Why does eating cheese late at night sometimes give me bad dreams?!
Answers: The British Cheese Board (sounds like a pun, but it really does exist!) carried out a survey using 200 volunteers and found that the type of dream experienced seemed to depend on which type of cheese the person had eaten! Eating cheese, however, is supposed to actually aid sleep, as it contains the amino acid – Tryptophan, which has been shown to reduce stress and induce sleep. This is from the report: '85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most unusual dreams of the whole study. 65% of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities, over 65% of participants eating Red Leicester revisited their schooldays. All female participants who ate British Brie had nice relaxing dreams, whereas male participants had cryptic dreams. Two thirds of all those who ate Lancashire had a dream about work, and over half of Cheshire eaters had a dreamless sleep.' Perhaps you should try eating British Brie, or as many dieticians tell us: 'at 2 hours before bedtime - stop eating'; sweet dreams!
Indigestion??
Is that not an old wives tale, i eat cheeses on toast most nights.
I think it releases certain chemicals in your brain that make it over active so it can cause more vivid dreams, it depends what you dream about to make it a dream or nightmare though...?
It doesn't. Cheese is supposed to make you dream but you don't actually dream any more or less compared to when you don't eat cheese.
Bugaboo is right. The proteins and fat in the cheese are more difficult to break down than some other foods. As you body is trying hard to digest the cheese it results in things like stomach ache and rumbles which can produce sleep disturbances like restlessness and nightmares. Lay off the cheese, very rich foods and stimulants like coffee, tea and alcohol before bed if you want a good night's sleep.
the chemicals in the cheese
Keeps me awake if I eat from 3hours onwards before I go to bed
It may not be the cheese as I think this is just a myth. My friend used to have really weird/scary dreams and the doctor deduced it was from eating sweets which contained lots of E numbers. Maybe check your diet.
Cheese never gives me bad dreams. I have cheese & crackers as a late night snack often.