The age-old myth that cheese can give you nightmares was laid to rest with the findings of a British study in 2005. Read on to discover its surprising findings, and delve into how different cheeses led to different types of dreams.
The myth-busting study
To this day, a lot of people believe the old wives’ tale that cheese gives you nightmares. However, a study carried out by the British Cheese Board in 2005 found that there is no scientific basis to this claim.
Of the 200 volunteers who took part in the study, 72% slept very well each night and 67% remembered their dreams. But the most telling finding was that 0% recorded experiencing nightmares after eating 20g of cheese 30 minutes before bed.
What does cheese actually do to your brain?
Rather than bring on nightmares, the researchers instead found that it had a relaxing effect. Indeed, all of the participants claimed that they slept better after eating a piece of cheese. The main reason for this is the presence of an amino acid called tryptophan in cheese.
Moreover, the human body uses tryptophan to make serotonin, also known as the happy hormone. As a matter of fact, a small 2012 study found that participants who are tryptophan-enriched cereal experienced better sleep and mood.
Different types of dreams
For their 2005 study, the British Cheese Board gave six different types of cheese to their 200 participants (100 male and 100 female). And very interestingly, their dreams differed depending on the cheese they ate.
Red Leicester
Red Leicester proved to be brilliant for helping participants to get a good night’s sleep. Indeed, one quarter of them slept well every single night of the study. And 83% of all nights under the influence of Red Leicester were good sleep experiences.
As for dreams, Red Leicester is the cheese to choose if you are feeling nostalgic about your past. Over 60% of participants eating this cheese revisited their schooldays, or long-lost childhood friends, or previous family homes and hometowns.
Stilton
Stilton-eating participants enjoyed their sleep too. over two thirds had good sleep experiences during five out of the seven nights. However, if you want some vivid or crazy dreams, the King of British cheeses is the one for you. While 75% of men in this category experienced odd and vivid dreams, a massive 85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most bizarre dreams of the whole study.
Highlights included talking soft toys, lifts that move sideways, a vegetarian crocodile upset because it could not eat children, dinner party guests being traded for camels, soldiers fighting with each other with kittens instead of guns and a party in a lunatic asylum.
British soft white mould cheese
British Brie caused all participants to sleep very well, but dreams varied between males and females. As a matter of fact, the women tended to experience very nice dreams, such as Jamie Oliver cooking dinner in their kitchens, or relaxing on a sunny beach. By contrast, the men who ate Brie experienced rather odd, obscure dreams, such as driving against a battleship, or having a drunken conversation with a dog.
Lancashire
If you are thinking of changing career, snack on a lump of creamy Lancashire before bed and you might get some guidance. Indeed, two thirds of all Lancashire participants had a dream about work but only 30% of these involved the participants’ real-life jobs. One ambitious dreamer saw herself as a successful Prime Minister and one of her popular reforms involved teaching useful finance in schools.
Cheddar
Cheddar-eating participants tended to dream of celebrities, ranging from the participant’s family sitting in a pub with Michael Jordan, to a Glaswegian old firm football match with Paul Gascoigne and Ally McCoist. Ashley from Coronation Street also featured and one lucky girl helped to form a human pyramid under the supervision of Johnny Depp.
Cheshire
Finally, if you just want a good night’s sleep without too many dreams, then choose lovely crumbly Cheshire. In this category, over half of all nights were dreamless, while participants stated that 76% of all Cheshire-induced sleeps were either “quite good” or “very good”.
Sweet dreams are made of cheese…
Now, before you all go rampart, I realise that this is a small sample size, non-randomised without a control group study that has not been peer reviewed. Furthermore, it was organised by the British Cheese Board with a very clear agenda in mind. Their aim was to increase consumption of British cheese in the UK.
Having said that, I hope that you enjoyed reading this fun article. Drop me a comment below with your own personal experience. As for me, I always sleep better after cheese.
Jonah is a a hipster, eco-warrior and slow food afficionado. Coming from a scientific background, Jonah has a particular interest in cheese science. And yes, he loves a good cheese pun!
