Does cheese cause nightmares?

This myth was first popularised by Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, who blamed his nightmares on eating a “crumb of cheese” before bed. However, a study of 200 volunteers by the British Cheese Board in 2005 found no correlation between cheese and nightmares.

Incredibly, they actually reported that different types of cheese induced a particular type of pleasant dream. Lanacashire cheese caused dreams of work, Chesire led to dreamless sleep and Cheddar resulted in celebrity-filled dreams. These effects are thought to be due to the presence of the amino acid tryptophan in cheese, commonly linked to a decrease in stress. And no, we’re not making this up!

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