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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
Your Late-Night Cheese Fix Might Be Linked to Your Nightmares
Dreamed that you forgot to wear pants? Or you lost your job? It might have something to do with what you ate before bed . New research from Canadian scientists suggests that certain foods, namely dairy products, are associated with nightmares. The culprit? Gastrointestinal distress brought on after ingesting foods like cheese right before bedtime. In particular, the researchers found that people who reported they were lactose intolerant experienced more disrupted sleep. When participants with such food sensitivities are unable to resist dairy, there are consequences, according to Tore Nielsen, lead author of the study and director of the Montréal Sacré-Cœur hospital's dream and nightmare laboratory. 'It stands to reason people who are lactose intolerant and might be cheating and eating dairy anyway feel symptoms during sleep,' Nielsen said. 'The brain is in constant contact with the body during sleep,' he added, so any signals of discomfort—cramping, flatulence, bloating or pain—can influence dreams. His group's study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, examined the association between food and dreaming by surveying more than 1,000 university students online at MacEwan University in Alberta. The survey asked about the frequency of participants' nightmares, food sensitivities and symptoms, and associations they noticed between types of dreams and various foods, among other questions. Roughly 40% of the respondents reported that they thought eating certain foods improved or worsened their sleep. About 5.5% believed what they ate affected the tone of their dreams, with many pointing to dairy and desserts or sweets as being primary culprits of vivid, disturbing dreams. Others noted herbal teas and fruits and vegetables were linked to better sleep. Timothy Hearn, a scientist who studies humans' biological clocks at the University of Cambridge and wasn't involved in the research, pointed out that the study uses self-reporting, so participants had to accurately recall both what they had eaten and how they had slept, introducing subjectivity into the data. Researchers found that people with lactose intolerance who ate diary products, like cheese, before bedtime experienced more disrupted sleep and nightmares. While science can't definitively say eating dairy—or any other foods—causes nightmares, existing evidence supports a link between food and dreams, said Charlotte Gupta, a sleep and nutrition researcher at CQ University Australia who wasn't involved in the work. Hearn and Gupta said much more is known about the timing of eating and the importance of its effect on subsequent sleep, regardless of what kind of food you're partaking in. Our bodies are built to sleep at night and be active during the day, according to Gupta: 'When we eat cheese before bed, we're asking our bodies to digest food at a time they'd rather be resting.' If your body is busy breaking down food instead of focusing on sleep, the quality can suffer, she added, increasing nighttime awakenings, especially during the deepest stage of our slumber—REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep. Jolting awake from REM sleep makes us far more likely to recall our dreams or nightmares. Hearn and Gupta suggest avoiding any food, not just dairy, a couple of hours or so before you turn in so you don't disrupt your body's rhythms. 'I like to tell people that it's not just about what we eat, it's about when,' Gupta said. 'Eating close to our bedtime is what can get us in trouble.' Write to Aylin Woodward at
Sydney Morning Herald
07-08-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
The food that gives you worse nightmares than cheese
Tips & advice Healthy eating New research suggests that certain foods can cause disturbing, bizarre or lucid dreams – and it's not cheese that tops the list. Sweet dreams may be driven away by sweet treats before bedtime. While cheese usually gets the blame for disrupted sleep and nightmares, a new study suggests that desserts and sugary snacks are worse. Canadian researchers surveyed 1082 students, asking about sleep time and quality, dreams and nightmares, and the association between types of dreams and different foods. Surprisingly, spicy foods and pickles were less of a problem than cereals or meat. 'We are routinely asked whether food affects dreaming,' said Tore Nielsen, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal. 'Now we have some answers.' Desserts and sweets topped the list for vivid, disturbing, bizarre or lucid dreams, with dairy coming second and fruit third. The study also found a link between nightmares and lactose intolerance, which researchers suspect may be the reason that cheese has gained such a bad reputation. When the authors compared reports of food intolerances to reports of bad dreams and poor sleep, they found that lactose intolerance was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, nightmares and low sleep quality. They believe that eating dairy can activate gastrointestinal disturbances that stop the body being able to switch off during sleep, with the resulting discomfort affecting people's dreams and the quality of their rest. Women were more likely to report both food intolerances and allergies. 'Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,' said Prof Nielsen. 'These new findings imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares. 'They could also explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams.'
The Age
07-08-2025
- Health
- The Age
The food that gives you worse nightmares than cheese
Tips & advice Healthy eating New research suggests that certain foods can cause disturbing, bizarre or lucid dreams – and it's not cheese that tops the list. Sweet dreams may be driven away by sweet treats before bedtime. While cheese usually gets the blame for disrupted sleep and nightmares, a new study suggests that desserts and sugary snacks are worse. Canadian researchers surveyed 1082 students, asking about sleep time and quality, dreams and nightmares, and the association between types of dreams and different foods. Surprisingly, spicy foods and pickles were less of a problem than cereals or meat. 'We are routinely asked whether food affects dreaming,' said Tore Nielsen, professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal. 'Now we have some answers.' Desserts and sweets topped the list for vivid, disturbing, bizarre or lucid dreams, with dairy coming second and fruit third. The study also found a link between nightmares and lactose intolerance, which researchers suspect may be the reason that cheese has gained such a bad reputation. When the authors compared reports of food intolerances to reports of bad dreams and poor sleep, they found that lactose intolerance was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, nightmares and low sleep quality. They believe that eating dairy can activate gastrointestinal disturbances that stop the body being able to switch off during sleep, with the resulting discomfort affecting people's dreams and the quality of their rest. Women were more likely to report both food intolerances and allergies. 'Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,' said Prof Nielsen. 'These new findings imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares. 'They could also explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams.'
