More dreams of the rarebit fiend: food sensitivity and dietary correlates of sleep and dreaming
Frontiers in Psychology July 1, 2025 Tore Nielsen, Jade Radke, Claudia Picard-Deland et al. 3 citations
A survey of 1,082 people found that 40.2% reported certain foods worsened or improved their sleep, and 5.5% said food affected their dreams. Desserts/sweets (31%) and dairy (22%) were most often blamed for dream changes. Perceived food effects on dreams linked to higher nightmare recall and Nightmare Disorder Index scores, and were associated with food allergies and gluten intolerance. Worse sleep perceptions tied to lactose intolerance, with gastrointestinal symptoms mediating the link to nightmares. Healthy eating habits like less evening eating predicted higher dream recall, while unhealthy eating predicted nightmares and dream negativity. The findings suggest dairy-induced gastrointestinal symptoms may underlie some bizarre or disturbing dreams.