WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study published in Frontiers in Psychology explored the link between dairy products, and poor sleep and nightmares, especially in people who are lactose intolerant.
For the study, researchers surveyed 1,000 students at MacEwan University in Canada, asking about their sleep habits, eating patterns, and whether they noticed any connection between certain foods and their dreams. They also asked questions about participants' mental and physical health and their relationship with food.
About one-third of the students said they regularly experienced nightmares. Women were more likely than men to report poor sleep, remember their dreams, and have food allergies or intolerances.
Moreover, about 40 percent of the participants believed that eating late at night or consuming specific foods affected their sleep, and about 25 percent said some foods made their sleep worse. Notably, people with less healthy diets were more likely to have negative dreams and less likely to remember them.
The researchers found that sweets, spicy foods, and dairy were the most commonly blamed for poor sleep or disturbing dreams. While only 5.5 percent of participants thought food directly influenced the type of dreams they had, many of them pointed to sweets or dairy as the cause of strange or unsettling dreams.
The study found a noticeable link between lactose intolerance and gastrointestinal discomfort, nightmares, and poor sleep quality. The researchers explained that eating dairy may trigger stomach issues in lactose-intolerant individuals, which then affects how well they sleep and the kind of dreams they have.
'Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,' said lead author Dr. Tore Nielse.
'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.'
However, the study notes that it's still unclear whether poor eating habits lead to poor sleep or if poor sleep leads to unhealthy eating or if another factor affects both. More research is needed to understand exactly how food and sleep are connected.
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