Dreams are a love-hate kind of thing. You get so excited when you finally have one only to be disappointed when you can't remember the details that seemed so real the night before. But what if I told you some foods you eat could actually be affecting your dreams? That's right, this isn't a joke.

It's not all foods that you have to watch out, only some of them. And they could have an even bigger impact the closer to your bedtime you eat them. As long as you're okay with what dreams could happen, go ahead and keep indulging, because I'm sure not going to stop you. 

1. Cheese 

If you want a nice, peaceful dream, then make sure to have some cheese before bed. In fact, according to a study done by the British Cheese Board, as little as two-thirds of an ounce of cheese can help promote peaceful sleep and dreams. Scientists from this study think the amino acid tryptophan, which is present in cheese, has something to do with its peaceful effect. 

Researchers from this study also found it interesting when looking into what type of cheese was eaten before bed. Participants who ate bleu cheese often had very vivid dreams, while those who ate cheddar cheese often dreamt of celebrities. Both strange and interesting at the same time. 

2. Chocolate 

Eating any kind of food before bed ins't usually a good idea. But chocolate contains compounds that can enhancing your dreams - making them either really good or really bad. The amino acid tyramine, which is found in chocolate and sugary foods, releases adrenaline which can in turn disrupt your sleep. 

Some people are saying that chocolate can lead to nightmares. More specifically, this sugary treat can aggravate an already existent disorder known as rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (or RBD for short). This disorder is rare, but chocolate can make the nightmares that occur even more frequent and severe.  

3. Fatty Foods 

You want to stay away from foods high in fat on a regular basis, so why should it be any different before you go to bed? Fatty foods can be hard to digest, and if you don't have enough time to properly digest them, they can lead to indigestion. 

Inadequate digestion can bother your sleep, and might even keep you up a lot of the time. But if you are able to fall asleep, you could be dealing with vivid dreams or even nightmares. So try to save the fatty foods for the middle of the day, when you have plenty of time to digest it. 

4. Milk 

Finally, a food that could actually help your dreams. Drinking milk before bed could be beneficial since milk contains melatonin - a hormone that helps regulate your sleep patterns.  

Not only will it help your sleep, but the melatonin in milk could help you have good dreams. You'll be sleeping longer (hopefully in REM sleep) and have good dreams, too. There's really nothing more you could ask for. 

5. Spicy Foods 

Spicy foods might help your metabolism, but don't think they'll have the same affect on your dreams. Instead, these foods could cause strange dreams, that might even lead to nightmares. Spiciness could affect you even more if you aren't use to eating it as much. 

Don't think just because you have something spicy before bed you're automatically going to have bad dreams. You could have a bad dream or you could have a weird dream. You could even not have a dream at all. It really all depends how it affects you

Whether you love dreams or you hate dreams, make sure to watch out for these foods before you go to bed. You don't want to wake up in the middle of the night after a dream (even if it's a good one) and remember you ate one of these foods before going to sleep. For the sake of your dreams, just stay away from them before bed.