- Melatonin/Nutrient Supplements: Tools For Rhythm Synchronization,
Lucid Dreaming and Self-Discovery?
A combination of melatonin with vitamins and accessory factors may constitute a useful experimental tool for circadian rhythm synchronization, lucid dreaming, oneiric analysis, visualization and meditation. (Lucid dreaming is characterized by consciousness of the dream state and conscious control of the course or content of the dream [134].)
The stabilizing and synchronizing effect of melatonin on brain electrical activity was mentioned (section 6). During periods of deep relaxation such as Transcendental Meditation blood levels of pineal indoles are increased [7], and a recent study demonstrated increments in urinary melatonin metabolites (indicative of elevated blood melatonin levels) in subjects practicing “mindfulness meditation” [135]. Current research on the pineal and on melatonin has provided some preliminary support for the romantic conception of the pineal as “the morphological substrate of the seventh ‘Chakra’, being the gateway to perfect rest and harmony” [7].
The traditional yogic practice of “amaroli” consists of rising very early in the morning (4 AM) and drinking one’s own mid-stream urine. Urinary melatonin levels are high at this time. It has been suggested that amaroli provides a melatonin supplement that enhances the user’s subsequent meditation and visualization practice, which is traditionally performed early in the morning (4-6 AM) [136]. The urine of prepubescents is considered superior to one’s own for this purpose, which is interesting since melatonin levels are high in before puberty and decline precipitously thereafter. At any rate, synthetic melatonin certainly represents a more acceptable experimental tool for such purposes. Current or prospective practitioners of amaroli may be pleased to learn of this.
Pharmacologic doses of melatonin (50 mg) dramatically increased REM (rapid eye movement) sleep time and dream activity in both narcoleptics and normals: “the narcoleptics reported intense colored dreams, completely devoid of their usual nightmare-like elements . . . [normal subjects reported] dreams with intense colored visual imagery” [17]. Volunteers receiving high-dose melatonin (about 80-100 mgs) experienced increased alpha brain wave activity and a feeling of well-being and elation which persisted for several hours [7,137]. Melatonin also increased REM sleep time and resulted in “abundant and vivid” dream episodes. Most recallable dreams occur during REM sleep, and REM sleep deprivation is characterized by anxiety, overeating, behavioral disturbances, and decreased concentration and learning [138]. REM sleep seems to enhance memory and the resolve of emotional events, and it is decreased in the mentally retarded [139]. Most REM sleep occurs in the two hours before awakening – the period of most vivid dreams.
Many psychotropic drugs such as LSD and cocaine increase melatonin synthesis [74]. It has been suggested that nonpolar (lipid-soluble) indolic hallucinogenic drugs (e.g. LSD) emulate melatonin activity in the awakened state [26], and that both act on the same areas of the brain [140]. While melatonin is clearly not a wake-state hallucinogen as is LSD, it may have mild homologous effects during sleep by virtue of lengthening REM periods and perhaps by intensifying subjective dream phenomena during them.
The enhancement of CNS pyridoxine metabolism by melatonin was discussed (section 10). Supplementary pyridoxine [Vitamin B6] (without melatonin) often enhances dream recall [141], and sustained-release pyridoxine preparations taken before bed may be especially effective (author’s personal observation). Again, coadministration of riboflavin is advisable since pyridoxine metabolism depends on this vitamin [117].
Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE), a metabolic intermediate and precursor of choline, has been used to induce lucid dreaming [142]. This observation has some biological basis since DMAE is a cholinergic compound (fosters formation of acetylcholine), and since cholinergic drugs increase REM sleep time [143].
Vitamin B12 is reported anecdotally to intensify dream coloration, though high doses (1 mg) must be used and tolerance develops quickly [144]. High-dose vitamin B12 (3-4 mg/day) has been used successfully in the treatment of rhythm disorders characterized by non-24-hour cycles of sleep and waking (e.g. 25-hour “days”) [145]. Such disorder may represent a variety or a relative of the delayed sleep phase syndrome (section 3). High-dose vitamin B12 (3 mg/day) phase-advanced by over an hour the 24-hour melatonin rhythm in human volunteers, and markedly increased their sensitivity to bright light-induced melatonin suppression [146], suggesting a role for the vitamin as an adjunct to bright light therapy of depression. The vitamin did not, however, affect sleep/wake cycle rhythms. The combination of melatonin and vitamin B12, along with morning bright light, would likely accentuate melatonin amplitude, and phase-advance both melatonin and sleep/wake cycle rhythms, with implications for Seasonal Affective Disorder (section 6).
Pyroglutamic acid is an amino acid derivative that occurs naturally throughout the body and is present in many common foods [147,148]. It accumulates in the brain when administered orally, and serves as a precursor of glutamic acid, an amino acid with cognition-enhancing properties. Pyroglutamate is structurally very similar to the piracetam family of cerebroactive, cognition-enhancing compounds (“nootropics”). Both pyroglutamate and glutamic acid serve as precursors of GABA, a sedative and antidepressant neurotransmitter that may have a role in circadian time-keeping [149]. Pyroglutamate enhances the release of acetylcholine, antagonizes drug- and shock-induced amnesia, and partially corrects memory deficits in aged humans [150]. Glutamic acid has been suggested as a treatment for senile dementia (though pyroglutamate would be a better candidate). Pyroglutamate is also a precursor of glutamine, an amino acid with mild sedative and antidepressant properties, and which may also enhance dream recall [151].
The optimal formula for rhythm synchronization, lucid dreaming, and meditative activity might therefore include melatonin, pyridoxine, riboflavin, DMAE, vitamin B12, pyroglutamic acid, and perhaps glutamic acid or glutamine, to be taken in the evening or before bed. Sustained- or delayed-release technology will more closely mimic the natural nightly crest of melatonin, and may help deliver pyridoxine and other factors to the brain during the pre-dawn REM/dream period. Such a formula is currently in production.