Are You Dreaming More Since Being gluten-free?

[chestnut]

I'm glad to have found this issue coming up here. I'm brand new to being gluten-free and am suddenly dreaming like crazy.

I always thought it was funny that I didn't. As a kid I dreamed but then hit my teens and they just stopped. I've probably had 2 I remembered in the past 20 years.

Then I went gluten-free and suddenly I'm a dreaming machine.

I didn't think it was due to being gluten-free because I also started taking Melatonin to help me sleep (I've never been a great sleeper) and on various discussion boards regarding Melatonin, people say it makes them dream.

So what's the deal? Is it the Melatonin or the gluten-free? Seems too much a coincidence that it's both.

Does anyone know of any veriable medical research supporting the "suddenly dreaming" gluten-free claims?

[TestyTommy]

I'm dreaming significantly more since going gluten-free. I, too, was one of those people who never dreamed. Now I dream most nights. I am sleeping more deeply and getting more rest, too. I think the increase in dreams is related to spending more time in deep sleep, which is the only time you dream.

I've used melatonin in years past, with no increase in dreams.

I think it's the gluten-free. I'd recommend getting rid of the melatonin as soon as you can.

[ianm]

I hardly dream at all anymore and I take melatonin from time to time. I used to dream most every night and usually very vivid and horrific nightmares.

[chestnut]

I think it's the gluten-free. I'd recommend getting rid of the melatonin as soon as you can.

Why get rid of the Melatonin? I've read nothing but good things about it.

In regard to your theory that the "new dreaming" has something to do with sleeping more soundly, I'm not sure I get that.

You dream during REM sleep which occurs every 4 hours. So if you sleep 6 hours you should have a shot at dreaming. I've never been a long sleeper but I get at least 6 hours every night. Therefore I should've been dreaming. I didn't start until the Melatonin.

I'm not sleeping longer or "deeper" I don't think. What relevance would that have to being gluten-free?

Sorry, I'm relatively new to the whole thing and I'm not seeing a scientific reason there. Please educate me if you know.

Thanks for your reply!

[jnifred]

For years I have had issues with getting a relaxing nights sleep, I've been dealing with Rhuematoid Arthrits issues also. Once I started taking a muscle relaxer I found that I could sleep for a normal period of time and wake up rested and was having dreams again. I hadn't even realized that I wasn't dreaming until I started having dreams on occasion.

I used to sleep 8-12hours a night and wake up exhausted, I never dreamed or remembered them anyway if I did and it was because I never fell into a deep, relaxing sleep. I don't know if I was in REM or not, never did a sleep study, but I think that if you are not relaxed enough you can skip over REM sleep even if you sleep a long time. That was my theory, anyway, to always being exhausted even though I'd sleep and nap with the boys, when they were little.

Since going gluten-free, my arthritis is sooooo much better and I sleep much better most nights and have dreams more often. I think it is because my body is not achy, crampy, bloated and etc. I know my arthritis always flared up when I was too tired, ate too much fast food and junk, didn't get enough water, etc....

[Rachel--24]

I guess I'm the opposite because for 2 years before going gluten-free I had nightmares nearly every night. Since the diet I dont think I've had any nightmares at all. I rarely dream now. I just sleep peacefully. The nightmares were horrible and I'd wake up with alot of anxiety from them.

[chestnut]

I guess I'm the opposite because for 2 years before going gluten-free I had nightmares nearly every night. Since the diet I dont think I've had any nightmares at all. I rarely dream now. I just sleep peacefully. The nightmares were horrible and I'd wake up with alot of anxiety from them.

Looks like there are no solid answers. Each person has different experiences.

I went gluten-free a short time (I don't remember exact dates but they were close together) before I started taking Melatonin and didn't have any dreams before the Melatonin so I guess, for me, it's the Melatonin.

It's interesting how differently it seems to affect (Celiac) different people.

[Nate]

Hey Chestnut, for me it was the same. Since I've been gluten free I dream all the time. It was one of the first things I noticed.

N

[jerseyangel]

I almost never remembered my dreams before going gluten-free. I noticed shortly after starting the diet, I remember my dreams so much more often. I don't have nightmares, but my dreams are complicated--lots of people and places from different times in my life. Pretty entertaining, actually . I believe this is because I sleep better now and probably also sleep deeper.

[penguin]

I've read that remembering your dreams isn't a good thing. You dream in REM, and if you remember your dreams you were pulled out of REM abruptly. Therefore, you're not as well rested because the sleep cycle was interrupted at the same time.

[jerseyangel]

That's dissapointing--I really felt I was sleeping better

[paulasimone]

i'm like rachel and ian - i had vivid, horrific nightmares all the time. much less so now that i'm gluten-free.

seems to make sense (to me at least) with what i've read in the science journals of documented connection between celiac and psychosis, schizophrenia, etc - some theorize that celiac-related psychosis is partly because you can't absorb the good stuff (b vitamins, etc) and partly because you do absorb psychosis-causing stuff - so it's like you're having a bad hallucinogenic trip. maybe we were experiencing something similar with our dreams. in any case, i'm so glad they're better now.

[Ashley]

Kind of. My dreams are just plain-out strange, but, they're not nightmares. A lot of them I'll wake myself up laughing about the dream. I like dreams---they make sleep more interesting =P My all time favorite is the one where I went to a water park with my Mom, and two cartoon characters Zim and GIR (GIR is a little dancin' robot in a dog suit that was previously my avatar) and went down a tube in on a slide XD

-Ash

[fullstrength]

I have definitely started dreaming more since I have been gluten free. That's what brings me to this thread because I did a search to see if it was related. I know I have had sleep problems for a long time. Not sure why this is caused by gluten intolerence, but I am glad I am dreaming. I do rememeber also when I was younger and healthier I used to dream like mad. I used too love dreaming too and always felt I was missing out by not dreaming. You usually can remember your dreams when you just wake up or so I remember that is what I used to do, but the simple fact was I really wasn't dream much any more. This translated too being tired all the time.

Now that I am dreaming. I sleep less I mean probable 3-4 hours less. before I would sleep like 10-11 hours a day, but now I feel like I don't need that much sleep and the sleep I do get is more refreshing. I also am having great dreams very vivid and intresting. I used too remember too that my dreams would be a doorway to what I was thinking about in my life. Now that I am dreaming my subconscience is coming out.

-O

I've read that remembering your dreams isn't a good thing. You dream in REM, and if you remember your dreams you were pulled out of REM abruptly. Therefore, you're not as well rested because the sleep cycle was interrupted at the same time.

[Guest moorkitty]

I'm actually dreaming less since being g.f. Funny, because I never really thought about it much till I came upon this thread. Looks like we're all different! But I am sleeping more soundly.

[GravStars]

Why get rid of the Melatonin? I've read nothing but good things about it.

i've heard good and bad. (try googling "dangers of melatonin").

[kbtoyssni]

I rarely remember my dreams now that I'm gluten-free. If I remember my dreams, I know that I've gotten glutened. It's one of my most consistent symptoms when I get glutened.

[KaitiUSA]

I've always been a dreamer but I don't have as many nightmares now

[indyceliac]

Ive always remembered my dreams, way too vividly..had lots of nightmares.

Now i dream about eating gluten containing foods and freaking out..and waking up relieved that it was just a dream. lol