Posted by Dreaming during sleep is part of what makes people feel rested. Having dreams is also important for many brain functions. But whether someone has pleasant or distressing dreams will help determine whether they are going through stress, trauma, or health problems, or if a substance they are taking is causing those types of dreams.
Psychedelic mushrooms (the legal, non-psilocybin kind) are popular for use during the day, both for work performance enhancement and recreation. But what happens at night when the user is having dreams? Do mushrooms cause any positive or negative changes to dreaming?
If you’re unfamiliar with mushrooms but are interested in them, you may be curious as to whether they affect your dreamtime. Get the scoop on the effects of mushrooms on dreams, here.
The Importance of REM Sleep
There are 3 stages of NREM (non-Rapid Eye Movement) sleep:
- Stage 1: Falling asleep
- Stage 2: Deeper sleep where heart rate slows and body temperate drops
- Stage 3: Deep sleep, or slow-wave sleep, where physical recovery and growth occurs
- Stage 4: REM sleep
Dreams happen during the last stage, the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) stage of sleep. It’s why people often wake up from a dream. REM sleep is when someone is unconscious and their heart rate increases, and their muscles are temporarily paralyzed. Also, eye movement increases, and it is during this time they experience vivid dreams.
In REM sleep, the mind and body process memories, learning, and emotions. REM sleep is important for emotional regulation, adapting to changes, dealing with stress, and absorbing new information.
In other words, we need it for cognitive abilities, maintaining good energy levels, emotional stability, and a good mood. A lack of REM sleep leads to cognitive decline, greater emotional reactivity, and even psychosis. So while sleep through stage 3 is good for the body, REM sleep is good for the mind.
Psychedelic Mushrooms and How They Affect Dreams
Perhaps the most important effect of psychedelic mushrooms on dreams to consider first is that they reduce anxiety and stress. When you’re worried, nervous, or tense, not only is it hard to fall asleep, but when you do sleep, it’s not going to be consistent. And that stress shows up in dreams, too. Distressing dreams can definitely be a symptom of stress from daily life manifesting subconsciously.
Keep in mind that you need at least 6 to 8 hours (or sometimes even 10) hours of sleep every night, without waking up. Interruption of sleep means interruption of dreams. It goes to show that mushrooms help you have more pleasant dreams because they encourage better sleep to begin with.
Beyond that, we need to look at the role serotonin 5HT2A plays in REM sleep and dreams in general. It’s the neurotransmitter that mushrooms release as they bind to those same receptors in the brain.
Serotonin 5HT2A In Dreams
It turns out that serotonin (5-HT) is involved in regulating non-REM sleep. Activating serotonin 5HT2A receptors can increase REM sleep.
Also, serotonin converts into melatonin at nighttime. During the day, it increases wakefulness. But in the evening, it causes the onset of sleep, and helps with sleep maintenance. This means it makes the user sleepy and keeps them asleep.
People who have trouble staying asleep tend to wake up during stage 2 or stage 3, where they don’t even make it to stage 4 at all. It is “maintenance insomnia.” Lifestyle habits (such as watching TV at night), stress, or hormonal changes can cause it.
Those who fail to fall asleep have sleep-onset insomnia, and it is often because of anxiety, stress, or underlying health issues. A serotonin 5HT2A receptor agonist (releaser) like mushrooms improves sleep quality and duration, and can help people with insomnia. That’s because it enhances slow-wave sleep and reduces the risk of waking up after falling asleep.
Things That Affect Dreaming – and Microdosing
Some prescription medications and substances have insomnia as a side effect:
- Decongestants
- Antidepressants
- Stimulants
- Asthma medication
- Cold and allergy medications
- Corticosteroids
- Beta-blockers
- Cholesterol medications
Also, people who take melatonin in the long term risk disrupting their natural sleep cycle. It is inadvisable to microdose while taking the aforementioned over-the-counter or prescription medications or substances, due to the risk of serotonin syndrome or other negative side effects. Consult a doctor if you take any of the above-mentioned – they’ll tell you what you can take to treat your insomnia.
Sweet Dreams on Shrooms
Are you having a little trouble falling or staying asleep at night? Would you like to have more vivid dreams? If so, taking a microdose – or sometimes, more – once or twice a week can encourage a gentle shift. Whether it’s your mood, stress, or feeling like you’re not getting enough of the REM sleep you need for mental wellness, mushrooms work by making it easier to have better sleep once nighttime rolls around.
Mindless Mushrooms by Real Botanicals is a different kind of non-psilocybin psychedelic mushroom product. Chewable tablets in Blue Raspberry come as 5 mg each and easily splittable for halves. Also, the formula has no gluten or sugar, and is vegan, with pharmaceutical-grade microcrystalline cellulose as a binder. Since they create it themselves in their private SC lab, they perfected the active ingredient to mirror psilocybin’s effects. Precise dosing lets you go only where you want to.
Check out “Choose Your Mushrooms: Tablets, Edibles, or Shots?“