABA transmission is less and the brain is able to create long-term memories.

I would say seems because there isn’t a lot of data on mugwort and how it affects our sleep. The sad part of this is that mugwort seems to be a very powerful lucid dreaming supplement. What I do know is that mugwort has improved a number of awakings I have during early night sleep, I have experienced vibrational stages of out of body experiences with it, and it seems to be extremely useful to induce out of body experiences.

How to Best Use:

Find an extract of mugwort so that you don’t have to make tea or take much of the plant material. It tastes horrible in general. Use before going to bed as a pill. This will allow you to experience the wakings as well as the vibrational states in out of body experiences.

GABA for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

GABA is a neurotransmitter and also a supplement that people can take. GABA relaxes the mind. It is said to reduce the excitability of neurons. It also plays an important role in REM and when there is more GABA in the brain during sleep, there seems to be less REM. GABA is also one of the reasons that we are unable to remember dreams because the presence of the neurotransmitter, creates blackouts in the hippocampus making it impossible to create a long-term memory.

How it Affects our Dreams:

GABA has been used to improve on increasing sleep stages besides REM. GABA pretty much has shown to relax our dream states and cause us to have more the relaxing states of NREM sleep stages. There is not a lot of research out there to read about this subject. It’s not known if this supplement really works that well due to the possibility of it not crossing the blood-brain barrier.

How to Best Use:

Like many of these supplements, the best way to take it is before going to sleep. This will help push REM further out to later in the night and allow for you to have a more restful night, as well as higher chances to remember your dreams. I would go as far to say that it would be recommended to take well before going to bed allowing for its effects to take place and allow you to improve your dream recall after your brain goes into recovery mode from GABA use.

L-Theanine for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Acting on the Glutamate receptors in the brain, L-Theanine blocks the production of glutamate in the brain. This allows for higher levels of GABA to be present in the brain. This causes drowsiness as GABA increase is a depressant to the central nervous system. When L-Theanine wears off, the increase of Glutamate in the brain will result in more vivid and clear dreams, as memory and awareness increase.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Dreams will be more vivid and awareness of the dream will increase. This will take effect after L-Theanine wears off throughout the night.

How to Best Use:

Using L-Theanine before going to bed will increase the dream vividness after the supplement wears off. If your goal is to have vivid dreams right at the point of sleep, it would be suggested to use L-Theanine 5-6 hour before sleep as it seems to peak at about 5 hours after use. You should feel drowsy during the day as well as have an increased sense of forgetfulness. Once this wears off, however, you will have an increase of awareness and memory and in combination with other opposing GABA type supplements, L-Theanine can become a very powerful lucid dreaming supplement.

Mexican Dream Herb for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

This herb has been used by the Mexican people in order to bring visions forward during sleep. Its used as a tea as well as smoked and can produce sensations of drowsiness and forgetfulness. It is currently unknown how this plant is affecting the mind, but if I was to make the best guess, it would have something to do with the GABA system.

How it Affects our Dreams:

When using this plant it improves memory recall after waking as well as increases hypnagogic visualizations before sleep. In one report it is said to disrupt REM sleep which would likely cause REM rebound at later periods of the night after the effects wore off.

How to Best Use:

For anything that causes REM sleep disruption, the best use is to use before going to sleep, or early on in the night. This allows for REM rebound to take effect later on in the night, during the time we would be waking up. This has shown to increase memory recall of dreams.

African Dream Herb for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Not much information is provided on this plant but there are many cases where this plant has been used to induce vivid dreams. In many traditions throughout Africa, this plant has been used in many shamanic practices especially while dreaming.

How it Affects our Dreams:

With cases of those who have used this plant, it has shown to increase dream vividness much as the Mexican Dream Herb does. It also seems to affect our hypnagogic visuals prior to sleep as well.

How to Best Use:

It is suggested to use this plant prior to sleep. If it is acting in the same way as the Mexican Dream Herb, then it is disrupting REM sleep and increasing REM rebound at later parts of the night.

