Hit snooze
The simplest way to get more REM is to sleep more and wake up naturally. But if you must rely on an alarm, there is a hack you could try: waking to an alarm and hitting snooze for 30 minutes. “People say they have lots of dreams during that first snooze period,” says Sara Mednick at the University of California, Irvine. “So it may be a way to enhance REM sleep”. Morning naps and weekend lie-ins can have a similar effect.
Drugs and supplements
Alcohol and some recreational drugs are known to suppress REM sleep (see “Why dreaming is vital: Unlocking the power of REM sleep”). Do any drugs work the other way round? There are some pharmaceuticals that promote REM, but they aren’t the sort of thing you will want to take – such as those used to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
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Melatonin supplements, often used to combat jet lag, are also sometimes marketed as an REM promoter, but it is best to view these claims with caution. “It may have some effect on REM sleep, but this is not known,” says Russell Foster at the University of Oxford.
Magnesium supplements and various B vitamins have been touted to do the same, but again there is little or no reliable evidence. In short, there is no “dream pill” you can pop.
Brain stimulation
Some sleep scientists have directly manipulated the brainwaves of volunteers as they slumber using a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). They managed to tinker with brainwave patterns in both REM and non-REM sleep, but the change in REM sleep . The upshot: we have yet to invent a sleep machine that can fast-track what happens naturally.
Food
Much mythology surrounds food and dreams. Cheese before bed is often thought to induce nightmares or vivid dreams, as is spicy food and late-night eating in general. In fact, digestion and metabolism of any food during sleep can cause you to wake and remember your dream more. But even if you are racking up more dreams, it is going to be at the detriment of your deep sleep, which is also vital – and you will wake up feeling groggy in the morning.
Good sleep hygiene
This is the best and most reliable way to get good sleep in general and good REM in particular. Good sleep hygiene doesn’t mean changing your sheets regularly, but maintaining a regular sleep schedule, with the same bedtime and wake time, and avoiding blue light from screens before bed. Exercise is good, but do it at least 3 hours before sleeping. This is because exercise stimulates the release of the stress hormone cortisol, which will keep you alert. Sex, you may be relieved to hear, is an acceptable activity. As for the environment, keep your bedroom dark, quiet and cool – the body naturally cools with the onset of sleep, and if you are too warm this will be delayed. A warm bath or shower before bed can help, however, because the rapid cooling afterwards promotes sleepiness.
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This article appeared in print under the headline “Can you boost your dream power?”
