Thread: Menthol as a Dream Enhancer

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

Will do! Well, I would prefer picamilon over GABA since GABA alone has really low blood-brain barrier penetration, and picamilon is just a prodrug that passes into the brain first made by mixing GABA with niacin. That means that in addition to activating central GABA receptors it also increases blood flow to the brain, which has a nootropic effect. I've often used niacin to clear anxiety attacks because it gets rid of my brain fog. So with those in place, by taking L-glycine you would logically be activating GABA(B) and GABA(A)/glycine receptors in the brain stem, potentiating the natural REM atonia mechanism. The L-glutamine would also lead to enhanced glutamate that would activate the kainate receptors and induce REM, just like the choline with muscarinic receptors. I'd probably add more into it too, but that would just be the basic idea....

Ah cool! I had never been sure whether niacin increased cerebral blood flow or not. I'd heard that it did but then got caught up in conflicting and kind of ambiguous information when I briefly tried to look into it. I always thought that sounded like it could make niacin useful for combining with virtually any lucid aid. Played with it once but hadn't gotten around to it again.

Anyway, great plan. I'm embarrassed that I didn't think to connect the picamilon idea with your earlier research update on the connection between the GABA receptors and REM atonia! Duh...

This stuff gets me crazy excited.

Originally Posted by CanisLucidus

Ah cool! I had never been sure whether niacin increased cerebral blood flow or not. I'd heard that it did but then got caught up in conflicting and kind of ambiguous information when I briefly tried to look into it. I always thought that sounded like it could make niacin useful for combining with virtually any lucid aid. Played with it once but hadn't gotten around to it again.

Anyway, great plan. I'm embarrassed that I didn't think to connect the picamilon idea with your earlier research update on the connection between the GABA receptors and REM atonia! Duh...

This stuff gets me crazy excited.

Oh yeah, being a vasodilator is like it's main benefit. I always have it around just in case experiments go wrong too, because in the drug world (note: distinct from the supplement world) more often than not experiments are done with things that cause vasoconstriction. It's good to be prepared for unexpected circumstances....

I wouldn't be shocked if niacin went with just about anything. It is a vitamin, after all, and those are good for you. I'm actually working on a vitamin and mineral routine setup right now. Don't be surprised if I go a little crazy for a while because all of my brain functions are hypersaturated. >.> With any luck my brain will start melting from too many feel good chemicals floating around all the time.

I know what you mean, too. Supplements are fun.

Date: 14th May
Dose: a pint in the evening, WBTB: 500mg choline, 500mg inositol, 500mg B5, 400mg menthol
Side Effects: heartburn, insomnia, minty fresh breath.
Sleep Duration: 8hrs WBTB at 5am, 20 mins
Cognitive: fanciful associations, surrealism
Sexual: fell in love with a DC who had a troubled childhood, menthol darkness meant she was also a bit of a psychopath.
Atmosphere: colourful, detailed, feelings of uncertainty, intimacy that was uncomfortable rather than pleasant
Other Comments: as I was falling asleep I felt that menthol inertia again, I can seriously see that menthol might have some impact on REM, it felt like I was only seconds from REM sleep when I lost awareness. I need to sort out the pesky insomnia, whether its the B5, the menthol or my WBTB timing.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Dose: a pint in the evening, WBTB: 500mg choline, 500mg inositol, 500mg B5, 400mg menthol

I'm guessing you mean peppermint oil right? Otherwise, I have many more questions.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Sexual: fell in love with a DC who had a troubled childhood, menthol darkness meant she was also a bit of a psychopath.
Atmosphere: colourful, detailed, feelings of uncertainty, intimacy that was uncomfortable rather than pleasant

Sounds tasty.... What about it was uncomfortable? Lol.

Yes 400mg of peppermint oil xP

I dunno, she was really into me, in a restraining order sort of way. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hot all the same. ^_^;

Oh and something I forgot to mention, my sense of smell was really active in the dream, which is almost never the case.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Yes 400mg of peppermint oil xP

I dunno, she was really into me, in a restraining order sort of way. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hot all the same. ^_^;

Oh and something I forgot to mention, my sense of smell was really active in the dream, which is almost never the case.

Ah, I see. Well that's cool. That is interesting, too.... Did you have some reason to pay attention to what you were smelling?

Originally Posted by Alyzarin

Ah, I see. Well that's cool. That is interesting, too.... Did you have some reason to pay attention to what you were smelling?

