Cheese before bedtime = nightmares ??

[dal]

Cheese before bedtime gives you nightmares - Is there any truth in this, I quite often have cheese before bedtime & have never had a nightmare apart from the other week when I woke several times from a bad dream, I did have quite a few beers that evening so not sure if thats got anything to do with it. Has anyone had a nightmare after having cheese just before bedtime ?

 

[Vonhelmet]

Digestive activity and the brain activity associated with dreaming are linked, but I'm not sure which way the cause and effect goes.

 

[TheVoice]

Quite the opposite, it seems:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese#Effect_on_sleep

A study by the British Cheese Board in 2005 to determine the effect of cheese upon sleep and dreaming discovered that, contrary to the idea that cheese commonly causes nightmares, the effect of cheese upon sleep was positive. The majority of the two hundred people tested over a fortnight claimed beneficial results from consuming cheeses before going to bed, the cheese promoting good sleep. Six cheeses were tested and the findings were that the dreams produced were specific to the type of cheese. Although the apparent effects were in some cases described as colorful and vivid, or cryptic, none of the cheeses tested were found to induce nightmares. However, the six cheeses were all British. The results might be entirely different if a wider range of cheeses were tested.[23] Cheese contains tryptophan, an amino acid that has been found to relieve stress and induce sleep.[24]

 

[ShakenNstirred]

its an old wives tail

 

[Raymond Lin]

I just had some Cheddar and edam.

 

[doofer]

A study by the British Cheese Board in 2005..

..Finds that Cheese gives positive results..

Quelle surprise!

 

[TheVoice]

Maybe we can ask the National Nightmares Council and find a happy middle-ground.

 

[A2Z]

Just ate a plate full of pasta things filled with cheese.

Planning to go sleep in about 30 mins so will see what happens overnight.

 

[TheVoice]

Just ate a plate full of pasta things filled with cheese.

Planning to go sleep in about 30 mins so will see what happens overnight.

 

[Xordium]

I think it stems from Dickens were scrooge has some cheese then gets his loopy dreams etc. There are things in cheese that would aid sleep but then it can increase thirst which will make you more prone to waking and realising you have had a dream.

 

[Azza]

I just ate some lovely Cheddar!

 

[Twentyone]

Think it's more eating in general before sleeping that can give you nightmares, heavy meals in particular.

 

[TFleming]

Myth.

 

[tres]

Absolutely true!

I sleep walk a HELL of a lot.

If I either:

Eat cheese
Eat chocolate
Smoke

right before bed, I have probably a 80-90% chance of acting like a fruitcake

 

[Parsifal]

However, the six cheeses were all British.

That explains why.

 

[edscdk]

Myth.

maybe its the idea of the myth that causes nightmares, thinking that cheese might cause nightmares (weather it does or not) will maybe increase the chance of having a nightmare....?

 

[TheMightyTen]

It more likely stems historically from the active compounds within cheese before massed pasteurisation. Many molds & spores can cause hallucinatory effects in a broad range from mild to extreme. Before people understood the science of microbiology it was assumed the cheese caused the nightmares not what the cheese carried.

 

[Cosimo]

I had a cheese sandwich before I went to bed and I had a bad night but no nightmares.

 

[ryujinjakka]

When i eat cheese before bed i dont have nightmares, but instead my dreams are always very strange and vivid but cool at the same time

 

[Cosimo]

The only thing I can guarantee after having a cheese before bedtime is waking up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth and feeling thirsty.