Dreams Further Research

http://shine.yahoo.com/living-well/11-surprising-things-affect-dreams-160500212.html

In a small 2008 study, German researchers introduced either a positive smell (roses) or a negative smell (rotten eggs) when women entered rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep -- a prime time for dreaming. When the women were woken up, they were asked about what they’d dreamt. Smelling roses yielded positive dreams, while smelling eggs yielded negative dreams. 

Loewenberg explains that if you smell flowers, chocolate or perfume when you’re awake, it tends to evoke positive emotions, so it makes sense that the dream would follow a similar pattern. But there’s a biological explanation, too: “The limbic system part of the brain that controls the ability to receive smell also receives emotions,” she says.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/28/dream-facts_n_4003477.html

Spicy Food

It’s simple: Anything that could cause indigestion—cheese, spicy foods, a big meal—makes you stir more, meaning you have a better shot of remembering that nightmare. “The rule of thumb is that you need to wake up within five minutes of having a dream to recall it,” says Dr. Ware. For rest that’s more peaceful all around, eat dinner at least two hours before bedtime, and choose nighttime snacks wisely (read: no Haagen-Dazs if you’re lactose intolerant). Since caffeine can have the same disruptive effect, it’s best to cut off your coffee intake post-2 p.m. too.

http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/conditions-diseases/how-to-have-good-dreams#slide-4

What can you eat before bed to make your dreams more vivid?

Eating Cheese Before Bed:

One of the age-old beliefs is that eating cheese before bed will give you nightmares. But is it true and do different cheeses have different effects? Well, British researchers gave 200 people cheese every night for a week before bed. No one had a nightmare but it did affect their dreams. People who ate cheddar dreamt about celebrities. While another British cheese, Red Leicester, sent people back to their schooldays.

Eating Spicy Foods Before Bed:

When and what we eat may affect our nighttime rest, if not our tendency toward bad dreams. A study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology had a group of healthy men eat spicy meals before bed on some evenings and compared their quality of sleep on nights where they had non-spiced meals. On the spicy nights, the subjects spent more time awake and had poorer quality sleep. The explanation is that spicy food can elevate body temperatures and thus disrupt sleep. This may also be the reason why some people report bad dreams when they eat too close to bedtime. Though few studies have looked at it, eating close to bedtime increases metabolism and brain activity and may prompt bad dreams or nightmares.

Garlic:

There are a few people who claim garlic affects their sleep, as well as causing them to have weird dreams and really vivid nightmares.

Vitamin B6 - Pyridoxine:

Some people swear taking Vitamin B6 before sleep will produce very vivid dreams. In addition scientists have found that vivid dreams are often a symptom of an excess of vitamin B6 in the body. Individuals who are taking a lot of vitamin B6 as a supplement may notice an increase in vivid dreaming. Foods that contain vitamin B6 include; ananas, oranges, fish, liver, beans, nuts, eggs, chicken, carrots, spinach, and other healthy foods.

Tryptophan:

Tryptophan is an amino acid taken by Vitamin B6 and converted into Serotonin. Serotonin can cause extremely vivid dreams at higher levels. Tryptophan is found in such foods as cheddar cheese, chicken, salmon, lamb, egg, flour, white rice, and milk. Cheddar cheese has the most amount of tryptophan.

Apple Cider Vinegar:

Apple Cider Vinegar has been said to cause extremely vivid and realistic dreams. Mix 2 tablespoons in a large glass of water, add some honey if you don't like the taste.

Other foods that are said to create vivid dreaming:

Pizza before bed is another food that many people suggest causes vivid dreams. It has also been reported that eating cabbage or brussel sprouts close to bedtime will bring your dreams alive in smellovision.

Various herbal supplements and medication can also be a cause of vivid dreaming. For example, individuals who start taking anti-depressant medications will often notice an increase in vivid dreaming. Certain herbs, such as valerian root and chamomile, which are used to induce sleep, can also bring on more vivid dreams.

Nicotine Patches:

Though certainly not a food, one of the side effects of nicotine patches include hyper vivid dreams that last for hours and feel very real. Here is a link (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16782142) to a medical study titled, "The effect of transdermal nicotine patches on sleep and dreams."

http://www.disabled-world.com/health/neurology/sleepdisorders/vivid-dreams.php
40 more facts about dreaming

1. Every human dreams. There are tons of people who can’t remember their dreams when they wake up, but they still get them
2. Human beings spend roughly around 6 years of their lifetime dreaming
3. Sometimes we dream outside of our REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement)
4. Thousands of years ago, the Egyptians were the first to create a dream dictionary in 4000 B.C.E
5. We roughly spend around 1/3 of our lives sleeping
6. People who suffer from a personality disorder lack dream activity
7. Our brains tend to be way more active when we sleep, than when we’re awake
8. Humans tend to have around 3 to 7 dreams a night. We dream around 2 to 3 hours in a whole night
9. 90% of the dream is lost the first minute we wake up
10. Men tend to dream about men more than women, and women dream about people of both genders
11. Drug withdrawal can cause more intense dreams. People who also quit alcohol and smoking experience heavier dreams and nightmares
12. You can lucid dream for up to 30 minutes if trained properly
13. It’s impossible to dream when you’re snoring
14. Babies don’t dream of themselves until they reach the age of 3
15. More women than men experience deja-vu in their dreams (eg. you have been in the dream before)
16. People who experience Sleep Paralysis hear voices and see strangers in their rooms
17. Nightmares happen more to kids than adults
18. Blind people dream. Their dreams are auditory if they were born blind. If they became blind at an early age, they still dream of what they remember
19. Did you know around 100 000 drivers a year crash going in and out of sleep in their cars
20. Thousands of people suffer from sleep apnea in America
21. Men get erections in their REM sleep and women have an increased blood flow to their vaginas
22. You can translate over 5000 dream symbols
23. The word “Nightmare” was used a long time ago for a female spirit who besets people at night while sleeping
24. On average, dogs sleep around 10 to 13 hours a day
25. The colder your house is, the worse your dreams are. They say that if your room is at an average temperature, you have better sleeps
26. Your body burns more calories sleeping than it does in the day time
27. Information that we learn before we go to bed tends to stick with us longer than information any other time
28. On average, cats sleep 10 to 15 hours a day
29. If you avoid your sleep for more than 10 days, you will die
30. A giraffe sleeps for only 2 hours a day
31. Most dreams are based on visual images (Except in people who were either born blind, or who lost their sight at an early age). Occasionally, dreams will include sound and touch.
32. The normal rules of logic do not apply in dreams. For example, the dream may be taking place in one location – then, abruptly, the dreamer is translocated to a completely different place.
33. Most dreams occur in a house – but this is usually not your own home. The most frequently reported room is the living room. People rarely dream about their work place or school.
34. The most frequent scenario is the dreamer plus two other people.
35. Famous people seldom appear in our dreams. The vast majority of people dream about people who are significant to them, especially if there is an ongoing conflict.
36. Mundane activities (such as brushing your teeth) rarely appear in dreams.
37. Dreams tend not to be happy events, and the three most common reported emotions are anger, sadness and fear.
38. Some themes are so common that they are reported the world over. These universal themes include the loss of a tooth, falling or flying, exhibition, arriving late for exams or other important events, and being chased or attacked.
39. Cross-cultural research indicates that our dreams reflect normal life events in our own country and culture.
40. There appear to be some differences in the content of dreams between the two sexes. Specifically, women are more likely to dream about their children, family or household activities; men are more likely to dream about strangers, violence, sexual activity, achievement, and outdoor events.