Be careful if you eat cheese in the evening, you could have a very bad night

According to Canadian researchers, there may be a link between our nightmares and the consumption of lactose in the evening.

Our diet may therefore have an influence on our bad dreams. According to a study recently published in Frontiers in Psychology by psychology researchers, there is a strong link between lactose intolerance and nightmares. Over a 4-month period, 1,082 students from MacEwan University (Canada) were questioned about their eating habits and their sleep, and more specifically about their bad dreams and the association between the two.

Lactose, cramps and bloating

It turns out that many people suffering from lactose intolerance still eat dairy products. And Tore Nielsen, lead author of the study and an expert in the neurophysiology and neurocognition of dreams and nightmares at the Université de Montréal, points out that the intensity of intolerance can vary according to the quantity of lactase, the enzyme responsible for digesting lactose, that each individual produces in their small intestine. In their sleep, these intolerant people may therefore experience ‘subtle somatic and organic signals’ associated with gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating, cramps, etc., reports the Belgian media RTBF.

Negative emotions mean bad dreams

Nielsen goes on to say that other studies have already shown that our dreams can capture "unconscious bodily disorders that only manifest themselves later in the form of visible symptoms". As a result, "dreaming of a fire can precede a fever attack". Another link could be made between our negative emotions (sadness, anxiety, etc.) and certain gastrointestinal disorders. "We know that negative emotions experienced while awake can be prolonged in dreams". "It's probably the same for those that emerge because of digestive problems during sleep."

Food or sleep?

And while this link between bad dreams and lactose intolerance seems solid, the researchers still wonder about the way in which it is created: do the people who took part in the study sleep less well because they eat poorly? Or do they eat less well because they don't sleep well? "We need to carry out further studies on more people of different ages, from different backgrounds and with different eating habits to see if these results can be generalised," stresses Tore Nielsen.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source : RTBF - Illustration : ©Unsplash)