Unexpected Things That Influence Your Dreams
You know that sounds, smells and situations can invade them and certain medications spin them out of control. But not in your wildest dreams (maybe) did you think these could play a role.
By Jena Pincott
Your Love of Cheddar Over Blue Cheese
Despite all the hearsay about dream-inducing edibles, there's not a lot of science yet, says Tore Nielsen, PhD, a professor at the University of Montreal and director of the Dream & Nightmare Laboratory at the Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur in Montreal. But take heart, experimentalists. In a preliminary, yet-unpublished study, he and a colleague discovered that the most commonly mentioned dream-disturbing foods contained dairy (milk, cheese and yogurt, pizza and poutine—a cheesy Canadian dish). Interestingly, an informal study by the British Cheese Board also found that cheddar (2/3 ounce, a half-hour before bedtime) inspired the pleasantest, most memorable dreams (with celebrity appearances, no less), while Stilton, a stinky blue cheese, made dreams freakier. Nielsen explains that when dairy dreams are distressing, the problem could be an undiagnosed sensitivity to dairy (indigestion, cramping, gas), which is incorporated into the dream as disturbing symbols or emotions.
Published 12/01/2013