Overview
- The peer-reviewed study published in Frontiers in Psychology surveyed over 1,000 students about their diets, sleep quality and dream experiences.
- Dairy consumers experienced more frequent nightmares, with lactose-intolerant individuals reporting the worst sleep disturbances linked to symptoms like abdominal pain and bloating.
- Weaker associations were observed between nightmares and other food intolerances, including fructose, histamine and gluten.
- Women reported food intolerances and regular nightmares at nearly twice the rate of men in the study.
- The authors are calling for controlled experiments to determine whether eliminating trigger foods can causally reduce nightmares and improve sleep quality.