A little experiment I tried a couple weeks ago...

We all know what valerian root is and ginkgo biloba. I thought I might try mixing them together to see what effect it has. Now normally I lucid dream every day anyways, so I can't say if it increases this or not. I have found that it greatly increases dream recall.

Now valerian root is a herbal sedative. It can be taken, but not too often as it is habit forming according to some websites I found information on it. Ginkgo biloba increases blood pressure. This will cause mild headaches. There was actually one day when I felt I almost had a migraine. Just do not take it while you already have a headache. :) To counter this I took 400 mg of Motrin right before bed.

All together I took 6 capsules of valerian root, 2 of ginkgo biloba, and 400 mg of motrin.

When I took these seperately I found taking ginkgo biloba greatly increased chances of being lucid but also caused sleeplessness and a mild headache. It was very hard to get back to bed after waking which occured many times throughout the night. This is why I chose valerian root. Valerian root also has a noted side effect that says it will cause vivid dreams. I don't know if this is true, but it is better than taking any other sedative. The motrin also was for counter the negative effects of the ginkgo biloba, but had no other use. Ginkgo biloba is expensive, but it would be worth a try if you can buy a small amount of it or borrow some from a friend. Valerian root on the other hand is much cheaper. The usual dosage of ginkgo biloba is one capsule in the morning and one at night. (I would say whatever the average mg dosage is)

After I woke up in the morning I felt as though I had spent the whole night dreaming. There were so many things I did and saw. Since any sedative is habit forming I would only recommend doing this once a month or every two weeks. Also, try taking some ginkgo biloba during the day (one capsule) to see how it effects you to make sure it won't give you a bad headache.

Now one thing I have not considered adding is B6 or melatonin. I have melatonin somewhere around here I think. I might have some B6 as well. If I do my next test will include these also.