While we all know that having a nightmare is scary, what exactly is a nightmare? As defined by experts at the Mayo Clinic, "a nightmare is a disturbing dream associated with negative feelings, such as anxiety or fear that awakens you." They are more frequent in children, but can also happen in adults, and typically occur in the second half of the night while you are in the rapid eye movement (REM) portion of your sleep. The main difference between a nightmare and a bad dream is that the level of disturbance caused by the nightmare will typically prompt you to wake up. While neuroscientists still debate what causes nightmares, there is general support for potential contributors, such as chronic stress or feelings of anxiety, mental health issues, sleep deprivation, certain kinds of medication, and medication withdrawal (via Sleep Foundation).
雖然我們都知道做惡夢很可怕,但惡夢到底是什么?正如梅奧診所的專家所定義的,“噩夢是一種令人不安的夢,與喚醒你的焦慮或恐懼等消極情緒有關。”這種夢在兒童中更為常見,但也可能發(fā)生在成人中,通常發(fā)生在你處于快速眼動(REM)睡眠階段的后半夜。噩夢和惡夢的主要區(qū)別在于,噩夢引起的干擾程度通常會促使你醒來。雖然神經(jīng)學家仍在爭論是什么導致了噩夢,但普遍認為潛在的因素,如慢性壓力或焦慮感、心理健康問題、睡眠剝奪、某些藥物以及藥物戒斷。
A 2011 study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine concluded that food intake before bedtime was associated with negative sleep effects in healthy adults. If you are the kind of person who tends to eat late dinners or midnight snacks, what kinds of food should you avoid?
2011年發(fā)表在《臨床睡眠醫(yī)學雜志》上的一項研究得出結論,在健康成年人中,睡前進食與睡眠的負面影響有關。如果你是那種喜歡吃晚餐或午夜小吃的人,你應該避免吃什么樣的食物呢?
A 2015 peer-reviewed study published in the science journal Frontiers in Psychology noted that, despite longtime common beliefs that food is associated with nightmares, there remains limited consistent evidence supporting this notion. However, based on this study of 396 undergraduate students, dairy was most frequently identified in association with disturbing dreams. It is worth noting, though, that a number of these participants were lactose intolerant, so that may have had an effect on the disturbance. Spicy foods were also singled out by the participants who had troubling dreams.
2015年發(fā)表在《心理學前沿》科學期刊上的一項同行評議研究指出,盡管長期以來普遍認為食物與噩夢有關,但支持這一觀點的一致證據(jù)仍然有限。然而,根據(jù)這項對396名本科生的研究,乳制品最常與令人不安的夢聯(lián)系在一起。然而,值得注意的是,這些參與者中有許多人是乳糖不耐受的,因此這可能會對這種紊亂產(chǎn)生影響。另外,那些做過噩夢的些參與者也會挑出辛辣的食物。
At the end of the day, however, more research is needed to conclude with certainty whether dairy, spicy foods, or other types of foods can affect your dreams. If you feel hungry before bedtime, health experts generally warn that eating salty junk foods or sweets is not the best idea. Choose nutrient-rich foods, such as nuts, berries, or a little dark chocolate to satisfy your hunger. It will be less likely to negatively impact your metabolism and disturb your sleep patterns (via Healthline).
然而,歸根結底,還需要更多的研究來確定乳制品、辛辣食物或其他類型的食物是否會影響你的夢。如果你在睡前感到饑餓,健康專家通常建議,不要吃吃含鹽的垃圾食品或糖果。選擇營養(yǎng)豐富的食物,如堅果、漿果或少量黑巧克力來滿足你的饑餓感。它不太可能對你的新陳代謝產(chǎn)生負面影響,也不太可能干擾你的睡眠模式。