Fox News
08-07-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Eating these common foods before bed could trigger sweet dreams or night terrors
Can your diet influence whether you experience sweet dreams or nightmares? Researchers say yes – and their findings could give late-night snackers something to think about. Tore Nielsen, director of the University of Montreal's Dreams and Nightmares Laboratory, recently published his new findings in the journal Frontiers in Psychology on June 30. The study suggests that not only does eating certain foods before bed influence how well you sleep, it also influences the nature of your dreams and whether they're pleasant, bizarre or unsettling. Nielsen told Fox News Digital there were clear patterns in how certain food groups correlated with the quality and emotional tone of participants' dreams. The culprits that worsened sleep included desserts, spicy foods and dairy foods. Nearly 23% of the participants experienced negative dreams after consuming sweet foods, while 19.5% had nightmares after eating spicy fare. Dairy choices, meanwhile, accounted for 15.7% of the bad dreams. In terms of improving sleep, analysts found that those who ate "clean" before bedtime experienced better sleep at night. Nearly 18% reported improved sleep after consuming fruit, while 13.4% reported better sleep after drinking herbal tea. Some 12% of study participants also saw positive effects after consuming vegetables. Nielsen's research also differentiated between disturbing dreams and bizarre dreams. "People who develop nightmares might also take a look at the effects of medications, recreational drugs or alcohol that they're consuming." "Of the participants who stated that they thought food affected their dreams, the top culprits blamed for disturbing dreams were desserts/sweets (31%), dairy (22%) and meat (16%)," Neilsen said. "The top culprits blamed for bizarre dreams were again desserts/sweets (38%) and dairy (27%) — meat was a distant third (8%)." The research also found that three significant habits contribute to poor sleep: eating dairy products despite being lactose intolerant, eating close to bedtime, and not following internal cues about when to stop eating. "These results and the results from our previous study both also suggest that eating a healthier diet in general might reduce nightmares and the overall negativity of dreams," Nielsen observed. While there's more research to be done, the Canadian psychologist said that the findings suggest that people with both severe nightmares and food allergies should be tested and change their diet accordingly. "[If people test] positive for lactose intolerance or other food allergies, [they could] carefully dose the ingestion of the culprit foods to minimize their symptoms – especially at night," he said. Nielsen also cautioned that food sensitivities and diet are "only two possible sources of nightmares." "People who develop nightmares might also take a look at the effects of medications, recreational drugs or alcohol that they're consuming," the expert advised. "Or sometimes withdrawal from substances such as cannabis can induce nightmares for some weeks afterward," he said.
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Common food might be why you sleep so badly
A new study has found that eating too much dairy could disrupt your sleep – and might even give you nightmares. Researchers have found a strong link between lactose intolerance and restless nights, possibly because gastrointestinal discomfort during sleep can influence how people experience their dreams. 'Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,' said Dr Tore Nielsen of University de Montreal, the lead author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology. 'These new findings imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares. They could also explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams!' Study links eating cheese to poor sleep To investigate, the study surveyed over 1000 people about sleep time and quality, dreams and nightmares, and any perceived connections between different foods and dreams. They also considered participants' mental and physical health, along with their relationship with food. About a third of respondents reported experiencing nightmares regularly, with women more affected than men. Around 40 per cent of participants believed that eating late could impact their sleep, and about a quarter thought specific foods worsened their sleep. Participants with poorer diets tended to report more negative and bizarre dreams, along with weaker dream recall. Interestingly, while only 5.5 per cent thought food affected the tone of their dreams, many blamed sweets, spicy foods, or dairy for making dreams more unsettling or strange. When analysing the data, researchers found a link between lactose intolerance, nightmares, gastrointestinal issues, and poor sleep quality. 'Nightmares are worse for lactose intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted,' said Dr Nielsen. 'This makes sense, because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming. Nightmares can be very disruptive, especially if they occur often, because they tend to awaken people from sleep in a dysphoric state … (which) can rob you of restful sleep.' The gut-sleep connection While the connection between diet and sleep isn't fully understood, Rachel Beard, Sleep Wellness Manager at A.H. Beard, not involved in the study, told that the link is 'undeniable'. 'What we eat affects how well we sleep, and in turn, how well we sleep can influence our food choices,' she said. 'Certain foods are known to promote better sleep, while others hinder it, so making smart choices for dinner and dessert is crucial. It's also about timing. We usually recommend avoiding food at least three hours before bed so your body can focus on restorative processes instead of digestion.' She mentioned that with cheese, varieties like Swiss, Parmesan, Cheddar, and Camembert can be especially problematic before sleep. 'These cheeses are high in saturated fat, which makes them hard to digest. This keeps your digestive system active and working hard, preventing your body from relaxing and entering a restful, healing state. 'Rather than having a cheese platter before bed, consider eating it earlier, perhaps at lunchtime with friends, to avoid disturbing your sleep.' Interestingly, she adds that not all cheeses are equal when it comes to bedtime. 'An unlikely but beneficial pairing for sleep is kiwi and cottage cheese. Melatonin-rich kiwi has been shown to aid sleep, and the calcium in cottage cheese helps produce melatonin,' she said.
