Posts

dream

Nightmare on Cheese Street? Study Links Dairy Intolerance to Disturbing Dreams

/in , /by

That midnight grilled cheese might be coming back to haunt you, literally.

A recent study published in Frontiers in Psychology has found a notable link between food sensitivities, particularly lactose intolerance, and the severity of nightmares. Researchers believe that the gastrointestinal distress experienced by those with food intolerances during the night may disrupt sleep and sneak its way into their dream life.

“Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,” Dr. Tore Nielsen, lead author of the study and director of the Dream and Nightmare Laboratory at Université de Montréal, told Newsweek.

“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!”

The research team surveyed 1,082 university students at MacEwan University in Alberta, Canada, collecting data on sleep patterns, dream content, physical health,  mental wellness, and dietary habits. Nearly a third of participants reported frequent nightmares, with women significantly more likely than men to recall dreams, report poor sleep, and experience unsettling dream content.

When participants were asked whether they believed food affected their dreams, either by worsening or improving them, approximately 40% said yes, mainly when they ate late at night. Around 25% believed that certain foods actively worsened their sleep quality, with sweets (31%), dairy products (22%), meats (16%), and spicy dishes (13%) topping the list of culinary culprits.

Embed from Getty Images

Notably, women were also almost twice as likely to report food allergies or intolerances. Of the people who believed their diet was related to worsened sleep, 30% were lactose intolerant.

Despite this, only 5.5% of participants reported that food influenced the emotional tone of their dreams in addition to quality. Still, among that group, dairy products, particularly cheese, were frequently mentioned as triggering strange or distressing dreams.

The findings might help address some of the issues brought up by a 2015 study that examined the variables influencing “food-dependent dreaming,” or how food influences dreams.

“In the earlier study, people were blaming cheese all the time for their bad dreams. And so I think we got some better answers in the study for that.”

The association may be rooted in how the body processes dairy during sleep. For individuals with lactose intolerance, consuming cheese or milk products before bed can lead to bloating, cramps, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. That discomfort may disrupt sleep and feed into negative or bizarre dream content.

“Nightmares are worse for lactose-intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted. This makes sense because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming. Nightmares can be very disruptive, especially if they occur often, because they tend to awaken people from sleep in a dysphoric state. They might also produce sleep avoidance behaviors. Both symptoms can rob you of restful sleep.”

Embed from Getty Images

The findings provide a possible scientific explanation for an age-old folk belief that eating cheese before bed can lead to bad dreams. While the notion has existed for centuries, concrete evidence has been elusive until now.

According to the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, 68 percent of U.S. adults consumed cheese on any given day in 2017–2018, whether as a snack or an ingredient. While cheese can contribute to calcium intake and even promote oral health, the timing of its consumption may be more important than many realize.

Interestingly, fewer students today seem to associate food with dreaming than a decade ago. Nielsen and co-author Dr. Russell Powell noted that in the prior 2015 study, more participants linked specific foods with dream outcomes. They speculate that growing awareness of food intolerances may lead people to avoid known trigger foods altogether, thus reducing the chance of sleep disruption in the first place.

While the researchers emphasize that the correlation between food and dreams is still complex and not fully understood, they do see potential in dietary adjustments to support better sleep. However, they stop short of making universal recommendations.

A poor diet might lead to poor sleep, and vice versa—or there could be a third factor we haven’t identified yet, Nielsen suggested to Newsweek.

“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. Experimental studies are also needed to determine if people can truly detect the effects of specific foods on dreams. We would like to run a study in which we ask people to ingest cheese products versus some control food before sleep to see if this alters their sleep or dreams.”

Of course, not every food is associated with nightmares and disturbed sleep; in fact, certain foods may actually promote better sleep. 13% of those who drink herbal tea, 12% of those who eat a lot of veggies, and nearly 18% of those who regularly eat fruits reported having better sleep.

snooze

Study Finds Most People Snooze Their Alarms — But It Might Be Hurting, Not Helping

/in /by

If your morning routine involves tapping “snooze” more than once before finally getting out of bed, you’re in good company. A new study analyzing sleep behavior across the globe reveals that snoozing alarms has become a surprisingly universal habit, one made easier and more frequent by the ubiquity of smartphones.

