Has it been yonks since your last uninterrupted sleep? Do you ever wake-up in a cold sweat? Are your nights haunted by recurring bad dreams about losing your teeth and turning up to work late, naked and on the back of an eagle? (Um, yeah, us either…) Then chances are you’ve been nibbling on some nightmare-inducing snacks. Fortunately, we’ve discovered just who the culprits are.
Here are 6 foods that are said to give you nightmares.
- Cheese
This one probably won’t come as too much of a surprise as it’s been infamous on the Bad Dream Scene for a while now. But do you know why? Well, the truth is nobody really knows. Several studies have been conducted in an attempt to figure out just what triggers these cheese-induced spooky sleeps, but no conclusive reasoning has been found. In 2005, the British Cheese Board funded a study into the relationship between cheese and dreams that suggested different types of cheese have different effects. Want to dream about celebrities? Reach for the cheddar, apparently.
- Spicy Foods
A recent Canada-based study of nearly 400 students found that spicy foods were most often named by participants as an instigator of disturbing dreams. Word on the street is that it alters the body’s temperature, which then affects dream formations during the ‘rapid eye movement’ stage of sleep. Our advice? Ditch the hot sauce at least six hours before bed to avoid any unwanted nightmares.
- Booze
And you thought hangovers were bad. It turns out that a few too many espresso martinis can give you more just a thumping headache the next day, it can cause some pretty wild dreams that same night. According to the Cleveland Clinic, the sedative effects of alcohol wear off during the night and its presence in your system can then cause dreams to become more vivid, intense and realistic. Just another reason to hit the waters this weekend...
- Sweet Snacks
The news isn’t getting any better—fourth on the list is basically all of your favourite sweet treats. This includes biscuits, cakes, chocolate, ice cream and anything high in sugar. Since your body doesn’t really have a chance to burn off all the fats and sugars once you hit the hay, those carbs will be pumping your body full of energy while you sleep. This can send conflicting messages to your brain and provoke nightmares. Which means that when it comes to midnight snacks, it’s time to stop turning that dream into a reality.
- Pasta
One of the biggest disturbers of sleep is actually most people’s favourite cuisine—pasta. A Japanese study published in the journal Plos analysed the sleep quality of more than 1,800 men and women after they ate certain carbs and found that pasta stood out as one of the biggest disruptors of sleep. Interestingly though, rice was actually found to improve sleep quality. So, next time you have a craving for Asian cuisine, maybe opt for a delicious butter chicken instead.
- Bread
The bad news doesn’t stop there. Like pasta, bread is jam-packed with carbs which can eventually convert into glucose (a form of sugar), leading to the same effects as sugar on your body. But you don’t have to ditch the baguettes all together, simply eat them earlier in the day so your body has time to process it before you hit the sack.
Nightmare-ish food aside, what’s the best way to ensure you get the best night’s sleep? A great mattress. Nothing will make you sleep like a baby and snore like an old man quite like an award-winning Eva Mattress. With our combination of cooling memory foam, natural latex & patented micro-springs you’ll be fast asleep before your head even hits the pillow.