Salvia Divinorum for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Salvia is one of the most interesting plants on this list because it’s a potent psychedelic. If used for that purpose, salvia can produce very intense hallucinations that can be terrifying. Most people who use salvia recommend utilizing a sitter so that you don’t act out your delusions, as unlike many other psychedelics, salvia does not produce paralysis in any form. Additionally, it causes opened eyed hallucinations which can interact with reality, making them much more real looking than typical visual. With that in mind salvia if used in very low amounts can have a significant impact on our dreams, but be cautious when using.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Saliva interacts with the Kappa Opioid receptor in our brains. It also acts on the glutamate receptors in the hippocampus. Both of these interactions are key when it comes to producing Out of Body Experiences. Salvia if used correctly not only improves memory recall of dreams but vividness and intensity of the dreamscape.

How to Best Use:

Use cautiously! Its suggested that you use loose leave rather than the extracts as those are way too powerful and will cause psychedelic like effects. Salvia also has a reverse tolerance mechanism, so the more you use it the more powerful it gets and the less you need to get the same effects. It is unknown how long the reverse tolerance lasts. With all that being said, it’s best to use salvia before going to bed and if possible in a quid form, to be absorbed in the mouth. Smoking salvia does seem to cause the same memory improving effects that the quid does, but many people say differently. There is not much research done on salvia, especially as a lucid dreaming supplement, but it does seem to have very powerful effects of dream recall and memory formation.

Calea Ternifolia for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Calea is often used in lucid dreaming herbs because of its ability to induce sleep easier for some people. Calea Ternifolia is found in Mexico and was used by Mexican Indians as a dream herb to talk with past ancestors during sleep.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Not a lot of information is available from studies done with Calea. Calea seems to be inducing sleep onset much earlier than without as well as increasing dream recall and spontaneous awakenings.

How to Best Use:

The best time to use Calea is before going to sleep. This would help in reducing sleep onset and allow for more vivid hypnogogic visuals as well as improved dream recall. High dosages of Calea are not recommended as it can cause sickness and diarrhea.

Here is a nice article explaining some of the uses for Calea and dreaming.

Ashwagandha for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Ashwagandha has been used to help individuals with troubled sleep for thousands of years. Known as Indian Ginseng, Ashwagandha helps individuals get to sleep easier and has sedating effects much like melatonin while also increasing dreams.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Though not much has been known as to why Ashwagandha improves sleep induction and dream recall, recently researchers have found some pieces to this puzzle. Researchers believed to have isolated the active component in the supplement. Triethylene glycol a chemical found in Ashwagandha that when used on rats induced sleep and increased REM. This would explain the effects of Ashwagandha on dream recall.

How to Best Use:

If needing to sleep easier Ashwagandha is great to use before bed. This will utilize the sedating effects of the plant. If dream recall is the goal with this plant then use in conjunction with a WBTB method.

Melatonin for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Melatonin is a natural hormone produced in the pineal gland which is located in the brain. The brain uses melatonin for a number of reasons. It improves sleep onset by creating tiredness and is a strong sleep-inducing aid. Its created in the brain from transforming serotonin into melatonin when light is no longer present (entering the eyes). Slight amounts of light have been shown to completely stop melatonin production, hence the reason it’s so important to not have any light during times when you are trying to sleep.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Taking melatonin before sleep can help reduce time to sleep onset allowing for better rest. It also can make dreams more vivid and real looking. Melatonin has been linked to a possible precursor for DMT in the brain which would be a seat for the reasons that dreams happen. Melatonin may also interfere with the process of turning serotonin into melatonin which would push REM to occur later in the evening. Overall melatonin has shown to have long-lasting positive effects on sleep.

How to Best Use:

It’s best to use melatonin before sleep onset so that it can assist you in going to bed easier. This will reduce the time that it takes for you to sleep and improve your sleep quality. Possible improvement in dream vividness can also occur with melatonin. Melatonin is best to be used when light is unavoidable in your sleep area.

