A new study on the effects of B vitamins on dreaming and sleep has found that Vitamin B6 taken before bed increased dream recall compared to placebo. The study appears in the journal Perceptual and Motor Skills.
The findings by Aspy et al discount the theory that Vitamin B6 enhances dream recall by disrupting sleep. Image credit: Peter Pyw.
“Our results show that taking Vitamin B6 improved people’s ability to recall dreams compared to a placebo,” said lead author Dr. Denholm Aspy, a visiting research fellow in psychology at the University of Adelaide, Australia.
“Vitamin B6 did not affect the vividness, bizarreness or color of their dreams, and did not affect other aspects of their sleep patterns.”
“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,” he added.
A total of 100 participants (mean age – 27.5 years) residing in Australia were recruited for the study.
They were randomly allocated to groups that involved ingesting either a placebo, 240 mg of Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), or a B complex preparation that contained 240 mg of Vitamin B6 and a range of other B vitamins for five day.
The study found that Vitamin B6 significantly increased the amount of dream content participants recalled but did not significantly affect dream vividness, bizarreness, or color, nor did it significantly affect other sleep-related variables.
“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,” said one of the participants after completing the study.
“My dreams were more real, I couldn’t wait to go to bed and dream,” added another participant of the study.
“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.
“Lucid dreaming, where you know that you are dreaming while the dream is still happening, has many potential benefits. For example, it may be possible to use lucid dreaming for overcoming nightmares, treating phobias, creative problem solving, refining motor skills and even helping with rehabilitation from physical trauma.”
“In order to have lucid dreams it is very important to first be able to recall dreams on a regular basis. This study suggests that Vitamin B6 may be one way to help people have lucid dreams.”
“Further research is needed to investigate whether the effects of Vitamin B6 vary according to how much is obtained from the diet,” Dr. Aspy said.
“If Vitamin B6 is only effective for people with low dietary intake, its effects on dreaming may diminish with prolonged supplementation.”
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Denholm J. Aspy et al. Effects of Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) and a B Complex Preparation on Dreaming and Sleep. Perceptual and Motor Skills, published online April 17, 2018; doi: 10.1177/0031512518770326
