Canadian Study Finds Late-Night Snacks, Especially Dairy, May Trigger Nightmares and Poor Sleep
Shyla Jovitha Abraham | The Week | August 09, 2025 : Could your evening snack be fueling your nightmares?
A recent Canadian study published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that certain foods—particularly dairy—may be linked to disturbed sleep and troubling dreams, especially in individuals with food sensitivities.
Researchers surveyed 1,082 college students to explore the relationship between diet and sleep. The study found that 40.2% of participants believed certain foods negatively affected their sleep, while 5.5% reported that food influenced their dreams. Additionally, around one-third of participants mentioned experiencing regular nightmares.
The foods most commonly associated with nightmares were desserts, sweets, dairy products, and spicy foods. Participants with lactose intolerance, who experienced severe digestive issues after consuming dairy, were more likely to suffer from frequent and intense nightmares, as well as poor sleep quality. Interestingly, those with any form of food allergy were more than twice as likely to believe that food had an impact on their dreams.
On the other hand, participants who consumed fruits, vegetables, or herbal tea before bedtime reported better sleep quality. Timing also played a role—late-night eating and snacking in the evening were strongly linked to both poor sleep and an increased frequency of nightmares.
“These findings suggest that adjusting eating habits for people with food sensitivities could potentially alleviate nightmares,” the study concluded.
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