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    Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Feb;94(1):135-40.

    Effects of pyridoxine on dreaming: a preliminary study.

    Ebben M, Lequerica A, Spielman A.

    City College of New York, USA.

    The effect of pyridoxine (Vitamin B-6) on dreaming was investigated in a placebo, double-blind study to examine various claims that Vitamin B-6 increases dream vividness or the ability to recall dreams. 12 college students participated in all three treatment conditions, each of which involved ingesting either 100 mg B-6, 250 mg B-6, or a placebo prior to bedtime for a period of five consecutive days. The treatment conditions were completely counterbalanced and a two-day wash-out period occurred between the three five-day treatment blocks. Morning self-reports indicated a significant difference in dream-salience scores (this is a composite score containing measures on vividness, bizarreness, emotionality, and color) between the 250-mg condition and placebo over the first three days of each treatment. The data for dream salience suggests that Vitamin B-6 may act by increasing cortical arousal during periods of rapid eve movement (REM) sleep. An hypothesis is presented involving the role of B-6 in the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin. However, this first study needs to be replicated using the same procedures and also demonstrated in a sleep laboratory before the results can be considered certain.

    PMID: 11883552 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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    • Pyridoxine

      Pyridoxine, vitamin B6, is required by your body for utilization of energy in the foods you eat, production of red blood cells, and proper functioning of nerves. It is used to treat and prevent vitamin B6 deficiency resu...