Dairy, especially cheese, may be messing up your sleep and dreams.

According to new research published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, your sleep habits are connected to what you eat. The study says those with bad lactose intolerance symptoms get intense nightmares. The study is an extension of another research done a decade ago, which investigated factors that influence “food-dependent dreami words, how foods affect dreams. “In the earlier study, people were blaming cheese all the time for their bad dreams,” said Tore Nielsen, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Montreal who co-authored both studies. “And so, I think we got some better answers in the study for that.”

The study, which included just over 1,000 participants, had people who responded that they had severe gastrointestinal symptoms from their lactose intolerance. Scientists said most of them with higher lactose intolerance reported stronger nightmares, measured by the frequency of nightmares, the level of distress they caused, how much they impaired daily activities, and the duration of the nightmares across months.

The participants most commonly blamed their bad dreams on dairy and sweets. Researchers said there are many proper explanations for why a cheesy meal before bed could make you have bad dreams.

According to experts, symptoms of anxiety that may contribute to lactose intolerance can be behind your inability to get uninterrupted sleep and nightmares.

Lactose intolerance is a reaction in your digestive system to lactose, the sugar in milk. It leads to severely uncomfortable symptoms after you eat dairy products like cheese, yogurt, or ice cream.

A lot of people across genders and ages have difficulty digesting lactose, but not everyone experiences noticeable symptoms from it. If you do, it’s called lactose intolerance.

To get better sleep if you have food intolerances, you must:

Try to finish dinner and snacking at least two to three hours before bedtime to let the food digest properly.

Stop eating spicy foods, alcohol, and caffeine, especially close to your bedtime.

Avoid fast food or foods heavy in saturated fat and added salt

Consume a well-balanced diet packed with protein, fat, and carbohydrates until you are satisfied.

If you want a snack before bed, go for foods that are easier to digest but filling, like nut butter and fruit.

Make sure to keep a food log or journal to help observe patterns and associations between what you eat and your dreams or nightmares.

Always keep yourself hydrated.

Lowers the consumption of sugar and desserts, as they can increase stress in your body.