Can Probiotics Cause Nightmares?

Can Probiotics Cause Nightmares? (Helpful Content!)

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Probiotics can affect the sleep patterns of some people which can in turn cause nightmares. However, this isn’t universal. Furthermore, it’s more about how they impact the restfulness of sleep rather than how they actually cause dreams in themselves. Probiotics are a strange case because they affect everyone in different ways.

 

The mechanism of dreaming and nightmares is at the same time very simple and yet very subtle and intricate.

What triggers nightmares or even just vivid dreams on a given night is more often a question of what has interrupted a good night’s sleep more than any direct cause-and-effect relationship.

Let’s find out more.

Can Probiotics Cause Nightmares?

 

Do probiotics lead to nightmares?

In an indirect sense, probiotics can sometimes lead to nightmares.

In order to better understand why this can be the case, it’s important to have a grasp of exactly what means we dream heavily on one night and not at all on another.

It’s mostly to do with how restful our sleep is.

Every night in sleep we go through multiple cycles.

REM is the deepest part of the sleep cycle, and is where most dreaming tends to occur.

If this part of the sleep cycle is disturbed by restlessness, or indeed if it is deeper than usual, then this can lead to a perceived increase in dreaming.

You may have heard it said that we dream every night but we don’t always remember it.

This is, with some caveats, basically true.

We tend to dream whenever we are asleep, but we don’t always remember it.

If for one reason or another, our REM sleep is disturbed, and in general the night’s sleep is restless and shallow, then we are going to be more aware of our dreams.

Probiotics affect people in very different ways.

Most people probably would not really notice any effect on their dreams of probiotics.

However, for some, they may indeed find that their sleep is not as deep as it might otherwise be when they take probiotics.

This, in turn, leads to vivid dreams and nightmares.

The question of nightmares specifically is a bit more difficult.

Usually, nightmares reflect a level of stress or anxiety in our waking lives.

This is, again, not always the case, but this is usually what causes nightmares as opposed to just vivid dreams.

So, the probiotics may not be the cause of the nightmares, they just make you restless and bring them closer to the surface.

 

Can probiotics affect your sleep?

Probiotics can certainly affect your sleep.

Again, this can be different for every person.

Some may have their sleep profoundly affected by probiotics—others not at all.

There’s not a great deal of peer-reviewed research on this specific question, but anecdotal evidence does show us that no small number of people feel their sleep is disrupted by probiotics.

Pinpointing exactly the cause of poor sleep can be difficult, but is important to be able to address what the real problem is.

The best way, though it can take some time, is to keep a diary tracking anything you think might be the cause of bad dreams.

Take each thing out one by one until you are sleeping better, and you should be able to see the pattern.

It’s not always this simple, of course, and there are a variety of sleep disorders which could be the real issue.

In a few cases, though, it could indeed be the probiotics that are causing the negative effects on your sleep.

Consistently poor sleep will almost certainly lead to nightmares, ultimately.

If you start taking probiotics and suddenly notice poor sleep and bad dreams, then they are likely to be the cause.

 

Should you take probiotics before bed?

Ideally, whether you think they affect your sleep or not, you should not take probiotics before bed.

This is when they are most likely to get in the way of a good night’s sleep.

Try and take them throughout the day so that they are processed and have done what they need to do before you are trying to get to sleep.

As I mentioned, nightmares are caused indirectly by a lack of restful sleep.

It makes you more aware and means you remember your dreams more keenly.

Letting your body settle into normal rhythms before bed is essential for stopping nightmares.

 

Can probiotics cause night terrors?

Probiotics are very unlikely to cause night terrors directly.

Night terrors are very rare to begin with, and you’re almost certainly not going to develop nightmares later in life if you didn’t already suffer from them.

Probiotics cannot cause night terrors in any useful sense.

That said, for someone who is already predisposed to night terrors, particularly children, probiotics could make the problem worse.

If they happen to disrupt already disrupted sleep, then this can indirectly lead to night terrors.

If you are someone who suffers from night terrors, you’ll want to be very careful about taking probiotics.

Make sure not to take them at night.

 

Probiotics do seem to work differently for different people.

If they have a net positive effect on you, then that’s great and you should continue to make use of them.

However, there is not a lot of evidence for a lot of the claims made by those in the business.

The effect you are getting could be mostly placebo—and if you are struggling to sleep well on probiotics, then they may not be for you.

 

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