Today is officially National Cheese Lovers Day, a celebration of all things cheese! But does eating the delicious dairy product leave you feeling ‘bleu’ at night?
To find out if cheese really does give you nightmares, we asked our resident expert, Certified Sleep Coach, Nicky Blakeman. Below she debunks this and three other common sleep myths.
Myth 1. Cheese Gives You Nightmares
Perhaps one of the most well-known sleep myths is that eating cheese before bed will result in nightmares. Being really full too close to your bedtime can cause issues getting to sleep and there are some foods linked to sleep disturbances, but there is nothing in cheese that would directly cause nightmares. Things much more likely to induce nightmares than cheese are anxiety and sleep deprivation. Anxious thoughts that are not dealt with in the day can crop up in dreams, whilst when you lack REM sleep you don’t dream enough so your brain overcompensates next time leading to vivid and potentially scary dreams.
Myth 2: You Can Get Away with 4 Hours Sleep
Many people think that if you can get up and function on a few hours of sleep then all is well. This is because you start to become unable to recognise just how tired you are and your brain begins to kid yourself that you don’t need that much sleep. But this is dangerous because the science shows that when you regularly get less than seven hours per night, you’re putting yourself at risk of potentially serious health impacts and side effects.
Myth 3: Falling Asleep Quicker Means You’re a Good Sleeper
Another common sleep myth is the belief that falling asleep as soon as you get in bed means that you’re a healthy sleeper. While this can be the case, it can also be a sign that you have a sleep issue. This is because not getting enough high-quality sleep and sleep disruption will make you more likely to fall asleep quicker the next night.
Myth 4: You Need to Wrap Yourself Up Nice and Warm
We tend to believe that we need to get warm and cosy and tucked up in bed but that’s not biologically correct. We’ve evolved to expect a drop in temperature at night time and the body struggles to go to sleep without this drop. The optimal temperature for sleep is between 16-19 degrees so when we’re too hot, the body doesn’t have the trigger it needs to fall asleep. So ditch the hoodie and blanket and try to cool yourself down before bed.
Need Help To Get The Sleep You Need?
If you need a helping hand drifting off at night, check out our chewable 5-HTP Bedtime gummies and Nicky's How to Sleep podcast.
