A few years ago, a study by the British Cheese Board queried 200 volunteers on whether or not they had nightmares after eating cheese prior to bedtime.
Nary a one did.
Why would they ask such a thing? Apparently it is folklore in England that if you eat cheese before bedtime, you will be restless. There may be something to it, though evidence is sketchy. Some swear by warm milk, for example, but there is better evidence that eating or drinking nothing at night, except water, will not only help you sleep better, you will lose weight. Our modern diet has us snacking and enjoying all kinds of stuff and electric lighting means we stay up later, so our kidneys probably need the rest.
But “ One of the amino acids in cheese – tryptophan – has been shown to reduce stress and induce sleep so cheese may actually help you have a good night’s sleep,” says Dr Judith Bryans, Nutrition Scientist at The Dairy Council and now chief executive at Dairy UK
And they are right. Cheddar cheese has more of the amino acid tryptophan than turkey and everyone falls asleep after Thanksgiving dinner, right? Well, that is more due to stuffing your face until you are comatose than the turkey. And cheese has lots of other amino acids
Here is the fun part: According to their work, 72% of cheese eaters slept well every night - fine, fine - and 67% remembered their dreams, which is about double what most people report.
But the British Cheese Board says different types of cheese influence dreams. Yes, cheese may be a psychoactive.
85% of females who ate Stilton had some of the most unusual dreams of the whole study. 65% of people eating Cheddar dreamt about celebrities, over 65% of participants eating Red Leicester revisited their schooldays, all female participants who ate British Brie had nice relaxing dreams whereas male participants had cryptic dreams, two thirds of all those who ate Lancashire had a dream about work and over half of Cheshire eaters had a dreamless sleep.
Know what is manufactured in the body from tryptophan? Serotonin. It's hard to open a social science study and not find someone talking about serotonin. That means eating a cheese sandwich before a critical task could give you an edge. Unless it makes you sleep.
Notes to editors
The British Cheese Board’s Cheese&Dreams study was undertaken during a seven day period with 200 participants (100 male and 100 female). Six different types of British cheese were given to an equal number of participants. The cheeses included:
Stilton, Cheddar, Red Leicester, British Brie, Lancashire and Cheshire.
During one week, each participant ate a 20g piece of cheese 30 minutes before going to sleep and recorded the type of sleep and dreams that they experienced.
Cheese&Dream Study Results
Different Cheeses for Different Dreams
- Red Leicester proved to be brilliant for helping participants to get a good night’s sleep – one quarter 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 -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 – particularly if you are female. 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 – although none were described as bad experiences. 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 Brie caused all participants to sleep very well, but dreams varied between males and females; 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.
- If you are thinking of changing career, or just suspect there could be a slightly more ideal job out there, snack on a lump of creamy Lancashire before bed and you might get some guidance; two thirds of all Lancashire participants had a dream about work – but only 30% of these involved the participants’ real-life occupations. One ambitious dreamer saw herself as a successful Prime Minister - one of her popular reforms involved teaching useful finance in schools, including how to choose the right mortgage.
- Cheddar -eating participants tended to dream of celebrities, ranging from the participant’s family sitting in a pub with Jordan, to a Glaswegian old firm football match with Gazza and Ally McCoist. Ashley from Coronation Street also featured, as did the cast of Emmerdale - and one lucky girl helped to form a human pyramid under the supervision of Johnny Depp.
- However, 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”.
Notes To Editors:
The British Cheese Board aims to increase consumption of cheese in the UK, and British cheese in particular. It also promotes the health and lifestyle benefits of eating cheese, which include the following:
- It is one of nature's most complete foods
- It contains essential nutrients - protein, vitamins, calcium and other minerals
- It is a natural food source
- It is versatile and easy to cook with
There are over 700 varieties of British cheese available, with a British Cheese for every occasion.
