Sleep expert says these foods could be causing you 'vivid dreams'

The link between food and vivid dreams is well-known. We've all heard that cheese can cause nightmares, but have you ever experienced an unusually vivid dream after dinner and wondered if another type of food could be the muse behind your nocturnal adventures?

According to a recent poll by Dreams, a notable 64% of respondents reported that certain foods prompted lucid and vivid dreams. Over half (57%) specifically singled out kimchi and other fermented foods as major influencers on their dream experiences, with other more unusual suspects like oysters (14%) and superfoods such as spirulina (29%) also making significant impacts.

Considering these findings and the growing fascination in these culinary preferences demonstrated by the staggering 6 billion views for #kimchi on TikTok, sleep expert Sammy Margo has delved into an exploration of the unconventional dietary triggers of vivid dreams.

Margo said: “The complex nutrients and compounds in certain foods may interact with our body in ways that may amplify, alter, and extend our dream phases, showcasing vivid dreams' multifaceted nature.

"Experiencing dreams so vividly can encompass benefits like emotional processing, memory consolidation, self-understanding, and creativity, yet can be accompanied by drawbacks such as emotional stress and potential impacts on sleep quality and overall health. Their effects can thus oscillate between beneficial and detrimental, contingent upon the circumstances and context of their occurrence.”

Sammy explores four unusual foods, providing insights into how they may have an impact on the intensity of our dreams:

Fermented foods : “Fermented foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and kombucha are rich in probiotics that promote gut health," explains Sammy Margo. "These foods may lead to more vivid dreams by affecting gut microbiota, which has a proven connection to brain function and mood via the gut-brain axis, a well-documented pathway through which the stomach communicates directly with the brain."

Ancient grains and superfoods : "Incorporating ancient grains like quinoa, amaranth, or teff, as well as superfoods like spirulina, into diets can provide unique nutrients and health benefits," adds Margo. "These nutrients may influence dream content through their effects on overall health and vitality, possibly enhancing the vividness and complexity of dream narratives."

Traditional dream-inducing foods : "Some cultures believe in the power of traditional foods to enhance dreaming or induce prophetic dreams," Margo says. "For example, consuming mugwort tea or certain wild herbs in certain Indigenous cultures is thought to facilitate dream recall and spiritual insights, showing a profound cultural appreciation for the links between diet and dreams."

Psychedelic foods : "Plants and fungi with psychoactive properties like morning glory seeds, nutmeg, or certain mushrooms have historically been used for their hallucinogenic effects," explains Margo. "Consuming these may profoundly alter consciousness and perception and may lead to intensely vivid or surreal dream experiences, mirroring the effects these substances have on waking consciousness."