Valerian Root and Lemon Balm for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Valerian Root and lemon balm are both grouped together because they are both mild sedatives. Valerian Root is one of the most common sedatives as people often use it for teas to help them sleep better. Lemon Balm does pretty much the same thing but doesn’t taste really bad as Valerian Root does. Be warned, valerian root smells and tastes pretty bad.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Valerian Root and lemon balm allow us to have a more relaxing and restful sleep. This is caused by the tranquilizing effects from the plant allowing our body and muscles to relax more during sleep throughout the night.

How to Best Use:

Use before laying down to sleep. Create a tea or use in a supplement pill form. You should feel the effects after some time allowing you to relax a little bit more.

Niacin for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Niacin is one of my most favorite supplements, not because of its ability to allow its users to have a great nights rest, but because we have a history together. I have personally used niacin going on 12 years and have used it to improve my sleep on restless nights. Niacin is an essential vitamin that is required by the human body. Most of us get enough niacin today due to coffee and foods being fortified with niacin, but most of us don’t get the important benefits of a niacin flush. A niacin flush releases a protein called PGD2 from our cell bodies. PGD2 is considered the most potent sleep aid known to mankind. Not only is PGD2 being stored without release a bad thing for our sleep, but it’s also a leading cause of male baldness.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Niacin releases PGD2 when we intake around 500 mg of niacin. This flushes our body with this sleep-inducing compound and makes our bodies go to sleep. A lack of PGD2 in the body could result in restless sleep, as it’s shown to not be only important to our sleep, but possibly the reason for sleep altogether. I wrote up a whole article about this supplement and how it affects our sleep here.

How to Best Use:

Use 500 mg of niacin once every other day before going to sleep. A niacin flush will take place in about 10-15 min after use. The flush will make your body warm for some time and make your body feel like it itches, but will soon fade away. This will help you not only sleep better by helping you to fall asleep after, but also will reduce the number of times you wake up over the period of the night. Niacin is a very powerful lucid dreaming supplement if allowed to have a niacin flush and best used on break nights from lucid dreaming to get good rest when needed.

Chamomile Flower for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Many people have used chamomile flower in order to improve their sleep as well as heal themselves from colds. Chamomile is one of the most powerful flowers we have that can do amazing things for the body. For sleep, its often used to calm the body before sleep, and does have effects on helping is sleep quicker much like many medications today.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Chamomile flower is useful for dreaming in that it can help us get to bed faster so that we can start to have dreams. Another great use for Chamomile flower is that calm the mind down when we have racing thoughts or are stressed about the day before. Since focus and paying attention to our non-thought process are helpful in having Lucid Dreams and Out of Body Experiences, Chamomile Flower is a great tool for us to use before sleep.

How to Best Use:

Best use is to drink some Chamomile flower tea 30 minutes before sleep. This will ensure that you have absorbed the active components of the tea, and allow yourself to sleep better. It has shown that Chamomile does not deserve REM or Non-REM dream phase, so it does not seem to have any negative effects.

Reshi Mushroom for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Uknown to most, Reishi is a great lucid dream aid as it helps dreams become more vivid, and reflective like. Reishi also has great health benefits as its anti-inflammatory as well as shown to help strengthen the immune system.

How it Affects our Dreams:

Not much research has been shown to how Reshi is affecting our dreams, however, there are numerous reports of Reshi making dreams more impactful and often more nightmarish. From these reports, we can come to some ideas of how Reshi is affecting our dreams, possibly by inducing light sleep NREM dreaming which is often resulted in being more nightmarish in nature. I have personally used Reshi for the health benefits and found that strangely my dreams became very impactful and meaningful. This is why I found other reports like this on the internet and even uses for Reshi in lucid dreaming.

How to Best Use:

Take before bed for a long night of impactful and sometimes terrifying dreams.

Passion Flower for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

Not a lot of research has been done on Passion Flower, but what has been done on this plant has shown to have positive effects on being a great sleep aid. It also has the ability to reduce anxiety.

