What food gives you nightmares

After a night of spicy Thai takeout, you might have experienced the consequences to your unconscious — perhaps you wake in a start after dreaming of a plane crash, or cower at the memory of some horrifying monster. Should you blame it on the curry?

While the actual scientific evidence behind the effect of these foods is fuzzy, there has been science that corroborates it: Certain foods could actually cause bad dreams. But spicy foods aren’t the only foods that tend to give people nightmares. A study from 2015, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, found associations between types of dreams and three major food groups.

Researchers polled 396 students on their dream types and quality for two weeks. The students were also asked to record dietary habits and patterns. The findings revealed that food really did appear to influence their dreams. Of the study participants, 17.8 percent actually voiced their belief that food impacted their dream life; this proportion was significant, from the researchers’ point of view.

Ice cream, for instance, failed to deliver dreams as sweet as each spoonful. Dairy products, including milk, cheese, and ice cream, caused disturbing and bizarre dreams for 44 percent and 39 percent, respectively, of those who believed food had an effect.

Spicy foods were next on the list, delivering disturbing dreams in 19 percent of reports. Sweet foods tended to cause dreams that were more bizarre than anything else — not necessarily horrifying or scary.

Of course, all of this evidence is anecdotal. It’s possible there is no chemical effect that’s causing participants to dream up these nightmares. As Emmanuel Mignot, director of the Stanford University Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, explained to the The Wall Street Journal, these correlations could be caused by other factors.

When you consume a spicy food, for instance, like a hot chile pepper or a spoonful of wasabi, your internal body temperature rises. Since your ideal temperature for falling asleep is much lower than you might think, this internal heat wave keeps you up at night. Your sleep might not be as deep, making your dreams inherently more memorable. For all you know, you could be regularly dreaming of that freakish ghoul from the horror movie you saw last month — it was only the effect of the spicy food that brought the nightmare to the surface.

Alternatively, Mignot explained, certain proteins can push you further into REM sleep, resulting in dreams that are more vivid and complex. However, these amino acids are not associated with certain types of dreams; they only intensify their memory.

In general, however, the lower your sleep quality, the more likely you are to recall your unconscious dream dramas. If you want to remember your dreams, you have to be willing to sacrifice your deep sleep. But there are definitely foods that can help you on your quest to sleep worse, if you think it’s worth it.

We have all had nightmares, and the reasons may vary from stress, anxiety, and painful childhood memories hidden in our subconscious mind, to serious mental health issues that need to be worked on with a therapist.

Food, however, plays a significant role in how we feel during bedtime, as it influences our brain function in ways we might not expect. Research suggests this is a real phenomenon, especially when starchy and sweet foods are involved. So, if you do enjoy a little bedtime snacking, then take notice of the foods you should definitely avoid.

Some experts say that it really doesn’t matter what time you eat, as long as you consume quality calories (that means no donuts). Others say that daily eating should end abruptly at 7:00 p.m. to promote weight loss.

What you choose to do is up to you, but if you experience frequent nightmares, research suggests that late-night snacking or the types of food you eat prior to bed could be the cause.

Here are the foods best avoided before bedtime.

That seemingly innocent bowl of ice cream before bed just might scare you to death! Okay, not really, but it is loaded with fat and sugar  — and that’s pretty scary in itself. Since your body really doesn’t have a chance to burn any of that fat or sugar before bed, all of those icy carbs are going to pump your body full of energy right before you hit the hay. That could send conflicting messages to your brain, provoking nightmares. And you know else that sugar will do? Turn to fat. So, there’s no happy ending to that nightmare.

No matter the time of the day, vegan ice cream is the healthier choice, which is better for your body, and is cruelty-free without compromising on taste! Here’s how to prepare delicious vegan ice cream.

Alcohol

That nightcap before heading to bed might ease you into a deep slumber, but it will also rob you of a good night’s sleep, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Even though alcohol is a sedative, the effects wear off during the night. Deep sleep decreases and REM, or dreaming, sleep increases.When alcohol is in your system, it can cause vivid dreams and nightmares to become more intense, realistic and scary. With alcohol, there’s also a chance you’ll act out your dreams in your sleep, sleepwalk or experience sleep terrors.

Cheese

According to a 2005 study by the British Cheese Board, various cheeses will give you different types of dreams. None of the study volunteers reported nightmares from their bedtime snack. But, when interviewed, secretary of the British Cheese Board, Nigel White, said those who were eating blue cheese (Blue Stilton in particular) were experiencing some pretty wild and vivid dreams. But consider this: the research was conducted by the British Cheese Board, who had vested interest in the study.

Again, there is a delicious vegan version that will ensure you sleep well, knowing you are saving animals’ lives!

Caffeine-laced foods

Eating before bed can cause the body’s metabolism to shift gears. In turn, your brain activity will increase. Add a caffeinated food or beverage into the mix, like dark chocolate, a latte or caffeinated tea, and that increased brain activity might signal nightmares. Why not opt instead for a steaming cup of non-caffeinated herbal tea?

Spicy foods

You may have heard that spicy foods cause nightmares, or you have experienced it firsthand. Spicy foods are often linked to nightmares because they require more effort from the body to digest them. An Australian study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology fed subjects Tabasco sauce and mustard at dinner. The participants (six young and healthy males) experienced markedly disturbed sleep. Spicy food elevates the body’s temperature and could therefore disturb brain activity and cause nightmares.

Foods high in sugar

Sugar before bed is really not a good idea, for so many reasons — rotting teeth, weight gain and, of course, nightmares. A study published in Frontiers in Psychology tested 396 students to see if there was a link between diet and dreams. Researchers found that 31 percent of participants reported bizarre and disturbing dreams after eating cookies and cake.

Bread and pasta

If you’ve ever thought about indulging in a little leftover pasta and garlic bread late into the evening, maybe you should rethink that. Starchy pasta and bread convert to glucose in the body and therefore have the same effects as sugary foods. And surgery foods equate to nightmares.

A Japanese study published in the journal Plos One examined the sleep quality of 1,848 men and women aged 20 and 60 years after they ate certain carbs. Researchers found that pasta along with bread reduced sleep quality. But interestingly, rice actually improved sleep quality. So, if you’re hankering for a late-night carb, how about a bowl of rice?

How to avoid nightmares

Unfortunately, nightmares are a part of life. But thankfully, the older you get the fewer nightmares you experience. So, while some foods may link to vivid or scary dreams, frequent nightmares could also be the result of an underlying sleep disorder like sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or insomnia, according to researchers at Washington University Sleep medicine Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

In addition to seeing your doctor about nightmares, avoid eating large meals before going to bed. And give yourself a few hours between eating and sleep to allow your body to digest the food without affecting your dreams.

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