The first tip is using galantamine, a substance that has been used for thousands of years for the enhancement of memory, and more recently for having longer and clearer dreams. When we’re dreaming, the neurotransmitter acetylcholine is in high concentration in the brain. galantamine inhibits the breakdown of this neurotransmitter, which keeps it in your brain longer, which results in longer and clearer dreams. I’ve had fantastic results with this.
The best way to use it is to take 4-8 mg, (one or two caps) about six hours after you go to sleep, which just like the “wake and back to bed” method takes full advantage of primetime dreamtime. If you add galantamine to this wake and back to bed method, you’ve added serious octane to lucidity. I don’t recommend using it often, but every now and again it can really jump start your lucid dreams. Some purists argue against its use, and I would certainly argue against regular use, but as an occasional boost it really works.
Some books recommend an additional supplement to accompany galantamine such as Gaba, 5-htp, choline or L-Tryptophan at various times during the evening. Thoughts on those or other supplements?
Big Pharma scientists bound Galantamine with another molecule (think: chelated) so they could sell it R(x) for $$$. Oops, was that my out loud voice? It’s in Medicare Part D’s formulary of 2-3 medicines to slow down dementia.
Personal opinion here --> Acetylcholine is kinda important for the brain all around.
And - I’m an admitted “peer-reviewed evidence based research published blah blah buzzword” hater. Medical myopia ignored real in-the-flesh evidence on their very exam room table (me!) until it was too late.
I drink a lot of water before bed to choke down fistfulls of supplements. Guaranteed up twice a night to pee, and would be a perfect opportunity to pop a supp and pass out again. No alarm terror and getting out of the wet spot.
(night sweats, pervs! I sleep solo)
Come to think of it, I have an old bottle of GalantaMind…2014? Might as well try it. Wouldn’t be the first bunk supplement I’ve taken.
There are so many supplements, and VERY few studies have been done. Most ‘data’ is anecdotal. With that in mind, see David Jay Brown’s book “Dreaming Wide Awake,” he covers a lot along these lines. The book “Advanced Lucid Dreaming” is all about this stuff, but again, no studies to support the claims. I’ve only worked with galantamine, and it has always worked for me. This is the wild frontier.
What: “GalantaMind” Mfg: 02/2013 Qty: 1 capsule (4mg galantamine hydrobromide + other stuff) When: sometime in the middle of the night (very scientific here!) Where: inside a well-rested body (this is key for me) Result: VIVID dreams! I actually remembered my dream/s!
No joke I could sleep through WWIII. This is big news in my small world!!
First night/morning - I was aware that I was dreaming but not lucid. (I wasn’t expecting lucidity; just playing around for now). That was odd and new for me. Quite vivid and could remember a fair amount. Didn’t think to journal it. Magic time for me: 5 hours.
Second night/morning - 5 hours on the dot again, very vivid, and I was never so happy to wake up! Not sure who dreams that sh!t but it’s definitely not what my brain usually conjures up! Or - perhaps I’m crazier than I know. I don’t have a reference to that content. At. All.
Third night/morning - I went right back to bed, thankyouverymuch!
Needed recovery sleep!
– also, the R(x) version I thought was ‘chelated’ with bromine but couldn’t remember exactly. I was on my phone and didn’t look up then, but intended to. Turns out it’s the exact same same thing as the supplement:
Half way through David Jay Brown interview and have random commentary. For instance, people ‘abuse’ Adderal etc to keep their night going, or to balance downers. However, being labeled ‘ADHD’, when I first took Aderall I fell asleep. This was when the DEA was being a pain and going after ‘abusers’ so the national shortage was ridiculous - and painful for those who actually center, ground, and focus on the stuff.
(it actually turned me into an emotionless zombie and I had to switch)
Other Ingredients: Gelatin capsule, rice flour, magnesium stearate.
a note on choline and acetylcholine… I was just about to post this Massive Methylation Cycle Map, of which this particular expert urges against N-acetyl-choline (NAC) as a supplement because “acetyl” is part of the ‘excitatory neuron’ problem - for Autism and her detox model. NOT dreams. So if there’s extra “acetyl” floating around, I presume adding Choline snatches it up. And so it could be too stimulating, as galantamine is for David Jay Brown (per Andrew’s interview).
Obviously I’m no molecular biologist!
Just received some 4mg tablets of Galantamine. I also have some Alpha-GCP. Quick question before I try.
Would you advise I set my alarm for 6 hours into my sleep, then take one tablet of the Galantamine, meditate or read for 30minutes and then go back to sleep?
Anyone know if adding Alpha-GCP to the mix helps and if so how much to take and when?
I found it helped to stabilize the results when I used galantamine with enough time to affect a REM period. Six hours is a good time if you’re a strong sleeper and will get back to bed after a few minutes of meditation or light reading. I’m not a strong sleeper, so I try for 4-5 hours, trying to time my REM period(s). It’s just a question of trial and more trial. Good luck.
