In the realm of unconscious realities (i.e. dreams), anything and everything is possible—imagining up a silly, happy encounter with a childhood crush or being put in a mortifyingly embarrassing situation with said childhood crush are both equally within reach.
Between those who remember their dreams down to the last detail and those who forget everything as soon as they wake up, I happen to fall in the latter category. And because the grass is always greener, I’ve found myself constantly wishing I could remember my dreams more vividly. A new study conducted by the University of Adelaide might just have found a way to make that possible.
The study, which involved 100 participants from around Australia, took place over five days. During that period, the participants were asked to take a vitamin B6 supplement immediately before going to bed. This was the first study to delve into the effects of B vitamins on such a large group.
According to Dr. Denholm Aspy, a researcher from the university’s School of Psychology, the participants who took 240mg of vitamin B6 noted an increase in dream recall, compared to those who were given placebo. It did not, however, seem to affect the vividness or bizarreness of their dreams, nor affect sleep patterns.
Considering that the experiment took place for only five days, more studies still need to be conducted in order to better understand the effects of B vitamins on dream recall and its long-term effects.
But there doesn’t seem to be any harm in eating more vitamin B6-rich foods like: eggs, salmon, chicken breast, whole grains, bananas, avocados, and other fruits and vegetables—they’re all pretty healthy.
Images courtesy of Unsplash.
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