Cheese really might be fueling your nightmares, study shows

Although many have considered it an old wives’ tale, it seems that too much cheese before bed could really be fueling your nightmares, at least this is what a new study, questioning over 1,000 students over their sleep quality, has revealed.

Indeed, scientists have discovered a strong connection between nightmares and lactose intolerance, suggesting that cheese might be giving some people gas or stomach pain which, in turn, affects their dreams, according to a report by Medical Xpress published on July 1.

Specifically, the study surveyed 1,082 students at MacEwan University in Canada, asking them about sleep time and quality, dream content, and any perceived association between different types of dreams and their relationship with food.

Is cheese fueling your nightmares?

About 40% of participants thought that eating late at night or particular foods affected their sleep, around 25% believed specific foods made their sleep worse, and roughly one-third reported regular night terrors. Most participants who blamed poor sleep on food singled out sweets, spicy foods, or dairy.

In the words of Dr. Tore Nielsen of Université de Montréal, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology:

“Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies. (…) 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.”

In terms of cheese as the culprit in particular, the team found that lactose intolerance had a link with gastrointestinal symptoms, bad dreams, and low sleep quality – after comparing reports of food intolerances to accounts of nightmares and poor sleep. As Nielsen explained:

“Nightmares are worse for lactose-intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted. (…) 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. They might also produce sleep avoidance behaviors. Both symptoms can rob you of restful sleep.”

Elsewhere, some people may only require a few hours of sleep per night to remain functional (regardless of what they dreamt, probably), thanks to a rare genetic mutation recently discovered by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco.