Why do we have bad dreams?

2. Spicy Foods

Spicy food always seems to be better consumed during the evening. Unfortunately, eating these a few hours before going to bed can actually cause you to have bad dreams. A small study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology showed that subjects who ate spicy food before going to be spent more time awake and had poorer quality sleep.

The reason behind this is that spicy food can elevate body temperatures and thus disrupt sleep. On a related note, this may also be the reason why some people say they get bad dreams when they eat too close to bedtime. Eating close to bedtime increases metabolism and brain activity and may prompt bad dreams or nightmares.