The dream was generally... Sensual.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

The dream was generally... Sensual.

Gotcha, gotcha. Well that could have just been why then. The more you focus on it, you know?

I think it was how short the dreams were that bothered me and though it was a full lucid dream it felt sort of movie like. More visual and auditory than physical.

Date: Wed May 15th 2013
Dose: (Bed) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (WBTB) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (Total = 400 mg)
All taken with water.
Side Effects: Ok.
Sleep Duration: (4.75)-5.75 hrs before (WBTB 15 min) 3.5 hrs after. Total = (8.25)-9.25 hrs
Cognitive: Very good recall. Regression effect. Brief lucidity (DILD) plus semi-lucidty. Memorable. Lots of H.I. V-WILD attempted due to state of mind/Hypnagogia. (Post-WBTB)
Sexual: Yes
Atmosphere: Highly vivid, highly emotional, sinister and nightmarish at one point. Colourful and bright. (Post-WBTB)
Other Comments: Lots of fragments and short dreams were recorded which were mainly pre-WBTB.
I still feel the (emotional) effects of the Lucid dream!
(N.B: Results may possibly be skewed by the fact that there was still a residue of Clary Sage aromatherapy oil on my pillow from yesterday evening’s relaxation/meditation, plus I held the Quartz crystal in my left hand, post-WBTB as a form of Totem.)

I don’t think that one swallow makes a summer, due to certain variables for example, like the change in my sleep amount(s,) R.E.M. times, and timings, etc. but who knows?

http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/high...tc-dild-46443/

Interesting idea there taking menthol before bed and during WBTB, do you think there was a difference?

I seemed to sleep ok with no heartburn where it appears that I remembered general fragments only, whereas post-wbtb is where all the 'fun' started happening - I use that term loosely!
Therefore it could have possibly boosted/affected the latter stages?

Compare this with last weeks entry http://www.dreamviews.com/research/1...ml#post2016525 entry #740

I may have got a slight rem rebound from the start of the week. (Mon?) I could not get back to sleep properly after a WBTB?

Choline rather than DMAE, but DMAE is basically a choline precursor, right?

I'm looking forward to it, hoping for a WILD, failing that the NLDs should be worth it alone.

Should I start with small doses of fish oil and valerian?

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Choline rather than DMAE, but DMAE is basically a choline precursor, right?

I'm looking forward to it, hoping for a WILD, failing that the NLDs should be worth it alone.

Should I start with small doses of fish oil and valerian?

To be completely frank, I still don't understand everything that's going on with DMAE. I know that DMAE is converted to choline in the liver, but that won't cross the blood-brain barrier to the brain. This study makes me a bit skeptical that it gets converted to ACh in the brain: Is 2-dimethylaminoethanol (deanol) inde... [J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1977] - PubMed - NCBI I'm not sure, but I feel like there's more going on there.

Aly found some references a while back that seemed to indicate that DMAE had some sort of direct interaction with nicotinic ACh receptors. Since DMAE easily penetrates the BBB, this could be where the magic comes from.

Something is going on with DMAE, that much I believe. I got some very good lucids using DMAE as a trigger, particularly when I backed it with menthol. Anecdotal, yes, but one's own anecdotes always seem so powerful. I was a bit annoyed that DMAE worked as well as it did since my understanding of its method of action is so poor.

Sure, you may want to try starting small with the Valerian. I'm not especially cautious about the fish oil since I've taken it in 6-9 gram quantities daily for many years. (Health and fitness reasons.)

Good luck!

I know of a few nootropic companies that sell capsuled piracetam and other various noots. Smart Drugs for Thought has been a fairly reliable source for those ordering internationally and they also have pretty fast shipping. JLNootropics also sells capsuled noots but I don't have much experience with them.

Dose:Pre-bed; 3g fish oil, 500mg B5, 200mg peppermint oil, WBTB; 500mg choline bitartrate, 500mg inositol, 200mg peppermint oil, 674mg valerian root
Side-effects: None.
Sleep duration: ~8hrs
Cognitive: reasoning took a back seat, I RCd a few times but just tried to wake up.
Sexual:Nope.
Atmosphere:Fucking mindscarring, timebending multidimensional portal-hopping pursued by a nameless fear... My kind of dream.
Other comments: Phew, that was probably the most intense night of dreaming since I first experimented with menthol. Definitely qualified as nightmarish, multiple FA chains again. I seemed be dreaming constantly from when I returned to bed to when I got up in the morning, there was so much dreaming that seemed totally real at the time but I now can't remember because there was just too much to recall.

