In countless cultures, there’s an inherent connection between cheese and sleep.
People around the world are convinced that cheese will keep you awake at night with vivid dreams and nightmares. However, we’re not sure where this idea originally came from.
While there are plenty of studies into the pros and cons of eating before bedtime, there’s very little scientific study into the impact that cheese can have on your #SleepProblems.
We know that chamomile tea will calm your nerves before you go to bed and that walnuts and almonds are great for producing melatonin. But, what about cheddar, brie, and stilton — how do they affect your sleeping patterns?
As cheese lovers ourselves, the team here at Siestio decided it was time to get to the bottom of this mystery once and for all.
Here’s what you need to know about chomping on cheese for your midnight snack.
What does cheese do to your quality of sleep?
So, why do so many people believe that Edam is the enemy of #SweetDreams?
Well, many people assume that the link between cheese and dreams started with Charles Dickens, and his best-selling novel, “A Christmas Carol.” In the famous tale, the lead character Ebenezer Scrooge blames his supernatural visions of ghostly spirits on a “crumb of cheese.”
However, if we look beyond whimsical Christmas tales and into the world of science, there’s very little evidence that cheese and dreams have any connection at all.
We do know that our brains and sleep hygiene are affected by hormones, however — like melatonin and serotonin. Cheese is packed full of a valuable substance when it comes to sleep hormones. This substance is called “tryptophan,” and it’s an amino acid that can help with promoting relaxation and stress relief. Tryptophan also helps to boost your levels of serotonin, which assists with creating a physiological environment in your body that’s conducive to sleep.
Combined with calcium (which preserves deeper levels of sleep), substances like tryptophan in cheese could make it more likely that you experience a larger number of dreams during REM rest. However, there’s no evidence that those dreams would be nightmares.
What happens if you eat cheese before bed?
So, what happens if you chow down on cheese before your scheduled #SleepTime?
Well, that depends. Everyone responds to food and hormones in different ways. The lack of research into cheese and the sleep issues it may or may not cause means that we can’t make any 100% definitive statements. The best research we have comes from a study conducted by the British Cheese Board several years ago.
Unfortunately, there’s a good chance that this research was intended to be more of a marketing ploy than a significant source of scientific information — so its reliability is limited.
The British Cheese Board found that when people ate a small amount of cheese before bed each night, 75% reported a good night’s sleep. Most of those people also said that they couldn’t remember their dreams at all. The Cheese Board researchers took these results to mean that cheese could potentially help you to #SleepWell, by improving your sleeping cycle with a healthy dose of substances like tryptophan and calcium.
In a discussion about the study with the National Public Radio, the Secretary of the British Cheese Board, Nigel White, revealed a lot more about the research. He claimed that the kind of cheese that participants ate before they went to sleep had a significant impact on the type of dreams that they had. For instance, people who ate blue cheese like Stilton before bed were more likely to have wacky and vivid dreams. However, those experiences weren’t described as nightmares.
Other results included:
- Cheddar caused dreams about celebrities.
- Cheshire cheese led to dreamless sleep.
- Red Leicester produced nostalgic dreams about childhood memories.
Lancashire cheese was probably the substance that had the biggest connection to “nightmares” or bad dreams in the study. According to the report, people who ate this kind of cheese before bed were more likely to dream about work. For anyone with stress or anxiety related to their workplace, dreaming about work isn’t a lot of fun. Still, once again, this doesn’t translate to cheese being nightmare fuel.
Will cheese harm your quality of sleep?
The idea that cheese will cause nightmares if you eat it before bed is an old-fashioned one.
Like the rumour that your eyes will turn square if you sit too close to the television, this is a tale that’s been passed down through the decades, from generation to generation. However, it seems as though there isn’t enough scientific evidence to prove that cheese really does lead to more emotionally-charged or upsetting dreams.
If you’re a #CheeseLover there’s no research to say that you shouldn’t eat your favourite food before you settle down for bed. However, it’s worth noting that eating any food before you sleep can be a bad idea if you have too much of it. Heavy meals will start your metabolism whirring at a rapid pace, which makes it harder for you to sleep soundly.
It may be a good idea to stick to a spoonful or two of cottage cheese if you’re craving dairy before sleep. This substance is full of tryptophan, protein, and calcium — which are all great for your health and sleeping patterns. Plus, cottage cheese is usually low in fat.
Want to find out more about cheese and its effect on your dreams? Check out our guide here.
Don’t forget to visit siestio.com for more interesting insights into the world of sleep too!
Siestio. Sleep Matters.