Everybody sleeps and dreams differently. I’m a “long back to sleeper” (but I’m out like a light at bedtime most nights), so the later I try a “galantamine party”, the more chances that I’ll never get back to sleep, since for me it tends to be very stimulating. So you need to experiment with it and find the sweet spot. I had a mind blowing LD and super vivid recall of following non-lucids a couple weeks back on 4mg galantamine and 600mg AlphaGPC taken at the 3 hours after bedtime waking. I tried it this week even earlier (1.5 hours I think) and the results were lackluster – vivid-ish dreams but no lucids. Taken at 5 hours or later I risk being awake the rest of the night. So it looks like 3 hours (maybe 4) is the sweet spot for me. You have to find what works for you.
Because of this, I take it and immediately head for sleep, no WBTB, no MILD/WILD attempts, I just aim to hit unconscious sleep as fast as I can and rely on the magic of the galantamine/choline to aid lucidity in the dream. As it turns out in this last attempt, I had an unplanned WILD, since it took around an hour for me to fall asleep, and I was fully conscious and aware when the REM atonia vibrations hit (and they hit HARD, I thought I was having a heart issue at one point!), but I rode them out and made it into a dream, yay…it faded quickly into a non-lucid, but thankfully I caught it via state test a bit later on and went on to have a great time. Amazingly vivid, more “high def” than waking life. Galantamine is well worth a try once in a while.
I’m curious why you don’t recommend taking it very often. I’ve been taking it nightly for a while and it seems to improve dream recall but still only occasional lucidity. I know that it’s used for dementia to boost memory. I’m in my late 60’s and starting to have occasional “senior moments” but seems like it may be helping my memory in general.
Tryptophan and 5-HTP are serotonin precursors, and serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, so they may help sleep in general but don’t know if they help to promote REM sleep in particular. GABA is a relaxing neurotransmitter, so it may help you to get to sleep, but again, don’t know if it will help you dream. I also read recently that the herb “Lemon Balm” increases GABA levels, so may help with relaxation and to lower anxiety.
I take it regularly. I’m 75 and get it prescribed through medicare for $8 for a bottle of 90 tablets, 8 mg each. It helps mostly with remembering dreams and occasional lucidity, maybe once a month on average.
It takes galantamine about 48 hours to clear out of the system. If you take it daily/nightly, you may build up a tolerance, and it may become less effective. As a rule of thumb, taking chemicals that alter brain chemistry is best done with caution, start slowly at small doses of single supplements, and build up to higher doses and combinations over time. If you find the effects over the long term of your frequent usage are better for you than taking it less often, then obviously take that into consideration. Everyone’s different.
I took my 4mg galantamine / 600mg AlphaGPC last night and had basically no recall, but I had no trouble falling back asleep on the plus side. It’s been 5 days since the last dose, so I think I’m going to take at least a couple of weeks off and see if that helps bring its dreaming effectiveness back.
I sometimes take the Andrew Huberman (podcast/youtube) recommended sleep supplements (magnesium L-threonate, L-theanine, GABA, glycine, and I usually add L-tryptophan), and generally they produce long nights of deeper sleep with shorter wakings, but less dream recall. L-theanine is reputed to produce highly vivid dreams, but for me, especially at 400mg, it just creates very deep, calming relaxation. I don’t take melatonin as a supplement any more as I find it produces early wakings, and Huberman recommends against it, opting for more natural means of circadian rhythm and sleep drive adjustment (light exposure, diet timing, physical activity timing, cold exposure, etc.).
There is a study showing that L-theanine and GABA taken in combination results in more/longer REM than when either is taken alone, but again, L-theanine just knocks me out and I usually have worse recall than when I don’t take it.
On the subject of tolerances and time between doses, I took galantamine/AlphaGPC again 2 nights ago, and while I didn’t suffer any insomnia, it also apparently didn’t affect my dreaming at all: no lucids, and not even any vivid dreams. So I may need a week or two between attempts.
I’ve been peeking curiously at galantamine supplements available on Amazon. It seems like the non-prescription stuff generally comes in larger quantities and is priced at $50 or above. There’s some labeled Dream Tech (from Double Wood) for $40.
As a somewhat cautious person, I’m wondering if anyone has any brand or retailer recommendations?
Relentless Improvements works the best for me and was also recommended by Andrew Holececk, indeed it was given out (4mg tablet) at one of his in-person retreats I attended. I’ve tried several other brands and this is the one I’ve found to be most effective for this purpose. Some Galantamine is derived from natural sources, others are synthesized in labs. It seems its effectiveness varies from person to person, with other individual factors in the mix that may play a role as well.
It’s in Medicare Part D’s formulary of 2-3 medicines to slow down dementia.
No alarm terror and getting out of the wet spot.
Quite vivid and could remember a fair amount. Didn’t think to journal it. Magic time for me: 5 hours.
I don’t have a reference to that content. At. All.
