The Pineal Gland, Melatonin, and it's Effect on Sleep
Deep inside the brain there is a tiny pine-shaped organ called the pineal gland. The pineal gland serves many purposes, one of which is to produce a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin works to communicate information about environmental lighting to different parts of the body. In other words, it acts as the body's internal clock; it helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. It promotes awareness during the day and reduces the amount of time it takes to fall asleep during the night.
It also affects the quality of dreams. High levels of melatonin lead to vivid dreams and high quality sleep, while lower levels lead to trouble sleeping, insomnia, poor quality dreams, and often even mood disorders due to the chemical imbalance.
Speaking in lucid dreaming terms, 'vivid' means more lifelike, easier to recall, and naturally the dreamer is more aware of the dream. The more vivid the dream is,the easier it is to obtain lucidity.
Therefore one of the best ways to increase the chances of having lucid dreams is to increase the body's melatonin levels. Now that you have this handy piece of information, you will be able to understand how you can ultimately impact the success of your lucid dreaming life with a few simple easy steps:
1. Have a consistent sleep schedule.
This is a pretty obvious one. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day is what sets your 'body clock' (aka melatonin). You know how sometimes you wake up 5 minutes before your alarm rings? That's your melatonin in action. But it cannot function if you do not have a consistent sleep schedule. This internal 'clock' is used in many lucid dreaming methods.
2. Sleep in complete darkness.
Scientific research shows that your melatonin levels are the highest at night while sleeping in complete darkness, around the time that you dream. This promotes vivid dreams and better dream recall. In the ideal situation, there should be no difference in darkness when you open your eyes compared to when you close them. Sleeping with a light on decreases the quality of dreams and messes up your internal clock as it brings down the melatonin level in your body. Don't let light pollution ruin your dreams for you!
3. Limit your time spent with electronics.
The bright light of a computer can burn up your melatonin levels if you spend too much time in front of one. Don't spend more than 5 hours on your computer each day. Also the electromagnetic fields of cell phones, televisions, and computers can burn up your melatonin levels. Limit your time on your phone and do not sleep with your computer or TV too close to you.
4. Recall earlier events from the day.
This is a great and fun thing to do while lying in bed before you fall asleep. Think back to the very beginning of the day and recall as many details as you can. What colour was that car that was parked on the side of the road? Who was your cashier at the grocery store? What colour was his/her eyes? Were you paying attention or did you just worry about buying your food? Go through the entire day and remember as much as you can. Doing this every night will encourage you to subconsciously increase your awareness levels. Before you know it, you will be practicing lucid living with no effort at all!
5. Massage your scalp before you go to bed.
I know this sounds like a weird one but it is actually very relaxing and is wonderful for your health and lucid dreaming. When you massage your scalp, you release endorphins and serotonin. The endorphins give you a relaxing sensation that will help you fall asleep faster. Serotonin is used to create melatonin, so naturally the more serotonin you produce the more melatonin you produce. Melatonin leads to more vivid dreams, which means a higher chance of becoming lucid. Scalp massages are great to do before WILD, during WBTB, and before you go to sleep at night. If you Google scalp massaging techniques you should come up with a fair few.
6. Learn to recognize dream signs before they appear in your dreams.
Yes, this is possible. The subconscious mind works based off of the conscious mind, so if you continuously feed in information about a certain topic there is a high chance it will appear in your dreams. Before it starts appearing in your dreams, there's a good chance it will have appeared in your daydreams as well. Think really hard... Is there something you are incredibly passionate about that you think about very often? When you daydream, does a certain topic float into your mind frequently? When you relax and allow your mind to wander, how often does that topic effortlessly float in? If you can nail a specific topic, use it as a dream sign.
7. Eat lucid foods. Yes, they do exist!
There are certain foods that increase the production of melatonin, therefore making lucidity more attainable. Did you know that eating a teaspoon of mustard before bed actually does increase your chances of getting lucid? Making these foods a part of your everyday diet will help increase your chances of having a lucid dream. Below is a list of lucid foods and how much melatonin is in them (measured in nano grams).
Foods that Contain Melatonin:
White mustard (378 ng/tsp)
Black mustard (258 ng/tsp)
Almonds (39 ng/g)
Sunflower seeds (29 ng/g)
Cherries (15 ng/g)
Flax seeds (12 ng/g)
Oats (1.8 ng/g)
Rice, red radishes, poppy seeds, tomatoes, bananas (0.5 to 1 ng/g)
Other lucid-friendly foods include milk, yogurt, eggs, fish (especially cod and tuna), broccoli, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and lentils. These foods not only contain vitamin B5 (a coenzyme acid that is essential for the synthesis of melatonin), they also contain tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted into serotonin, which is later converted into melatonin.
Using these methods does not guarantee instant lucid dreams every night, but you will definitely have a greater chance at becoming lucid and probably have lucid dreams more frequently than you did before. Plus, not only will these tips give you a larger chance of becoming lucid, they will also make you healthier and happier in your day-to-day life.
Deep inside the brain there is a tiny pine-shaped organ called the pineal gland. The pineal gland serves many purposes, one of which is to produce a hormone called melatonin.
Melatonin works to communicate information about environmental lighting to different parts of the body. In other words, it acts as the body's internal clock; it helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle. It promotes awareness during the day and reduces the amount of time it takes to fall asleep during the night.
It also affects the quality of dreams. High levels of melatonin lead to vivid dreams and high quality sleep, while lower levels lead to trouble sleeping, insomnia, poor quality dreams, and often even mood disorders due to the chemical imbalance.
Speaking in lucid dreaming terms, 'vivid' means more lifelike, easier to recall, and naturally the dreamer is more aware of the dream. The more vivid the dream is,the easier it is to obtain lucidity.
Therefore one of the best ways to increase the chances of having lucid dreams is to increase the body's melatonin levels. Now that you have this handy piece of information, you will be able to understand how you can ultimately impact the success of your lucid dreaming life with a few simple easy steps:
1. Have a consistent sleep schedule.
This is a pretty obvious one. Going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time every day is what sets your 'body clock' (aka melatonin). You know how sometimes you wake up 5 minutes before your alarm rings? That's your melatonin in action. But it cannot function if you do not have a consistent sleep schedule. This internal 'clock' is used in many lucid dreaming methods.
2. Sleep in complete darkness.
Scientific research shows that your melatonin levels are the highest at night while sleeping in complete darkness, around the time that you dream. This promotes vivid dreams and better dream recall. In the ideal situation, there should be no difference in darkness when you open your eyes compared to when you close them. Sleeping with a light on decreases the quality of dreams and messes up your internal clock as it brings down the melatonin level in your body. Don't let light pollution ruin your dreams for you!
3. Limit your time spent with electronics.
The bright light of a computer can burn up your melatonin levels if you spend too much time in front of one. Don't spend more than 5 hours on your computer each day. Also the electromagnetic fields of cell phones, televisions, and computers can burn up your melatonin levels. Limit your time on your phone and do not sleep with your computer or TV too close to you.
4. Recall earlier events from the day.
This is a great and fun thing to do while lying in bed before you fall asleep. Think back to the very beginning of the day and recall as many details as you can. What colour was that car that was parked on the side of the road? Who was your cashier at the grocery store? What colour was his/her eyes? Were you paying attention or did you just worry about buying your food? Go through the entire day and remember as much as you can. Doing this every night will encourage you to subconsciously increase your awareness levels. Before you know it, you will be practicing lucid living with no effort at all!
5. Massage your scalp before you go to bed.
I know this sounds like a weird one but it is actually very relaxing and is wonderful for your health and lucid dreaming. When you massage your scalp, you release endorphins and serotonin. The endorphins give you a relaxing sensation that will help you fall asleep faster. Serotonin is used to create melatonin, so naturally the more serotonin you produce the more melatonin you produce. Melatonin leads to more vivid dreams, which means a higher chance of becoming lucid. Scalp massages are great to do before WILD, during WBTB, and before you go to sleep at night. If you Google scalp massaging techniques you should come up with a fair few.
6. Learn to recognize dream signs before they appear in your dreams.
Yes, this is possible. The subconscious mind works based off of the conscious mind, so if you continuously feed in information about a certain topic there is a high chance it will appear in your dreams. Before it starts appearing in your dreams, there's a good chance it will have appeared in your daydreams as well. Think really hard... Is there something you are incredibly passionate about that you think about very often? When you daydream, does a certain topic float into your mind frequently? When you relax and allow your mind to wander, how often does that topic effortlessly float in? If you can nail a specific topic, use it as a dream sign.
7. Eat lucid foods. Yes, they do exist!
There are certain foods that increase the production of melatonin, therefore making lucidity more attainable. Did you know that eating a teaspoon of mustard before bed actually does increase your chances of getting lucid? Making these foods a part of your everyday diet will help increase your chances of having a lucid dream. Below is a list of lucid foods and how much melatonin is in them (measured in nano grams).
Foods that Contain Melatonin:
White mustard (378 ng/tsp)
Black mustard (258 ng/tsp)
Almonds (39 ng/g)
Sunflower seeds (29 ng/g)
Cherries (15 ng/g)
Flax seeds (12 ng/g)
Oats (1.8 ng/g)
Rice, red radishes, poppy seeds, tomatoes, bananas (0.5 to 1 ng/g)
Other lucid-friendly foods include milk, yogurt, eggs, fish (especially cod and tuna), broccoli, sweet potatoes, mushrooms and lentils. These foods not only contain vitamin B5 (a coenzyme acid that is essential for the synthesis of melatonin), they also contain tryptophan. Tryptophan is converted into serotonin, which is later converted into melatonin.
Using these methods does not guarantee instant lucid dreams every night, but you will definitely have a greater chance at becoming lucid and probably have lucid dreams more frequently than you did before. Plus, not only will these tips give you a larger chance of becoming lucid, they will also make you healthier and happier in your day-to-day life.
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