In a study published Tuesday in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers in psychology surveyed 1,082 students at Canada’s MacEwan University over a four-month period about their eating habits, sleep patterns—and more specifically—their nightmares, exploring the connection between the two.
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Around 40% of participants believed that their diet affected their sleep quality. Of those, 24.7% said the effect was negative, and 5.5% reported that their diet influenced their dreams.
According to the participants, sweets and dairy products were the foods most often linked to poor sleep quality (22.7% and 15.7%, respectively) and to strange or disturbing dreams (29.8% and 20.6%).
On the other hand, fruits (17.6%), vegetables (11.8%), and herbal tea (13.4%) were identified as the foods most likely to promote restful sleep.
The researchers compared these responses with participants’ reports of food intolerances and found a strong correlation between nightmares and lactose intolerance.
Tore Nielsen, a specialist in neurophysiology and the cognitive neuroscience of dreams and nightmares at the University of Montreal—and the study's lead author—told AFP that many people with lactose intolerance "still consume dairy products." The severity of their intolerance varies depending on the amount of lactase (the enzyme that digests lactose) each person’s small intestine produces.
As a result, during sleep—either consciously or unconsciously—these individuals may experience “subtle physical or organic signals” related to digestive symptoms such as bloating and cramps after consuming dairy products.
Previous studies also suggest that some dreams reflect unconscious physical disturbances that later manifest as visible symptoms. For example, “dreaming of fire might precede a fever.”
This can also be explained by negative emotions, such as anxiety, associated with digestive discomfort.
Nielsen explained: “We know that negative emotions we experience while awake can carry over into our dreams. The same is likely true for those triggered by digestive disturbances during sleep.”
However, the study did not find a link between gluten intolerance and nightmares—possibly due to its limited prevalence in the sample or because, as Nielsen notes, gluten intolerance “produces different physiological or emotional effects.”
Source: Al Arabiya
