# Sleep and Dreams > Research >  >  lucid dreams and hormones

## damnpamn

I have been keeping a dream journal for the past year.  I have noticed that 90% of my lucid dreams occur in the week preceeding my menstrual cycle.  This makes me think there is a relationship between lucid dreams and hormones.  Has anyone else experienced this and have there been any studies about it?

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## damnpamn

guess not

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## Luminous

I haven't heard of any studies done about it. It could be interesting, though! I have the same amount of lucid dreams regardless of my cycle.

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## Robot_Butler

That would be a pretty important connection if it was found to be true.  We could all add hormones to our supplement coctails.  I would hate to have to explain to my girlfriend why I'm taking her birth control pills along with my galantamine.

As long as it works for you, you can cash in on it by knowing the right time to WILD.

Maybe it has something to do with discomfort or cramps or something making you sleep lighter?  Something not directly related to the hormones.

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## dweezil

could it be related to lunar cycles rather than hormonal cycles? my menstrual cycle is closely linked with the moon. generally 2 weeks after the full moon i bleed. could this be a posibility with you? i mean i don't know how "regular" you are??

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## fleeting_dreamer

I just found this thread because I was going to post the same question.  My friend pointed out recently that she always has really vivid dreams in the week before her menstrual cycle begins.  I thought about it and realized that my lucid dreams come almost exactly every two weeks - right before I menstruate, and also right before I ovulate.  

I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but I wanted to put my experience out there.  I'm glad to have found someone who has found the same thing!





> I have been keeping a dream journal for the past year.  I have noticed that 90% of my lucid dreams occur in the week preceeding my menstrual cycle.  This makes me think there is a relationship between lucid dreams and hormones.  Has anyone else experienced this and have there been any studies about it?

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## damnpamn

I don't believe that the dreams are related to lunar cycles because I am now 47 years old and my cycles are highly irregular.  I am posting this answer a year later from the original post and I feel more strongly than ever that there is a relationship between lucid dreams and hormones.

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## oniman7

I was about to say "I thought I'd seen this thread before" guess that's my answer.

Going into my 12th-13th birthday, I started having lucid dreams more common (I learned about them when I was 8 or 9, started having one every 5 or 6 months. When I started puberty, I might have them every 2 months).

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## Drawsher

Sounds quite plausible, I once thought the same thing. If this is true then there might be a quite easier way to manipulate LDs do to the fact it would be conducted through the hormone cycle. 

 There would be new various foods you could try that are known to effect the cycle. Also, you can hang out with different women during the month, since females that hang out together usual ovulate together.  ::lol:: 

 And through these small things you can find new information of easier LDs.

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## damnpamn

Thought I would check this post out again because it has been another year since I posted it.  My periods now are so infrequent (3 or 4 yearly) that I use my lucid dreams to know when they are coming.  The dreams start a week to 10 days before my cycle.  Once it starts there a a dream blackout.  I don't remember any dreams at all during my cycle.

That seems to follow the information in several of the previous posts from others.

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## Kmarie

I think you're on to something... I'm having adrenal problems (which causes severe hormonal problems) and my dreams have been very lucid lately.  When I'm not having notable hormonal symptoms, I'm not remembering my dreams.

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## Solarflare

My dreams are the most vivid when i DON'T masturbate..... so i think you are right

now i just have to not masturbate..... that'll be hard  :Sad:

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## Oreo

This would explain why I started to have lucid dreams more frequently when I was about 12 years old. Is anyone going to make a major experiment out of it?

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## Solarflare

I'm not making a major but a minor experiment of it, but ima try to NOT masturbate for as long as i can and see how much more vivid my dreams are.

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## Pinkmoon

I read it in a book.  It was either in a book on lucid dreams or "our dreaming mind" by robert d. vandecastle That is the best book on dreams I've read.  Its not just about lucid dreaming book  so it could have been a different book.  I can't recall the name of the other one it could have been.  I know it was discovered by accident because its more common for a woman to recall and have lucid dreams compared to a guy.  So they noticed that before the period was a time of increased lucidity a d dream recall  pretty fast because most of the people in their studies on dreams and lucid dreams were female.

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## Solarflare

yes....... my dreams are much more vivid..... and sexual O_o

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## damnpamn

Here I am 10 months later.  I have had 2 periods this year.  I have had 2 lucid dreams.  hmmmm....

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## VitaminJ

Well from a guys perspective, I have taken many androgenic substances (Steroids) and have found that dreams are far more vibrant, and more protagonistic. Lucid ratios aren't necessarily higher, only because I dream more, and had around equal amounts of lucidity which brought down the lucid ratio.

Although androgenic hormones are directly associated with the endocrine system and not the pituitary hormones, it does play a roll in some of the other hormonal pathways such as serotonin.

As far as sexual stimulation goes, during orgasm, the human body fires off large synapses of acetyl-choline, which then dramatically lowers the expression of the hormone until the body recovers from the sexual act (which can take up to seven days for some). That will dramatically decrease dream vividness. I encourage abstaining from sexual actions in order to enhance dream recall and vividness, as abstinence raises dopamine, greatly increasing dream control. Sexual activity however raises prolactin, which is antagonistic to dopamine, and is the "Lazy Hormone", which will drain your will power to dream.

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## nqwDE

Yeah, having a wet dream and thinking "Wait, I can't get a girl"

LUCIDITY!

