ZMA and dreams

Geschatte leestijd: 4 minuten Do you dream more with ZMA? Or do your dreams become stranger? These are commonly reported user experiences, but what does science say?

“Dream Deficiency”

In August of this year, a review was published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences titled “Dreamless: the silent epidemic of REM sleep loss.” Rubin Naiman is a sleep and dream specialist at the University of Arizona. In summary, Naiman’s review suggests that we have a deficiency in REM sleep (rapid eye movement), during which we dream. Normally, sleep follows a certain pattern. The body prioritizes deeper, non-REM sleep. It’s only later in the night and morning that people experience dreams during REM sleep. A deficiency in REM sleep could cause health issues attributed to a general lack of sleep.

“We are at least as dream-deprived as we are sleep-deprived. Many of our health concerns attributed to sleep loss actually result from REM sleep deprivation.” Rubin Naiman, University of Arizona

ZMA and Dreams

You can’t often change that early morning alarm. But wasn’t there a supplement that made users dream more or differently? Many ZMA users report experiencing more or ‘more intense, vivid’ dreams when using ZMA. With blogger logic, I wondered to what extent this means dreaming more (more REM sleep), remembering more dreams, or dreaming differently. Could it be merely symptomatic relief, or does it promote REM sleep? If ZMA, or its ingredients, lead to more REM sleep, could it possibly mitigate the damage of your forced sleep deprivation? Let’s see if any of this logic holds up when we bring in some research. We’ll examine the researched effects of zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B6 on sleep quality and dreams, both individually and together, as far as it’s been studied.

Vitamin B6

The first suspect we should consider is vitamin B6, or more precisely pyridoxine, the form of vitamin B6 mainly used in supplements. In a 2002 study from the City College of New York, 12 college students were tested under three different conditions. They received 100mg of vitamin B6, 250 mg of B6, or a placebo for 5 days before sleep. Two-day washouts were used between the blocks of 5 days where participants received nothing. Self-reported ‘dream scores’ (scoring vividness, oddity, emotionality, and color) significantly differed between the 250mg vitamin B6 group and the placebo. They could remember more of their dreams. Dreams were more vivid, strange, colorful, and had a greater emotional impact. The researchers suspect this is because vitamin B6 aids in converting tryptophan into the neurotransmitter serotonin. The difference from the placebo was not significant with 100mg of vitamin B6. However, 250mg of Vitamin B6 is much more than what’s in most ZMA products. I’ve compared about 12, ranging from 1.3 to 15 mg per dose. I can’t recommend that 250mg either. The safe upper limit varies depending on the source you use. The Nutrition Center warns of nerve damage with prolonged daily use of 21 grams and more [3]. But even lower doses of just 1.4 to 6 grams can cause problems in the long term [2-8].

Magnesium

However, the vitamin B6 in ZMA is aided by magnesium. In a 2000 study, magnesium was found to have a slight enhancing effect on anxiety in women with PMS [9]. The question is, of course, to what extent this synergistic effect of magnesium works through increased conversion of tryptophan into serotonin. Moreover, it’s not very likely that this slight enhancing effect is enough to make a 15mg dose of vitamin B6 have the effect of 250mg.

Zinc

Yet one might almost think that ZMA was developed to enhance dreams. Zinc, in fact, promotes the uptake of serotonin by brain cells [10]. In rats, at least, as shown in Mexican research from 2005.

Conclusion…

So we know that you would need to take 25 to 200 daily doses of ZMA per day, depending on the brand, to get enough vitamin B6 for an effect on your dreams. We also know that magnesium can enhance the effect of vitamin B6 in other areas, so maybe you need fewer than 25-200 doses. At best, vitamin B6 increases the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin, and magnesium amplifies this effect. Then, it’s possible that zinc ensures better absorption of serotonin. All the elements for more vivid dreams that you remember better seem to be there. However, it has not yet been scientifically proven that ZMA in the various available dosages affects your dreams. It’s “only” a lot of people reporting this experience. Whether this means you only have more and different memories from your REM sleep or actually experience more REM sleep has unfortunately not been studied. Moreover, not everyone experiences these more vivid dreams as conducive to rest.

References

1. Rubin Naiman. Dreamless: the silent epidemic of REM sleep loss. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2017;
2. Ebben M, Lequerica A, Spielman A. Effects of pyridoxine on dreaming: a preliminary study. Percept Mot Skills. 2002 Feb;94(1):135-40. PubMed PMID: 11883552.
3. voedingscentrum.nl/encyclopedie/vitamine-b6.aspx
4. Simpson JL, Bailey LB, Pietrzik K, Shane B, Holzgreve W. Micronutrients and women of reproductive potential: required dietary intake and consequences of dietary deficiency or excess. Part I–Folate, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2010;23:1323-43.
5. Bendich A, Cohen M. Vitamin B6 safety issues. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1990;585:321-30. [PubMed abstract]
6. Gdynia HJ, Muller T, Sperfeld AD, Kuhnlein P, Otto M, Kassubek J, et al. Severe sensorimotor neuropathy after intake of highest dosages of vitamin B6. Neuromuscul Disord 2008;18:156-8. [PubMed abstract]
7. Perry TA, Weerasuriya A, Mouton PR, Holloway HW, Greig NH. Pyridoxine-induced toxicity in rats: a stereological quantification of the sensory neuropathy. Exp Neurol 2004;190:133-44. [PubMed abstract]
8. Bender DA. Non-nutritional uses of vitamin B6. Br J Nutr 1999;81:7-20.
9. De Souza MC, et al. A synergistic effect of a daily supplement for 1 month of 200 mg magnesium plus 50 mg vitamin B6 for the relief of anxiety-related premenstrual symptoms: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study . J Womens Health Gend Based Med. (2000)
10. amazon.com/Life-Extension-Practical-Scientific-Approach/dp/0446387355
11. García-Colunga J, Reyes-Haro D, Godoy-García IU, Miledi R. Zinc modulation of serotonin uptake in the adult rat corpus callosum. J Neurosci Res. 2005 Apr 1;80(1):145-9. PubMed PMID: 15723351.