VERIFY QUESTION

Did you dream last night? Maybe you dreamed you won the lottery, or maybe you dream was more of a nightmare -- like being trapped in a dark basement...alone. Have you ever wondered what caused your mind to wander to that good or bad place?

Good Morning Show producer Nya Coleman asked, "There have been a few times I have eaten some food or taken something like a Z-Quill before I went to bed, and then I've had insanely crazy dreams - like super vivid. Can you VERIFY what you eat affects your dreams?"

VERIFY SOURCE

To VERIFY, we consulted the sleep expert -- the National Sleep Foundation.

VERIFY PROCESS

There is no scientific proof that what people eat can affect their dreams, but there might be some correlation. First, what you eat can affect your mood, how tired you feel and thus affect the quality of sleep.

Also, certain foods or substances -- like caffeine -- can wake you throughout the night, allowing you to remember dreams more vividly. The caffeine did not directly cause the nightmare, but perhaps it made you remember it.

Lastly, when you eat can affect your dreams. Eating a big meal before bedtime increases the body temperature and metabolism, which increase brain activity during the REM -- the dream -- stage of sleep.

VERIFY CONCLUSION

Food, itself, does not influence a specific dream. What and when a person eats can, however, affect sleep quality and the likelihood of remembering the dream.