Hitchhikers guide to Inducing Nightmares

Inducing Nightmares

We all know the power the dream state has on the human psyche, love them or hate them nightmares will get the adrenaline pumping. I have always loved to be scared, probably because it doesn’t happen very easily. I have always loved nightmares, for me it’s a rush that is comparable to any other high, natural or otherwise. I have always been a vivid dreamer, and I have recently started to work on lucid dreaming with little success, also I have been researching nightmares, and what brings them about. It can be anything, from stress, to watching or reading something frightening, even the foods we eat. I also have been looking into how to induce the nightmares to make them come at will. I figured that there would be others on here who also like nightmares and would like to induce them every once in a while. There are probably some who know how to induce them also. I searched this site for a thread on the topic but I couldn’t find one so I decided to make one.

I would advise against inducing nightmares too often, it can’t be good for you to have nightmares nightly, not to mention some of the techiques are not the healthiest.

Techniques



Foods that increase nightmares

Salty and spicy foods are known to make dreaming more vivid and more frightening. So you can have a super salty bowl of popcorn or chips. Chips and hot salsa are a good option because it is both sodium filled and spicy. (obviously prolonged sodium intake is not good for you, so don’t do this very often) Also I have heard that dairy products are hard to digest so they make the dream state more turbulent.
Fatty cuts of pork, raw onions, and foods high in protien are also said to induce nightmares, mainly because it causes indigestion. The stress of indigestion on the digestion suggestion causes mild hallucinations leading to nightmares.



Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 is great for making dreams more vivid and memorable. It doesn’t really affect if they are a nightmare or not, but it will make them interesting. You can buy Vitamin B6 anywhere you can get vitamins, I suggest getting the 100mg tablets, about an hour before you go to sleep.

Too much vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage in the arms and legs. Neuropathy is usually related to high intake of vitamin B6 from supplements, and is reversible when supplementation is stopped. According to the Institute of Medicine, Several reports show sensory neuropathy at doses lower than 500 mg per day. As previously mentioned, the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine has established an upper tolerable intake level (UL) for vitamin B6 of 100 mg per day for all adults. As intake increases above the UL, the risk of adverse effects increases.



Power of suggestion

The power of suggestion is very intense, simply tell yourself that “I will have a nightmare/dream tonight, it will be about….” Keep repeating what you want to dream about to yourself as you drift off.



Start a dream journal
Dream Journals are a great way to increase you recollection of dreams, and will eventually help you learn to guide your dreams.

Those are the most effective techniques that I have found, but I have also heard of a few more that are kind of hit and miss, I can’t say that they work but I can’t say that they don’t work either.



Cover your head with covers while you sleep

It is said that if you cover your head it creates anxiety in your subconscious, if makes you feel trapped.



Wear Socks to bed

Same general principle of covering your head. It creates a feeling of discomfort.





Good luck on your nightmares/dreams.
Please feel free to add any other techniques or present any results from the above techniques.

[edit on 29-5-2009 by mephesto]

Here's a few more, eat right before you go to bed. Leave on a channel that plays infomercials, and you can also leave a horror movie play as you drift off. Scary music can be played as you're drifting off(like twilight zone theme or similar). Surround yourself with mirrors(I don't know why but this really does work!)

Woah, some of those suggestions are what I do routinely before I go to bed. But I have not had a nightmare in the process!

I have a suggestion though, put on your ipod as you go to bed playing some Barry Manilow. That enough to scare me sleepless!

Ok, this always works for me, 3 over-easy eggs just before sleep, the yolks have to be runny, hard boiled and fried hard/scrambled wont work...
guaranteed post reply if you try this!!! maybe its just me.

I love Thai food, and all things spicy, and have often eaten before bed. Sadly, with one or two exceptions in any given year, not only don't I remember any dreams/nightmares in the morning, I don't even remember dreaming! Like it isn't happening (though I know it must be).

When I was a child, I had very vivid dreams - and a LOT of nightmares. HATED 'em. I would wake up screaming. Then, somewhere around the age of 20, I'd guess, I just quit having any recollection at all.

It's sad, for I have tried the "I will dream tonight" trick many times. Nothing.

[sigh]