Does eating cheese before bed cause? The doctor reveals the connection

Welcome to question Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr. Zac Turner explores the truth about cheese.

Question: Dear Dr Zac, I have heard this crazy rumor that eating cheese in front of the bed can give you nightmare. I like to eat cheese and crackers after dinner while watching a good movie, but lately, I’m awake from some beautiful dreams. – Effie, 29 years old, Banstown, NSW

Reply: Double cream or troubled dreams? Let’s get into the truth.

Blame him in Charles Dickens. within “A Carol Christmas”, Ebenezer Scrooge famously blames his ghost visions in “a cheese crumb”.

But is the fault really your cheese snack?

In 2005, the British Cheese Board tried to investigate. They gave 200 different cheeses in front of the bed and traced their dreams. Judgment? No link between cheese and nightmare.

In fact, some cheeses – especially Cheddar – even associated with more pleasant dreams.

Brie-liant, you said?

However, many people swear that their dreams go wild after a cheese -driven snack. So let’s see what can really happen under the skin.

Cheese contains tyramine, a compound that naturally occurs that, in theory, can stimulate the brain causing the release of norepinephrine – a readiness -related chemical, and potentially, interrupting sleep.

But here is the thing:

• Most people eat 30-50 grams of landing cheese – just a few slices or cubes.

• This gives only a small amount of tyramine – nowhere near enough to grab your brain in a dream.

• And if you are not taking a rare class of antidepressants called Mao inhibitor, your body breaks it well.

In other words, your late night snack is much more likely to be creamy than a dreamer.

And let’s not forget: cheese is rarely eaten solo.

If you are working your way through a cheese board with a few glasses of wine during this film, alcohol can be the issue.

Alcohol: is a great disruption of sleep:

• It suppresses the removal of Rem early, then causes removed relapse, leading to live, intense dreams.

• The result? You wake up feeling as if you were drowned in an ocean of funds all night.

So if your dreams are melting in madness, it may not be blue … but red, pink or white that is at the wheel.

Moreover, high-fat foods-especially those rich in saturated fats-can throw your sleep. Studies show that these foods are lighter, more fragmented and reduced to deep sleep, which can lead to frequent wakes and more vivid or disturbing dreams.

Lower line?

If you are not in a rare medicine that affects the way you process tyramine, your cheese is out of the stroke.

If anything, it is rich food, late time and alcohol couples that promote those surrealistic night narratives.

And remember: cheese is best paired with unressessed grapes and an early night.

Sweet dreams – and yes, you can still keep your crackers.