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## UcfGirl

Well it is true that girls are hornier around their period and I therefore have more eroitc dreams around my peroid.  Idk about the lucidity part since girls are usually thinking LESS clearly around our periods haha we all know its true

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## damnpamn

I'll check out that book, Pinkmoon, thanks

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## Liquidaque

> Well from a guys perspective, I have taken many androgenic substances (Steroids) and have found that dreams are far more vibrant, and more protagonistic. Lucid ratios aren't necessarily higher, only because I dream more, and had around equal amounts of lucidity which brought down the lucid ratio.
> 
> Although androgenic hormones are directly associated with the endocrine system and not the pituitary hormones, it does play a roll in some of the other hormonal pathways such as serotonin.
> 
> As far as sexual stimulation goes, during orgasm, the human body fires off large synapses of acetyl-choline, which then dramatically lowers the expression of the hormone until the body recovers from the sexual act (which can take up to seven days for some). That will dramatically decrease dream vividness. I encourage abstaining from sexual actions in order to enhance dream recall and vividness, as abstinence raises dopamine, greatly increasing dream control. Sexual activity however raises prolactin, which is antagonistic to dopamine, and is the "Lazy Hormone", which will drain your will power to dream.



I have hormone problems (too much estrogen, not enough testosterone).  This is natural to me, and not due to any problems in the brain, or any other area.  Now that I think back on when I used to take testosterone at night, my dreams WERE more vivid... can't say its affect on LD'ing as I hadn't had one at that time in my life.  Now I'm too broke to take the testosterone (Even with insurance, it's $2.00 a day).  But I LD quite often, and very vividly--with great recall... all this without my hormones.  So I cannot confirm any correlation... I almost want to buy some testosterone again just to see what happens now.  XD

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## Wool

I havn't read all the posts in this thread so hit me if its been told. Usually when having period.. well atleast I have fever, and when i have fever i usually dream more. Could it be something about that?

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## damnpamn

Another year has passed. I don't have periods any more.  I can't remember the last lucid dream I had.  I do have very vivid dreams though.  The colors and scenery are quite spectacular and I remember the smallest details.  However I don't become lucid even when I am clearly having dreams having my most common "dream signs".

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## melanieb

Why is it that you no longer have periods? Are you regulating your hormones?

Being transsexual my hormones are regulated very well, yet I still have a 'time-of-the-month' when my emotions go out of control and I'm more prone to headaches and have sleep issues. My rest periods become more erratic and I find myself tired more often. This leads me to some interesting lucid dreams and very intense non-lucid dreams.

I haven't spent time documenting this specifically but it happens and I notice the various experiences it triggers.

I would say that hormones do indeed affect the likeliness of a lucid dream, though this doesn't seem like a big revelation.

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## damnpamn

Forgive me if this posts twice but I don't see the response I just gave to melaneib's question.

I don't have periods anymore because I will be 50 next month.  I am entering menopause.

I have had lucid dreams since I was in the third grade because my mom taught me how to do it to control nightmares that I had every night as a child.  Until the advent of the internet though I only used the ability to change a dream or to wake myself up.  I never thought of continuing a dream until I read about it on the internet.  It wasn't hard for me to do, it was just a natural progression  of what I had been doing my whole life anyway.

I miss lucid dreams and I hope to have them again.

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## melanieb

I do hope you experience them again. I read that it's a common method for dealing with nightmares.

Many people will tell you the right attitude can make a difference. I tend to agree. Knowing that you are going to lucid dream and staying in that positive frame-of-mind could be influential and might make the difference.

I recently took the Intro Class in the DVA section of the forum. I figured that I never really had structure to my LDs and perhaps it might help. I must say the efforts paid off. Combining a daily effort to write down my dreams in as much detail as possible with my erratic sleep schedule allowed me to have some impressive lucid dreams. It forced me to pay attention to the details in both my waking life and my dreams, and I spent some considerable time thinking about the common elements that regularly appear in my dreams that stand out as unusual (Dream Signs). When I see something odd yet familar (like taking a test in my old elementary school) it frequently triggers lucidity because I know I'm 39 and I've been out of school for many years.

Examining the dreams you remember for odd similarities and writing them down can help you recognize the signs in the actual dream, and with luck you will achieve lucidity, even if it's only a brief period without control.

I don't know if you keep a dream journal but if you really want to give this your full energy I would suggest writing down every dream you have in as much detail as possible and then report back in two weeks. From there we can begin to look at your ability to recall dreams and what you might recognize as out-of-place.

Send me a PM if you want to talk directly.    :smiley:

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## damnpamn

I don't have periods anymore because I have gone through menopause.  I also don't have lucid dreams anymore even though I have very vivid dreams.  I wake up many times thinking "I missed my chance" because I've had a dream where I should have recognized dream  signs.  Could be I'm just out of practice now but I used to lucid dream quite easily.

For years I thought I was the only person in the world who did this....and then along came the internet and lo and behold

 ::banana::

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## damnpamn

Sorry for reposting that answer but I rarely visit this site anymore and didn't see my previous answer.  I spent several years keeping dream journals and it does work.

It also took the fun out of lucid dreaming for me.  Too many people around here concentrate on the technique instead of just letting it happen.  So I went back to what used to work for me.  I probably should keep dream journals again but I have too much fun just dreaming even if they aren't lucid.

And yes, lucid dreams are useful for nightmares. It is how I learned to lucid dream.  I was a child that had nightmares almost every night so my mom taught me to master my dreams and it worked.  I had my first lucid dream in the 3rd. grade and I learned to walk my way out of nightmares using various tricks along the way.

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## damnpamn

I had my first lucid dream in a year and a half last night.  Just thought I would throw that out there.  We'll see what happens.

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