I love that menthol gives me these Lovecraftian horror dreams.

That's way cheaper than 5-HTP. I'm on it!

Date: Fri May 17th 2013
Dose: (Bed) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (WBTB) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (Total = 400 mg)
All taken with water.
Side Effects: Ok.
Sleep Duration: Approx 5 hrs before (WBTB 13 min) 4 hrs after. Total = 9 hrs (approx)
Cognitive: Very good recall. Hallucination(s) (FA type.) Brief lucidity (DILD.) HI. Lots of dreams and fragments recorded. Good sleep (mainly pre-WBTB.)
Sexual: No
Atmosphere: Very vivid (visuals and audio) noted with night scenes. Threats at one stage in the latter dream, otherwise subjects seem relatively normal.
Other Comments: Quite promising results so far.
(N.B: I held the Quartz crystal in my left hand, post-WBTB as a form of Totem.)

http://www.dreamviews.com/blogs/high...tc-dild-46504/

Date: 17 May
Dose: WBTB 2x200mg p.oil tablets, green tea; pre bed: 120 mg gingko
Side effects: tablets are really strong, but it was ok this time
Sleep duration: appx. 8:30 (including WBTB 10 mins, and being woken up)
Cognitive: extremely vivid, strong emotions, mostly on the positive side
Sexual: No
Atmosphere: some creepy moments but not that scary, lots of positivity and bizarre occurrences (animals and a strange smart kid), talking about dreams, felt close to lucid!
Other Comments: I was very happy with the gingko-menthol-tea combo. While odds were against me (woken up 5 times by different things), which made me lose some dream memories, I managed to remember few of them, and only lost like half an hour of sleep for 5 wakes. The main point: really vivid and positive emotions, left me with a good mood when I woke up. I look forward to trying this combo again.

Creepy stairs, smart kid, panda-like creature/

Attachment 4840

Peppermint Pig!

Am I the only one depressed by the fact that damn near every nootropic company in the existence sells all the exact same supplements? ._.;;

I'm loving the results, congrats everyone.

Originally Posted by Ctharlhie

Dose:Pre-bed; 3g fish oil, 500mg B5, 200mg peppermint oil, WBTB; 500mg choline bitartrate, 500mg inositol, 200mg peppermint oil, 674mg valerian root
Side-effects: None.
Sleep duration: ~8hrs
Cognitive: reasoning took a back seat, I RCd a few times but just tried to wake up.
Sexual:Nope.
Atmosphere:Fucking mindscarring, timebending multidimensional portal-hopping pursued by a nameless fear... My kind of dream.
Other comments: Phew, that was probably the most intense night of dreaming since I first experimented with menthol. Definitely qualified as nightmarish, multiple FA chains again. I seemed be dreaming constantly from when I returned to bed to when I got up in the morning, there was so much dreaming that seemed totally real at the time but I now can't remember because there was just too much to recall.

I love that menthol gives me these Lovecraftian horror dreams.

I love ittttt. Betcha thought I was kidding with that example overdose huh? I know my stuff.

Basically what I got involved in this thread for I don't think anyone questions that you know your stuff

Speaking of dosages has anyone tried 3 peppermint tablets?

Well you guys, I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow and I'm not going to have a computer with me so I'm going to be gone for at least the next 10-12 days. Until then I'll be totally unreachable but after that you can still talk to me by PM, I'm just planning to also go on a break for a little bit after getting back. I'll miss you guys, I hope you all keep getting good results and have good luck getting lucid.

Have a good end of the month, I'll see you all later.

Date: Mon May 20th 2013
Dose: (Bed) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (WBTB) Oil of Peppermint capsule (x1) = 200 mg. (Total = 400 mg)
All taken with water.
Side Effects: Ok.
Sleep Duration: Approx (5.25)-6 hrs before (WBTB 27 min) 3 hrs after. Total = (8.25)-9 hrs approx.
Cognitive: Average recall, general, NLD, etc.
Sexual: Yes – one dream had a sexual overtone to it.
Atmosphere: Generally normal, although one of the dreams was rather sinister.
Other Comments: Some mainly work-related dreams and fragments recorded.