# Lucid Dreaming > Attaining Lucidity > Lucid Aids >  >  Curcumin + 5-HTP

## Samick

I found that this combination of 1/4 (or 1/2) of a teaspoon of curcumin and anywhere between 150-300 mg of 5-HTP causes an insanely great mood and extremely vivid dreams. I just wanted to share my finding. Maybe it will be useful for someone

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## Voldmer

Thanks for the info!

When you say curcumin, do you mean the actual compound curcumin, or turmeric? Also, do you experience a difference between the combination of the two, and just using 5-HTP. 5-HTP on its own is often reported to increase vividness of dreams (possibly due to REM rebound), but benefit from curcumin (in terms of dreaming) is new, at least to me.

Often it is stated that bioavailability of curcumin is very low, but if taken alongside piperine, bioavailability is much increased (I saw a number of 2000% quoted).

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## Samick

Yeah. I meant tumeric. I experience a very huge difference between the combination of two and just 5-HTP. You can see the difference not only during the night, but during daytime too. It feels like you are on some kind of nootropics. The colors are much brighter and as I am a bit of daltonic, the symptoms of mild daltonism disapear completely and I can see much more colors. The mood is through the roof. In other words, in combination with 5-HTP it is something completely different. 

Last night I tried this again (when I wrote this post). I experienced very bright, warm and joyful dreams. Although I had very little recall, the things that I did recall seemed very vivid. Unfortunately, there were no lucid dreams. 

I don't really think that it is healthy to do this often. Tolerance might set in and there is a little bit of danger like serotonin syndrome. But if you won't put more tumeric than recommended (recommendation is 1/4 teaspoon or 1-3 g of powder) there won't be any bad consequences. I myself have never experienced serotonin syndrome.

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## Patience108

Thanks for sharing ~  sounds like something new  :smiley: 
 How long have you been or will you do it for do you think - interesting as Tumeric is supposed to be Vgood for our health in general

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## Samick

Well, I have been doing what is called a nutri-therapy for being happier in general by taking 5-HTP daily (if anyone is interested read The Mood Cure by Julia Ross). As for tumeric, I only do it from time to time. Test it for yourself and you'll see what I mean. This combination is quite potent. As far as I have read there aren't any dangers of consuming tumeric. But, as I said earlier, I think that in combination with 5-HTP it can cause serotonin syndrome. So, if you are willing to do this DON'T take more than a teaspoon of tumeric as this is the largest dose I have taken. After it there where no visible side effects.

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## Samick

Oh. And one other thing. As I mentioned earlier, I did this combination last evening. About 3 hours prior to sleep. I took 300 mg of 5-HTP and half a teaspoon of tumeric powder. Immediately after consuming tumeric powder with tea (I recommend this recipe as it is quite tasty: half tablespoon cinamon, half teaspoon ginger powder or ginger root as much as you want, and, the most important - tumeric) I experienced the effects: everything seems bright, the mood is through the roof. I felt really stimulated. Wanted to communicate and connect with people. It was a great evening. As I went to sleep I decide to attempt WILD using a hypnagogic imagery technique from LaBerge's "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming". At first hypnagogic imagery was very weak but as I was more and more asleep it aslo developed. I don't know from which point, but I lost my recall. I think I entered a dream which probably was non-REM. But the hypnagogic imagery was definately there and vivid. It was like watching a movie except that the screen was my whole field of vision. Later when I thought I failed at this attempt I woke up, went to the toilet and back to sleep. Foolish of me that I didn't write down the experience in full detail.

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## Voldmer

I think the cinnamon is a very big part of the effect there, since it is known to be psychoactive. The dosage you used makes me somewhat uneasy though. I don't really have anything scientific to back it up, but my gut feeling is that half a tablespoon of cinnamon is too much.

I also think that 300 mg of 5-HTP seems like a rather large dose. Ordinarily 5-HTP comes in capsules of 50 mg or 100 mg, with 1-3 daily capsules being typical for treating depression, whereas insomnia should require only one capsule.

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## Samick

Yeah. O conciously took a big dose of 5-HTP. As for the cinamon thing. In the past I tried this without cinamon or ginger. The effects where the same.

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## Nebulus

I take 5-HTP sometime when I have insomnia, but it makes me sleepy in the morning. never tried it in combination tho. Love cinamon, will have to try that.

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## strago

I got the total opposite. Took 300 mg of 5-HTP before bed, with two capsules of Turmeric, 1.44 grams total. Then I took two more capsules of Turmeric six hours later...and had one dream, not vivid. I got pre-serotonin syndrome, aka, had a hard time going to sleep, both when I first went to bed, and when I did WBTB. For me, both 5-HTP and melatonin seem to be useless for making my dreams more vivid.

If you get serotonin syndrome, you'll KNOW it! Once I took Niacin, Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, folic acid and a combined Magnesium/Zinc/Calcium capsule together, mid-day. They all influence serotonin, and I got shivering, goose bumps, and a rapid heart rate for about two hours.

Serotonin Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
The greatest risk of serotonin syndrome occurs if you are taking two or more drugs and/or supplements together that influence serotonin.

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## Vortex

Try potato starch. It gives crazy vivid epic dreams! it's totally safe and doesn't seem to develop any resistance. 
You can buy it in many grocery stores. Make sure it's potato starch and NOT potato flour. Take 2 to 4 tablespoons a day, raw with food or in smoothies. Don't cook the potato starch, it stops it working. Have fun  ::goodjob2::

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