Nicotine Dreams

I haven't smoked a cigarette in so many years but had the habit as a teenager and young adult. I needed at least one a day. Eventually stopped in my 20s when it was just no longer worth the coughing that would follow.

Just recently I've been observing during hot weather people smoking heavily, it is quite odd. Out in the streets it's like being inside a chimney. The smell of smoke is not exactly pleasant and I try to not get annoyed with smokers. I can usually smell tobacco from my neighbours garden or if family use in the garden and immediately close the window because I now try to be as kind to my lungs as possible. Second hand smoking is a real annoyance especially after years of successfully quitting.

After doing some research into tobacco I have found that the nicotine in tobacco can be helpful especially for enhancing cognitive function and improving memory. I went to my local shop for some lozenges or gums to start an experiment with nicotine.

As I scanned the shelf another woman stood next to me. She began to scan the shelf and quickly grabbed more than 10 boxes. She was kind enough to heed to my request of leaving two for me. My first use of the lozenge was not at all pleasant. Immediately I felt a slight tightening in the throat, too much nicotine in one go, 2mg to be exact.

I did feel different once at least 1 mg dissolved but nothing quite like a true smoke. So the past week I have been taking about 2mg per day splitting each lozenge in two and taking each piece morning and evening.

I noticed that I prefer the effect of nicotine in the evening, really paves the way for a relaxed mind for deeper sleep. The dreams however have been anything but relaxing. They are vivid and have a lot more details or I am recalling them more accurately. Some dreams have a very prophetic insightfulness to them. They are not too bad or nightmarish and are related to current life and people. Upon waking up I clearly remember all the details however I cannot recall them during the day. Another thing that I have noticed I am able to wake early and once again return to sleep if I wanted to.

Unfortunately the lozenges contain other ingredients that I would like to avoid ingesting. Next time I'll try nicotine patches to avoid the additives and cut it up to reduce the dose to avoid nausea.

Here's two interesting article about nicotine and it's effect on dreams
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/avn39p/nicotine-dreaming 
https://www.gwern.net/docs/nootropics/2003-page.pdf