The B-vitamins --- thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine or B6, biotin, folate and B12 --- contribute to the health of your nervous system, digestive system, skin, hair and liver, and play a big role in converting food to energy. People who are under a lot of stress, those older than 50 or those who have gastrointestinal diseases that make it difficult to derive B vitamins from food, may benefit from a B Complex supplement. But taking the supplement could lead to more vivid dreams.
B6 and Dreaming
Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine, can cause more vivid dreams. If you're prone to nightmares, this could mean your nightmares are more vivid. A study of 12 college students at City College of New York in 2002 showed that taking 250 mg of B-6 produced more vivid dreams than those experienced by students who were given a placebo. The B-6 takers ranked their dreams higher on emotionality, vividness, color and bizarreness. Though the research did not divide the dreams into good dreams and nightmares, for some people very vivid, bizarre dreams would qualify as nightmares.
Dreaming and the Brain
Though you may dream during almost any stage of sleep, much of your dreaming occurs during the phase of rapid eye movement, or REM sleep. The researchers involved in the City College of New York study theorized that vitamin B6 stimulates the cortex of the brain during REM sleep. The cortex is the part of the brain involved in awareness and memory. Your brain also uses B6 in the production of serotonin and dopamine, two hormones associated with dreaming.
Dosages
The participants in the City College of New York Study received 250 mg of B6 daily for five days. Another group of students, who took only 100 mg of B6 daily for the same period of time showed no increase in the vividness of their dreams. Most B complex supplements do not contain this much B6. The recommended daily allowance of B6 is only 1.3 mg for adult to age 50 and 1.7 mg and 1.5 mg for men and women over 50. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institutes of Medicine recommends no more than 100 mg a day of vitamin B6. Too much vitamin B6 can lead to nerve damage.
Sources
Most people get adequate B vitamins from their diet. Fortified cereals, fish, chicken and vegetables are good sources of B6 and other B vitamins. Alcoholics and people with gastrointestinal illnesses such as Crohn's disease, may benefit from supplements, since they may have more difficulty metabolizing vitamins from food. If you're taking a B complex supplement and experience nightmares, consult your doctor about the possibility of taking only the individual B vitamins you need.
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