More parm than good? Cheese may be what's giving you nightmares, scientists say
A strong association has been discovered between nightmares and lactose intolerance. In turn, stomach pain or gas during the night can affect sleep.
Understanding that relationship — and potentially cutting out cheese — could help improve sleep quality, which may already be disrupted due to noise and light pollution or other health issues. Good sleep is crucial for the body to function well.
'Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,' lead researcher Dr. Tore Nielsen, of the Université de Montréal, explained in a statement. '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!'
To reach these conclusions, the researchers questioned more than 1,000 students at Canada's MacEwan University about their sleep, eating habits, and any perceived tie between the two.
About a third of participants reported having regular nightmares. The majority of those reporting poor sleep and nightmares were women, who were also more likely to remember their dreams and nearly twice as likely as men to report a food allergy or intolerance.
Some 40 percent of the students said they thought that eating late at night or eating specific foods had affected their sleep, and about a quarter believed that consuming certain foods could make their sleep worse. Many blamed bad sleep on spicy foods, sweets, and dairy. However, just 5.5 percent felt that what they ate impacted the tone of their dreams.
People with less healthy diets were more likely to have bad dreams and less likely to remember their dreams.
The authors compared reports of food intolerances to those of bad dreams and poor sleep, finding that lactose intolerance was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, nightmares, and low sleep quality.
'Nightmares are worse for lactose-intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted,' said Nielsen. 'This makes sense, because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming.'
They noted that improved awareness of food intolerance could mean students in the study ate fewer foods likely to lead to negative outcomes. A previous study, conducted by Nielsen more than a decade ago, showed even more participants reported a link between their food and dreams. Prior research, separate from Nielsen's, has also pointed to this relationship, and blue cheese specifically has been reported to cause vivid dreams. But, there have also been studies showing that dairy helps sleep quality.
It remains unclear how sleep and diet impact each other. The authors said additional research is needed to confirm these links and identify the underlying mechanisms.
'We need to study more people of different ages, from different walks of life, and with different dietary habits to determine if our results are truly generalizable to the larger population,' said Nielsen.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Is exercise really better than drugs for cancer remission? It's an appealing idea – but it's misleading
You might have seen the recent headlines on a new study on exercise and cancer recovery suggesting that 'exercise is better than a drug' in preventing cancer returning. Cue a wave of commentary pitting 'big pharma' against fitness, as if we must choose between pills and planks. It's an appealing narrative – but it's also misleading. We don't need to choose between the two. In fact, the best health outcomes often come from combining medicine with a broader view of health that includes movement, diet, social connection and mental wellbeing. Let's consider what the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, actually looked at. It focused on colon cancer – the third-most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Between 2009 and 2024, researchers set up a randomised trial across 55 centres – mainly in Australia and Canada – where 889 patients who had had surgery for colon cancer, and who had completed chemotherapy, were split into two groups randomly. Over a three-year period, one group received a structured exercise programme (the exercise group of 445 patients) and the other received health education materials alone (the health education group of 444 patients). One thing you may already have clocked here is that the patients all received chemotherapy after their cancer surgery. So nothing about the experiment put exercise head-to-head with cancer medicines. Instead, they asked what kind of exercise support after surgery and chemotherapy treatments might improve overall health, and potentially keep the cancer from recurring. The structured exercise group received health education materials, such as an exercise guidebook for colon cancer survivors, and support from a certified personal trainer for three years. In the first six months, they received 12 mandatory in-person behavioural-support sessions, 12 mandatory supervised exercise sessions plus 12 optional supervised exercise sessions. Over the next two and a half years, the frequency of in-person and supervised sessions slowly decreased to help patients transition to more independent exercise routines. In contrast, the health education group received only general health education materials on the benefits of physical activity and a healthy diet. At a median follow-up of almost eight years, disease-free survival was significantly longer in the structured exercise group (90.3%) than in the health education group (83.2%). Both groups increased their physical activity levels over the three years, but the structured exercise group met the goal of increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity. This roughly added to their existing activity levels about an hour of brisk walking three to four times a week or a 30-minute jog three to four times a week. The better health outcomes could also be linked to the social contact that patients in the exercise group had, given they were enrolled in a structured and supervised programme with a personal trainer to support them and not left on their own. What struck me, and the authors, from their study is that knowledge alone – even among those who have had colon cancer and have been advised to exercise – isn't enough to shift activity levels. Structure, supervision and social contact matter. Being