These Foods Will Give You Nightmares

1. Ice-cream

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While it may be tempting to grab ice cream out of the freezer for a midnight snack - especially to accompany a movie - you may want to think again. Ice cream has been found by many people to give them nightmares due to the fat and sugars and the cold temperature. So if you want to avoid freaky dreams, avoid eating ice cream before bed.

2. Soy sauce

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Soy sauce is used as an accompaniment/ dip (i.e. to sushi) or it is used for flavor in cooking. Despite the fact that it's delicious, it is also full of sodium. Sodium is one ingredient in particular that may produce nightmares or very strange dreams throughout the night!

3. Pizza

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Pizza is unfortunately one of those foods we do tend to grab late at night for convenience when we stop at a takeaway. But, pizza is a recipe for nightmares. Some studies have shown that pizza in particular may produce nightmares in some people if it is eaten late.

4. Garlic

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Garlic...the ingredient to make anything taste good. Yet for many people, garlic can make their stomach or gut irritable. It takes a while for our body to digest and so throughout the night, the digesting of garlic may give you some spooky nightmares...

5. Vinegar

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One positive to vinegar giving us nightmares is that people don't usually consume too much vinegar in one go. It's usually consumed in small doses (like splashed over our fries) and so this may not be a huge problem because for some people vinegar can produce some seriously weird dreams.

6. Ketchup and BBQ sauce

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Our favorite sugary condiments (especially ketchup and barbecue sauce) may be one of the culprits to our nightmares! All of the sugars in these sauces can do strange things to our brains whilst we are sleeping which can result in us having nightmares.

7. Curry

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Curry and spicy foods in general may take longer to process in the stomach and the spices may produce some kind of irritation inside our stomach which whilst we are asleep can actually mean we end up having nightmares due to the spice in our stomachs.

8. Sausages

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Sausages have a very high-fat content, and when you have a lot of fat weighing on your stomach overnight it can really mess up your dreams. There have been multiple accounts of people claiming that eating sausage for dinner has caused them to have nightmares!

9. Tomatoes

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Tomatoes are super good for us...you'd never suspect that tomatoes (yes even passata sauce) could be responsible for our nightmares! But, apparently so. The acidity and the properties of tomatoes may give us nightmares if we eat them before we go to sleep so that they haven't been digested yet.

10. Raw onions

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Research has shown that raw onions may have an unusual effect on us when we sleep. If you eat onions close to bedtime, this research suggests that you may experience some wild visions in your dreams. Be cautious of raw onions before bed if you don't want any nightmares!

11. Processed foods

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Processed foods are not good for the body, research has shown us this time and time again. But it turns out that it's not just our bodies that it may affect. Eating processed foods may increase the likelihood of you having nightmares. So cut back on processed meats etc.

12. Peanut butter

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Peanut butter is hands down one of the best food inventions to date. We're all a sucker for a peanut and jelly sandwich. But maybe hold back on the snack just before you sleep because the body can take its time to digest it, meaning it may interfere with your sleep.

13. Citrus fruits

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Citrus fruits (oranges and lemons for example) are of course, very acidic. This can sometimes cause indigestion or heartburn and when this happens at the night it can result in nightmares and disrupted sleep. Citrus fruits, therefore, are best consumed in the morning or afternoon.

14. Fries

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Fries are super yummy, yet unfortunately the fat and salt content is high. This can lead to our body working harder to digest which can raise your heart rate temporarily. All of these things interfere with sleep and can make you experience nightmares as a result.

15. Chocolate

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Whilst it may be tempting to grab a piece or two of chocolate with your nighttime drink, or even have a hot chocolate before bed, this may not be the best way to ensure that you have a peaceful night's sleep as some people claim it causes them to have nightmares.

16. Red meat

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Red meat is high in fats and proteins, both of which are time-consuming for the body to break down and process so that it can be fully digested. As we know, when this happens as we are sleeping it can cause you to have nightmares...which nobody wants!

17. Pickles

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Pickles, some people LOVE them and some people hate them. There seems to be no middle ground, much like Vegemite. But one reason which works in favor of those who people hate it is that pickles can cause some people to have horrible dreams at the night.

18. Fast food burgers

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It's bad news people. While we knew fast food wasn't healthy...we didn't realize it could also give us nightmares because of all the fats, salts, and sugars they contain. Then again, if we eat it early enough and give our bodies time to digest it then we might be fine!

19. Banana

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Bananas created serotonin, which is the 'happy hormone'. So eating a banana releases a chemical in your brain which can affect your dreams and can make them extremely vivid. On one hand, bananas may lead to horrible vivid nightmares, on the other they may also lead to vivid good dreams. Whether you want to take the risk is up to you!

20. Cabbage

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Cabbage creates excess gas in the body, which can interrupt the body's sleep cycle at night. When our body is disturbed it can enter into our dreams meaning that they are affected too. Essentially cabbage may give us nightmares! There's something we didn't expect.

21. Candy

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This was never going to be a real surprise because we are told from being very small children that candy before bed is NOT a good idea! And it is true...again. All of the sugars and chemicals can result in haywire dreams and nightmares when we sleep.

22. Canned soup

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Canned soup also makes the cut for foods that cause nightmares, which may come as a surprise to most people. Yet canned soup, and canned foods in general usually have a high sodium content which as we now know could simply be a recipe for bad dreams.

23. Instant ramen

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Sorry late-night snackers, we know instant ramen is a great quick, and easy way to fill up before bed, but in terms of how you sleep, it may not be so simple. There have been accounts from various people who believe that instant ramen gives them nightmares.

24. Shellfish

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Shellfish is high in protein and it may also contain bacteria that could possibly upset your stomach or mildly irritate it. So in your sleep, your body may be working harder and so if you experience nightmares after shellfish it may be no coincidence.

25. White bread

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White bread is made of simple carbohydrates which can cause your blood sugars to fluctuate up and down which can in turn affect how you are sleeping. When this is happening in our bodies as we sleep, the result can be scary dreams!

26. Artificial sweeteners

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Artificial sweeteners may cause our blood sugars to spike. They may also confuse the body in how to regulate it, which can disrupt your sleep. If you are thinking of switching sugar in your nighttime cup of tea for artificial sweetener you may experience nightmares!

27. Red wine

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Red wine in particular may be bad for sleep because it contains something called tyramine which can cause headaches and bad dreams. Sometimes when our headaches in the night when we are asleep it works its way into our dreams, resulting in nightmares.

28. Coffee

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So it's no shock that coffee keeps you awake. While it's pretty obvious to us all, there are still people who believe that having a cappuccino before bed won't affect their sleep. Caffeine, of course, raises the heart rate and if you do fall asleep it can give you nightmares! No coffee before bed.

29. Alcohol

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If anyone has tried to sleep after a few beverages...you'll probably know that you wake up throughout the night and your sleep is extremely disturbed (unless you're one of those select few). Not only that, but it can really disturb your dreams making horrible nightmares.

30. Cheese

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'Don't eat cheese before bed, it'll make you dream'. We've all heard it. The question is, is it just a myth or is it real? Well, it turns out that it does have some truth behind it. The properties in cheese can cause our brains to form horrible visions and nightmares!