Anyone Else Having Crazy Dreams When They Detox?

Knowing I'm the health editor at mindbodygreen, it probably won't surprise you to learn that I've done my fair share of cleanses and detoxes. Trying out the latest nutrition protocols, like fasting or the ketogenic diet, is part of my job.

This past month I joined some friends who were trying out a 2-week cleanse. And despite sleeping like a rock and getting our digestion back on track, all three of us experienced a very strange symptom: We had the craziest, most vivid dreams almost every night during the cleanse.

As someone who doesn't eat a lot of sugar and has a pretty healthy routine, I didn't experience all that many side effects from my cleanse—other than some fatigue, a few headaches, and feeling generally sad about not being able to eat very many carbs. In fact, the crazy dreams I had were probably the most intense side effect I experienced over the 14 days.

According to Will Cole, D.C., IFMCP, mindbodygreen Collective member and author of Ketotarian, "I've seen this happen for some people—but not all people—during various detox protocols." And he also has a few theories as to why these dreams happen. "There are many studies that show that weird dreams or even nightmares are often experienced during alcohol or drug withdrawal, but there is limited research surrounding changes in dreams in general detoxing. Nightmares or vivid dreams have also been connected with factors like blood sugar changes and other shifts in the body, so it is possible that when someone changes their diet and supports detoxification pathways, dreams like this can happen."