But while it may feel like those few extra minutes offer a gentle transition into the day, sleep scientists say it might be doing more harm than good.

Rebecca Robbins, Ph.D., a sleep researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, notes that while snoozing is incredibly common, it has rarely been studied in depth.

Now, new findings published May 19 in the journal Scientific Reports aim to fill in some of those gaps. Robbins, the lead author, and her colleagues analyzed snoozing behavior in a massive dataset drawn from more than 21,000 adults using the SleepCycle app. In total, researchers reviewed more than three million sleep sessions, making this one of the largest looks at the topic to date. “We attempted to quantify just how prevalent the use of snooze alarm is and what it means for our sleep,” she said.

Their findings? Over half of the sessions, around 56%, involved users snoozing their alarms. On average, people hit snooze two to three times, racking up around 11 minutes of additional time in bed. But among more committed snoozers, those who did so in more than 80% of their recorded sessions, snoozing lasted nearly twice as long, with an average of four snooze presses totaling about 20 extra minutes.

These “heavy snoozers,” which were around 45% of snoozers, were most likely to lean on the habit during the traditional workweek, with snoozing rates dropping slightly on weekends. That pattern suggests many people use snoozing as a coping mechanism for weekday obligations and early alarms.

Embed from Getty Images

According to Robbins, one major reason snoozing has become so ingrained in modern life is the smartphone itself. Unlike old-school alarm clocks, which often lived across the room and required a more deliberate effort to quiet, the phone’s snooze button is typically front and center, glowing inches from our face. It takes just one lazy tap, says Robbins, and suddenly, you’re drifting back to sleep.

But not all sleep is created equal. Robbins and her co-authors point out that the slivers of rest people get between alarms tend to be low in quality. “

“Some of the most vital stages of sleep take place right before we wake up. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these crucial stages of sleep and typically only offer you some light sleep in between alarms.”

In fact, heavy snoozers in the study showed more erratic sleep behavior overall, hinting at potential links between snoozing and poor sleep hygiene. Research has shown that broken sleep can increase morning fatigue and worsen sleep inertia—the transitional state of mental fog that occurs after waking.

Though the question of whether snoozing is truly harmful remains open to further research, Robbins and other experts urge caution. A 2023 study in the Journal of Sleep Research suggested that snoozing might help some people wake up more gently and could even offer modest cognitive perks, but these results were self-reported and not conclusive.

The general consensus among sleep scientists is that snoozing probably isn’t the best way to start the day. Not only does it cut into deep sleep, but it also tends to leave people feeling less refreshed. As Robbins puts it, “Your sleep will be fragmented, leaving you without the additional benefits of added rest.”

Still, getting up with the first alarm isn’t always easy. Many people struggle with mornings, especially when dealing with inconsistent sleep schedules, high stress, or insufficient rest overall. Robbins emphasizes that sleep itself, not snoozing, is the foundation of better mornings. Most adults need at least seven hours a night. “The quality and quantity of our sleep powers our waking success,” says Robbins.

Embed from Getty Images

So what can people do instead of leaning on the snooze button? Robbins recommends setting your alarm for the latest possible time you can realistically wake up and then committing to getting up when it goes off.

“If you have to be at work at 8 and it takes you 30 minutes to get ready and 30 minutes to (commute), set your alarm for 7, no earlier.”

When the alarm rings, resist the urge to scroll through your phone, which may worsen feelings of anxiety. Instead, focus on physically waking up. Robbins suggests stretching in bed, reaching your arms overhead, flexing your feet, and practicing a few deep breaths to center yourself. “Then, take deep breaths and focus on one positive thing that will get you excited about the day and motivated,” says Robbins.

Exposure to natural light is also key. Sunlight helps suppress melatonin, the hormone that promotes sleep and resets your body clock for the day ahead. If you can’t step outside right away, standing by a window works too.

Don’t be surprised if you still feel groggy. That’s part of sleep inertia, and it’s normal. Robbins says it’s the reason why a lot of people rely on the snooze button, but for most people, that fog should clear within 15 to 60 minutes.

“One could wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but by and large, for all of us, there’s a bit of a transition. We’re not all going to wake up and feel perfect. It takes time to ease into the day.”