What's Happening in Your Gut May Affect Your Dreams

There's an old belief that eating cheese before bed triggers nightmares. Now, a study suggests there may be some truth to that, at least for those with a lactose intolerance. Researchers at the University of Montreal surveyed more than 1,000 undergraduate students in Alberta about their overall health, diet, food sensitivities, sleep quality, and dream recall, with 40% reporting that eating specific foods or eating late at night had an effect on their sleep, per New Atlas. A quarter of participants said certain foods worsened their sleep, identifying dairy products, spicy foods, and sugary treats.

Though only 5.5% believed food affected their dreams, many cited dairy as the issue, and researchers found a strong association between nightmares and food allergies, including lactose intolerance. Nightmares were found to be more frequent and more severe for such people, which could be related to gastrointestinal symptoms. "This makes sense, because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming" and could "explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams!" says Dr. Tore Nielsen, lead author of the study published Monday in Frontiers in Psychology. The findings "imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares," she adds in a release.