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Spicy food is the cause of nightmares
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Scientists from the University of Cleveland have discovered an unexpected pattern: too spicy food can provoke vivid nightmares. Eating before bedtime speeds up the body's metabolism in any case, and food generously seasoned with spices - doubly so. In addition, spicy food contributes to an increase in body temperature. The combination of actions occurring in the body leads to increased brain activity and, as a result, to nightmares.
Nightmares occur during the REM sleep period and are considered a non-physiological sleep disorder. The REM sleep phase lasts from 5 to 40 minutes in an adult, and from 5 to 25-30 minutes in a child. It is during this period that a person usually has a vivid, realistic dream, which usually ends with a sudden awakening and the subsequent realization that it was a dream. Among the main causes of nightmares, doctors usually highlight stress, a reaction to medications or narcotics, and excessive mental stress.
Scientists from Ohio (USA) conducted a study, which revealed that food eaten at least 3 hours before sleep can affect dreams. Recently, psychologists from the state have noted a high number of complaints about nightmares from adults. Statistics show that adults rarely have nightmares (people over 35 years old - no more than once every few months). During the experiment, 120 adults were interviewed who complained of anxiety caused by night visions over the past year. Usually, nightmares are a vivid and subconscious manifestation of those emotions that a person tries not to show in real life. The most common plots that "come" in dreams are: traps that are difficult to get out of, falling from high floors, losing important data or documents. The specialists also asked the participants questions about the food they usually eat before going to bed, the amount of alcoholic beverages they consume, and their favorite TV programs.
In the process of analyzing the data obtained, scientists were able to establish a visible pattern: lovers of spicy food, in particular Mexican food, complained to psychologists about nightmares 2.5 times more often. Having studied this information, doctors do not recommend eating very spicy food several hours before bedtime. The recommendation is explained by the fact that nightmares usually occur during the REM phase of sleep (up to 1 hour from the moment of falling asleep). Spicy food starts the metabolism, as a result of which the activity of the brain increases, which is responsible for the emergence of a "picture" of what is happening in a dream.
However, doctors do not urge to give up eating spicy food. The effect that hot pepper has on metabolism can contribute to weight loss. Capsaicin, which is contained in hot peppers, can increase the heart rate and raise the temperature of the human body. The feeling of warmth that appears after a small portion of Mexican soup, for example, is not accidental. Hot pepper, which is certainly present in the composition, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, simultaneously expanding them, which has a beneficial effect on blood pressure.
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