Effects of Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine) and a B Complex Preparation on Dreaming and Sleep.

Taking 240 mg of vitamin B6 before bed for five consecutive nights significantly increased how much dream content people remembered, but did not affect dream vividness, bizarreness, or color, nor did it change other sleep measures. A B complex vitamin preparation, by contrast, led to lower self-rated sleep quality and greater tiredness upon waking. The findings replicate and extend a smaller earlier study, suggesting vitamin B6 may be useful in lucid dreaming research.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Anecdotal evidence indicates that supplementation with vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) before bed can enhance dream vividness and recall. In a single pilot study, Ebben, Lequerica, and Spielman (2002) found that vitamin B6 had a dose-dependent effect of increasing scores on a composite measure of dream vividness, bizarreness, emotionality, and color. The present research replicated this study using a larger and more diverse sample of 100 participants from across Australia. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation of the effects on dreaming and sleep of ingesting 240 mg vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride) before bed for five consecutive days. We also included an exploratory condition involving a B complex preparation containing a range of B vitamins. We 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. In contrast, participants in the B complex group showed significantly lower self-rated sleep quality and significantly higher tiredness on waking. We discuss the potential for using vitamin B6 in research on lucid dreaming.