We’ve long been warned not to eat cheese before bed because it can give you nightmares — and avoided the cheese boards late at night just in case.
But what exactly is it about cheese that gives you nightmares?
In an interview with Delish, food scientist and nutritionist Sophie Medlin said that the link between cheese and nightmares is to do with cheese being a difficult food for the body to digest at night time.
She said: “In a nutshell, cheese is just very difficult to digest. So, while your body is trying to digest it, it’s basically keeping you awake. You stay in the rapid eye movement state of sleep for longer, which is where you have lots more vivid dreams.”
Though cheese gets a bad rep when it comes to night time eating, that isn’t the only culprit.
She continued: “This would happen if you’d eaten anything that was hard to digest, or took longer to digest.”
Interestingly, if you do eat cheese at night, it’s better to reach for a softer cheese, as harder cheeses take longer to digest, putting you more at risk of bad dreams.
And there are lots of other things that can cause nightmares, that aren’t food-related.
For instance, a really scary movie or book just before bed can cause nightmares; as well as illness, certain medications such as antidepressants, alcohol, withdrawal from sleeping medication, stress, anxiety or depression.
People also suffer from nightmare disorders. It’s important to note that this is different to one-off or non-regular nightmares. A nightmare disorder is a very distressing disorder where nightmares happen often. This disrupts sleep and can cause problems with daytime functioning and insomnia, due to the fear of going to sleep.
Alongside this, nightmare disorders can cause behaviour problems related to bedtime or fear of the dark, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, problems with your concentration or memory, or obsessive thoughts about the nightmares you’re having.
In one recent interview with The Breakdown focusing entirely on nightmare disorders, one woman described feelings of guilt.
She said: “It is dependent on whether there has been something to trigger them beforehand – it could be 3 times in 2 weeks or none for a month.they are a direct relation to trauma experienced by my growing up in a cult/coercive control environment and my subsequent escape. The feeling is always one of drowning/suffocating/being trapped. It’s a feeling of trying to reach for freedom which is just beyond my grasp and being unable to. The scene is always a mixture of my past life and the restrictions it contained, and my new life featuring something I can now have that I could never have had before. So guilt and feeling of being torn, and having gone back on how far I’ve come. Usually it will be having had contact with someone from my past, such as my family or having had contact with someone else who escaped the same group and hearing their stories.”
Another person added: “I have been having nightmares since the age of 12. Whilst those earlier years are more of a blur, I have more active memories of my nightmares from being 18 upwards. The initial events which triggered my nightmares include Childhood traumas, bereavement and domestic abuse trauma in adulthood. On a more day-to-day basis, my nightmares are rooted in how these traumas continue to be triggered on a more regular basis. These could include insecurities in a relationship, a loved one with an illness, or separation from loved ones. I find my nightmares increased the more I am triggered in real life. I can usually tell how much a situation has troubled my subconscious by whether or not I have a nightmare about it.”
So, what can we do about nightmares?
If you have a nightmare disorder, it’s important to book an appointment with your doctor to discuss your symptoms and ask for help. They will be able to guide you on what to do, whether medication is the right thing for you or whether there are any other methods to help you through this and how you can receive the correct support.
If you occasionally have nightmares and want them to stop, Healthline says it can be helpful to limit the amount of alcohol and caffeine you drink, and engage in relaxing techniques. Exercise and establishing a proper sleep pattern can also be helpful, as well as talking to your doctor about any medication you’re on to see if this could be a cause.
So, to summarise — yes, cheese can give you nightmares, but so can any kind of snacking before bed because it’s difficult to digest it at night time while you’re sleeping. The only difference with cheese is that harder cheese is even more difficult to digest — so stick to something like a nice brie or camembert if you are thinking of eating it at nighttime (but go light on it if it’s right before bed).
