What is the Connection Between Cheese and Sleep?

You love it fried, stuck between two slices of bread or simply sliced up and gobbled down. We cover our fries with it, our popcorn and even our artichokes. If you want to dress up some left overs simply add cheese and potatoes. There are no better times to enjoy it than as a late night snack alone or with fruit or crackers. But did you know that there are certain wives' tales that eating this food before bed can cause nightmares?

Recently the British Cheese Board (no it's not a game and they really do exist) conducted a study with 200 people and found no evidence of a connection, at least when pertaining to nightmares. Perhaps had it been conducted by a group not involved with the promotion of cheese the findings may have been different. Interestingly enough, there was evidence to support that different cheeses can affect dreams. Stilton for instance is said to create bizarre images, while Cheshire may give you a dreamless night, and Red Leicester is said to create rosy nostalgic dreams.

One of the biggest reasons sleep may be so commonly associated with cheese is that it contains tryptophan, which is an amino acid that is linked to inducing sleep and relieving stress. Perhaps the original tales got started because, like warm milk and turkey, this food helps create a sleepy mood in those who have eaten it. Perhaps people who have suffered from insomnia (possibly because they already had fretful dreams) ate cheese and slept more readily only to repeat the dreams they often had, thus developing an association.

Try a small study on yourself and enjoy a good serving of one variety each night of the week as a bedtime snack. Keep a dream journal nearby and see if and how which types affect the images you see while catching some shut eye. I would suggest staying away from some of the more common or ordinary cheeses and instead go for the Camemberts, Bries, or Limburgers. This can provide an ample opportunity for some fun days hunting unique cheeses out at the market and even better nights of easy slumber with interesting dreams. Up the ante a little and enlist a friend or two and conduct your own study. What better excuse to spend a week or more trying some new and interesting flavors of your favorite food? Go out and enjoy selecting some kinds you've never tried and finding out for yourself if you have bizarre or rose-tinted dreams.