told to 'move more' is easy. Actually changing your habits – especially after cancer treatment – is hard. That transition requires coaching, encouragement, and the support and time to build confidence. We have known for a long time that a generally physically and socially healthy life can be very effective in warding off disease, even cancer. What this study actually gives us is some direction for the best way to make that happen, and a look at how positive the effects can really be. Perhaps I'm biased as a personal trainer, but structured exercise is one of the best investments you can make for your health – whether it's in recovery from cancer or trying to prevent getting cancer. This doesn't have to be one-on-one gym sessions, which can be costly and out of reach for many. It could be joining affordable boot camps in the park – that cost as much as your morning latte – or free classes in discount gym chains. Plus, you might make a few new friends and improve your social life too. The real headline isn't that exercise is better than drugs for cancer recovery. It's that just telling people to move without offering support – ie the health education movement – isn't enough. Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, and the author of How Not to Die (Too Soon)
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Young athlete woke up and couldn't move...two hours later she was paralyzed from neck down
A 20-year-old rising curling talent from Canada woke up one morning unable to move - just two hours later, doctors confirmed she was paralyzed from the neck down. Brooklyn Aleksic, 20, of Abbotsford, B.C., was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition shortly after arriving at Regina General Hospital in June. The condition, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord, has left Aleksic, the daughter of well-known curler Shannon Joanisse, paralyzed from the neck down. 'Basically, within two hours of waking up that morning, she was completely paralyzed from her neck down,' Joanisse told CTV News. Since her diagnosis, the 20-year-old University of Victoria student has undergone several plasma exchanges in hopes of one day walking - and curling - again. 'At the end of this week, she will have had 14 plasma exchanges, and each exchange takes approximately almost 13 donors to provide enough plasma for one,' her former curling coach, Diane Dezura explained to CTV. 'Brook will have had 14, and that totals 175 donors. So it's really important to her (to get the message out about plasma donation).' Brooklyn Aleksic, 20, of Abbotsford, B.C., was diagnosed with a rare neurological condition shortly after arriving at Regina General Hospital, having awoken one morning in June unable to move. Pictured: Brooklyn Aleksic in the hospital The condition, which causes inflammation of the spinal cord, has left Aleksic, the daughter of well-known curler Shannon Joanisse, paralyzed from the neck down. Pictured: Brooklyn Aleksic (left) with her well-known curler mother, Shannon Joanisse (right) A GoFundMe campaign launched by her former coach has already raised $60,679 (CAD $82,425) toward its $66,256 (CAD $90,000) goal. According to the fundraising page, the donations will help ease the financial burden of Aleksic's care, covering medical services such as transportation, rehabilitation, wheelchair equipment, and more. 'She remains in hospital far from home and requires medical transport to Vancouver to begin long-term rehabilitation and be close to her friends and family. But this is just the start. From wheelchairs and equipment to adaptive modifications and 24/7 support, the costs are overwhelming,' the fundraising page reads. 'We've launched this GoFundMe to ease the financial pressure on Brook and her family, so they can focus on healing, not hardship.' While the funds will help with her care, the family says plasma donations are just as critical. The family remains hopeful that Aleksic will be able to begin long-term rehabilitation in the near future, CTV News reported. In addition to her mom's athletic prowess and stardom, Aleksic has had her own fame as well, appearing in the 2024 documentary Curl Power, which followed her Maple Ridge-based curling team. Pictured: Brooklyn Aleksic with her Maple Ridge-based curling team A GoFundMe campaign has since been launched by her former coach and has already raised $60,679 (CAD $82,425) toward its $66,256 (CAD $90,000) goal. Pictured: Brooklyn Aleksic (center right) with her family 'She has a huge circle of friends, she's a ray of light in everybody's life,' Joanisse told the outlet. 'She's positive. She's a fighter, and Brooklyn thrives academically. She's going to UVic to become an elementary school teacher.' In addition to her mom's athletic prowess and stardom, Aleksic has had her own fame as well, appearing in the 2024 documentary Curl Power, which followed her Maple Ridge-based curling team. The film was screened in theaters across Canada, tracking the ups and downs of the team as the girls pushed to compete in the Canadian Junior Curling Championships. Transverse myelitis, the condition Aleksic was diagnosed with, is extremely rare - affecting only about one in a million people per year.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Eating cheese might be the cause of bad dreams, scientists say
A study has identified a strong association between nightmares and lactose intolerance, suggesting that gastrointestinal discomfort from dairy can disrupt sleep and contribute to bad dreams. Dr. Tore Nielsen, the lead researcher from the Université de Montréal, indicated that adjusting eating habits for individuals with food sensitivities could potentially alleviate nightmares. The research involved surveying over 1,000 students at Canada's MacEwan University regarding their sleep patterns, dietary habits, and any perceived links between the two. Findings showed that women constituted the majority of participants reporting poor sleep and nightmares, and they were also more prone to recalling dreams and reporting food allergies or intolerances. The study concluded that improved awareness of food intolerances could lead to better sleep quality, although further research is needed to confirm these links across diverse populations.