How it Affects our Dreams:

With is calming effects it should act much like other sleep aid supplements and allow the dreamer to get to sleep quicker and help calm the mind down. This will help with focus and attention for those trying to achieve some type of lucid control over their dreams, as well as help them get to sleep faster.

How to Best Use:

Take in a tea before going to bed. Wait at least 30 minutes before going to bed to ensure absorption is complete. Go to sleep and expect to be able to sleep easier and more quickly.

L-Taurine for Lucid Dreaming

General Information:

L-Taurine is an amino acid and an important part of the human body. It also helps control fat in the human body. Additionally there is some research done on the supplement and its effects on the hippocampus, however not much is known about why it has the ability to calm our nervous system.

How it Affects our Dreams:

People have described L-Taurine as a sleep aid as well as causing an increase in dreams. Many people take L-Taurine to help get to sleep faster as well as increase their feelings of restfulness after waking. This most likely has an effect on our GABA receptors in our brain, but its unknown as to how or what it is doing.

How to Best Use:

Take before bed in capsule form. Wait for 30-40 minutes before going to bed to ensure fully absorbs and activation. Enjoy a restful sleep. This like niacin becomes a very powerful lucid dreaming supplement on nights that rest are needed.

What to look for In a Lucid Dreaming Herb?

When it comes to finding a lucid dreaming pill it’s important to understand some of the basic things that we are looking to improve in the dream state so that we can become aware that we are dreaming and get lucid dreaming and fast. Here are four basic desires when it comes to lucid dreaming and increasing its effectiveness.

1. Relaxing and Getting to Bed
   If your like other lucid dreamers and are overly excited to get to bed and start to lucid dream, then getting relaxed enough and sleeping can be a troubling process. Laying in bed thinking for hours is something that many people deal with, and lucid dreamers are not immune to this. It’s for that reason that a lucid dreaming pill that can put us to bed quickly, naturally, and allow us to relax before we start to dream, can be very effective in getting us lucid.
2. Increasing REM
   We dream all throughout the night. Often people will dream about 4-5 times a night depending on how long they get to sleep, or about every 90 minutes. There had been research conducted that shows that pushing REM to later parts of the night can increase the vividness of dreams and the ability to remember them better. A lucid dreaming pill that can push REM to later parts of the night can be very effective, and there are a few of them that can do just that.
3. Increasing Memory Recall
   Most of us when we wake up from a dream forget them very quickly. We often wake up remembering that we had a dream but find it very difficult to recall any aspects of it, and as time goes on, we forget them even more. Lucid dreaming herbs that increase memory recall ability right after waking and during the night would be very useful in giving us a chance to remember the dreams we had, lucid or not.
4. Increasing Control and Awareness
   So now you can get to sleep, have a dream, and remember it, but how do you get lucid? Raising our awareness in the dream so that we can identify it for what it is (a dream) is a big part of becoming lucid. A lucid dreaming pill that increases the ability of the dreamer to have control over the dream and become aware that they are lucid dreaming which gives lucid dreamers a significant advantage.

 

Lucid Dreaming Herbs That Work

Now that we have the basic goal behind the lucid dreaming herbs, what lucid dreaming herbs do this for us? Here are some very affordable easy to use lucid dreaming herbs to get you going:

 

Relaxing and Getting to Bed

Melatonin – Melatonin as a lucid dreaming pill is beneficial in that it allows us to relax and get to be quickly. Melatonin is naturally formed inside our brains when we close our eyes and light isn’t around us as it gets dark. Today though we have computer screens and bright lights that light up our lives well past the sun going down and because of that it can be hard for our brains to get the right amount of melatonin to assist us to sleep. Taking a small amount of melatonin can be a safe and effective way to get us to start sleeping quickly.

Valerian Root and Lemon Balm – For those of us who need a little extra to get us relaxed and ready for dreaming, valerian root and lemon balm can assist us to get to sleep quickly. Both of these supplements act as a mild tranquilizer in that they relax us in a safe and effective way. You can find both of these plants in many of the teas that are advertised to support sleep. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend valerian root by itself as it can taste pretty bad, but in the tea form it’s quite good, and lemon balm tastes just like its name sounds, lemony.

