Cheese

[Kat]

I don’t eat much cheese and actually haven’t done so in a while, but for two evenings on the trot I had a small amount of cheddar cheese. I thought nothing of it until those two nights I dreamt so much, one dream after the other, all rubbish, as most dreams are :ne_nau:

But it made me think about two things, why does cheese make us dream? And surely this is proof of how food affects our brains very quickly, so it makes you think of all the other foods we eat that must have an impact on our brain.

Just a thought!

[Geri]

I’m not sure about the dream connection, isn’t that an old wives tale? I know it contains tryptophan which can make you sleepy and reduce stress, so there are some good benefits in consuming cheese.

[Meghan]

If you are having dreams then that is an indicator that you are sleeping deeply so eating cheese is a positive thing because you are getting a good quality sleep. Look for the silver lining in life

[Monty]

It's common folk wisdom that eating cheese can give you nightmares. ... Cheese, for example, contains an amino acid called tryptophan that when consumed can be processed into serotonin, an essential hormone for sleepiness. So there's at least a tenuous connection between cheese-eating and sleep.

I just find cheese gives me wind and acid reflux!

[Amie]

But tryptophan and serotonin are the happy chemicals, so does this mean that it can boost your mood as well as making you sleepy?

[Emma]

I can’t say I’ve noticed I’ve become happier since eating cheese, maybe I don’t eat enough of it! Are the French happier people?

I do have terrible dreams after eating cheese. Does cheese cross the blood-brain barrier :sly:

[Goatie]

But tryptophan and serotonin are the happy chemicals, so does this mean that it can boost your mood as well as making you sleepy?

I never feel happier after having my cheese and crackers :jb: I wonder how much cheese you need to eat? It definitely seems to affect your dreams.

[Pansy]

But tryptophan and serotonin are the happy chemicals, so does this mean that it can boost your mood as well as making you sleepy?

This is interesting, is cheese considered fermented? Is that why it can boost your mood, maybe contributing to the gut-brain connection?