 

Increasing REM

5-HTP – 5-HTP is a precursor (or gets converted in the brain) to serotonin and serotonin has been shown to push REM to later parts of the night. This supplement is the single most effective lucid dreaming pill that increases dream recall.

Mugwort (Artemisia Vulgaris) – Just like 5-HTP, mugwort has been shown to increase REM activity later in the night and again allow for higher recall ability of dreams. There are many kinds of mugworts available, and so it’s essential to use the correct version, as only this specific kind (Artemisia Vulgaris) does the job.

 

Increasing Memory Recall & Increasing Control and Awareness

I combined these two sections because there is one lucid dreaming pill that does both these things at the same time.

Galantamine – This lucid dreaming pill has been shown to substantially increase both memory recall and increase awareness of the dreamer. Galantamine is so powerful as a lucid dreaming pill that many people only need to take one pill to have a lucid dream. There has also been research conducted recently showing that galantamine is fifty percent more effective than any other lucid dreaming method available. This makes it a very POWERFUL lucid dreaming pill.

Alpha GPC – Like galantamine, alpha GPC is a memory improvement supplement. It is however not as effective alone on its own as galantamine is, but when used in combination with galantamine, it can extend the effects of galantamine and improve dream control and awareness.

 

How to Use the Lucid Dreaming Herbs

Before using any supplements or lucid dreaming herbs I highly recommend that you speak with your doctor or medical professional to make sure they are safe for you. Most of these supplements are found in the supplement section of your local grocery store and are considered safe for many people.

Right Before Bed: Take 100mg of 5-HTP in combination with Mugwort. If you have troubles going to bed, take 3mg of melatonin or drink some tea with valerian root or lemon balm in it. Get away from lights and relax for bed. Set your alarm to go off 5-6 hours after you sleep.

Sleep 5-6 hours: Don’t try to do any lucid dreaming techniques at this time. The goal is to get good rest without any interruptions.

Wake Up for One Hour: After sleeping for 5-6 hours wake up and take 4mg of galantamine in combination with 600mg of alpha GPC.

Go Back to Bed: Lay down and go back to sleep. Set the intention of having a lucid dream by focusing on the idea of what it would be like if you had a lucid dream while relaxing. Try your best to relax and sleep. It may be tough to sleep at this point, but relaxing and focusing on sleeping will significantly improve your ability to go back to bed.

That’s it! Also, make sure to take breaks every other day to give yourself time to rest up before your next try. Many supplements start building up a tolerance and giving yourself a 24-hour break is a very good idea. I would recommend that you use lucid dreaming herbs in combination with other lucid dreaming techniques in order to have the best results. Herbs are not the answer to lucidity, hard work and determination is an important part of any practice.

Additional Ways to Use Lucid Dreaming Herbs

Now that you have a large list of lucid dreaming herbs your probably wondering, how do I use all these? Well, the answer to that question is that you don’t want to use them all at once or even all of them at any time. You do want to take the best and at the right times and for the right reasons. Think of it like cooking, not everyone wants to make a pie for dinner, you sometimes want a nice meal before dessert. Same goes for sleep. Sometimes you just want a good nights rest. Here are my recipes:

Lucid Dreaming Herbs For a Good Night’s Rest:

• Valerian root or Lemon Balm
• Melatonin
• Niacin 500 mg

Take some valerian root before bed as either a tea or in a capsule. Also, take 500 mg of niacin (containing the flush) before bed. After laying down rest for a period of time while the flush happens, and then close your eyes and sleep. You should wake less and have a less stressful type of dreams. If you feel that you are still stressed out you can add in melatonin before you go to bed.

Lucid Dreaming Herbs For Lucid Dreams and OBE’s

• Niacin (500 mg)
• 5-HTP
• Mugwort (extract)
• Alpha GPC

Before going to sleep take the 500 mg of niacin, the 5-HTP, and the mugwort extract. Wait for restfulness to overcome your body after the niacin flush and relax in bed. You can perform the direct method to OBEs or go to sleep. Set your alarm to wake up after 4 hours of sleep. Once you wake up to take the alpha GPC and go back to sleep. During this whole process, you should be waking up more often than you have before. This also should increase your REM stages to be later in the night and increase the memory of those dreams. With anything, this is dependent on the person and can change from night to night.

Lucid Dreaming Herbs For Advanced Lucid Dreams and OBE’s

• Galantamine

Wake up after 4-5 hours of sleep and take the galantamine. The suggested amount is 4mg to start. Do simple activities for a period of one hour. Then go back to sleep. At that point, you should be very awake, and going back to sleep should be a challenge. The reason why its considered advanced is that you should have trained yourself to be able to go back to sleep easily with focusing your attention. Some novice sleepers will not have this ability yet. Once you are asleep you can either directly enter a lucid dream or OBE state, and continue the dream. Take 48 hours breaks from use.

Lucid Dreaming Herbs For Improved Memory and Cognitive Function

• Niacin (500 mg)
• Lion’s Mane
• Reishi
• Alpha GPC

Use these either daily or every other day to improve memory use. Alternate use with and without niacin. This will help you to improve cognitive function as well as improve your ability to remember your dreams. Suggested to use these before going to bed. This will not necessarily help you improve your dream recall but will give you a better nights rest and on days you take breaks from the niacin should help you improve your vividness and recall of your dreams overall.

 

Lucid Dreaming Herbs that Don’t Work

Most lucid dreaming herbs that are available on the market as branded products that you can buy have one main issue in common. The main issue is that they replaced galantamine with something called huperzine A. The problem with huperzine A is though it’s an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, just like galantamine, it doesn’t increase glutamate production in the hippocampus of the brain as galantamine does. This is what makes galantamine effective for lucid dreaming and improves control in the dream state. The reason that these companies are substituting galantamine with huperzine A is that galantamine has some legal restrictions in the United Kingdome, and because of that they can’t be marketed there. Huperzine A is not an adequate substitute for galantamine as a lucid dreaming supplement.

Dream Leaf
I wanted to love this lucid dreaming pill because of the packaging and because they started their company in my hometown but I just can’t support their cause. These lucid dreaming herbs do not work because of two major flaws. Dream Leaf does contain 5-HTP in them which I have described as something that does work; however, they combine it with a species of mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) which is the wrong species of mugwort and is ineffective. This makes it so that you are simply throwing your money away to use a supplement that isn’t effective in dreams. Another supplement that dream leaf includes is huperzine A, which we have discussed is not an effective lucid dreaming supplement.

Overall if you are taking Dream Leaf you may have some results (mostly due to the 5-HTP) but you would be better off buying the supplements I discussed, saving your money, and overall having much better results.

LucidEsc
As like Dream Leaf, LucidEsc runs into the same problem when it comes to its use of huperzine A in its lucid dreaming herbs. Additionally, LucidEsc contains choline and alpha GPC where we have discussed the effectiveness of GPC, but even in this LucidEsc has issues. Using both choline and alpha GPC is overkill. They both do the same thing and alpha GPC is much more effective for lucid dreaming.

Claridream PRO
Like both Dream Leaf and LucidEsc, Claridream PRO runs into the same problems when it comes to huperzine A. Claridream PRO uses Chinese Club Moss which contains huperzine A and once again produces the issues we discussed with the other two lucid dreaming herbs.

Get Serious About Lucid Dreaming

If you are serious about lucid dreaming and you are not interested in wasting your money on supplements that just don’t work, stop buying lucid herbs that don’t work. Go online and buy the stuff that does, unbranded supplements that do what they should. These branded lucid dreaming herbs are not effective because the companies behind them have not conducted proper research to know if their supplements are effective, which they are not. Most if anything they are just as effective as a placebo pill in nice a bottle.

I hope that this article helps you to get lucid while using lucid dreaming herbs that work.