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  • OfS registration reopens in August ahead of franchise provider deadline

    The OfS, the independent regulator of higher education in England, recently announced it will accept new registration applications for higher education providers from 28 August following an eight-month hiatus. The regulator, which suspended registrations in December 2024 over financial sustainability concerns, said it will give priority to institutions with existing applications that have been on hold since last year.

    This development follows plans recently unveiled by the Department for Education (DfE) to bring greater oversight over higher education franchisees by bringing them under the scope of the OfS.

    Under the new proposals, it is anticipated that franchised providers with 300 students or more will be required to register with the OfS to ensure their courses are designated for student finance. The move, designed to bring greater regulatory oversight and assurance over public money invested in franchising providers, follows a consultation carried out by the DfE that closed in April. According to the consultation paper (32-page / 570KB), the new regulations will come into force in April 2026.
    The first decisions about course designation for student finance will be made in September 2027 for implementation in the 2028-29 academic year. Franchisee delivery partners will need to seek registration with the OfS over the next 12-18 months.

    There are several proposed exemptions to this requirement, including state-funded schools, the statutory further education sector, NHS trusts, police and crime commissioners and local authorities, which are already subject to regulatory oversight by government bodies. Franchised providers with 300 or more students that wish to deliver courses that are not designated for student finance will be able to continue to do so without any further requirement to register with the OfS.

    According to the government, more than half of 341 franchised institutions are currently unregistered with the OfS. In 2024, an investigation by the National Audit Office (NAO) revealed that fraud at franchised providers cost the public purse around £2 million in 2022-23. The NAO identified “weaknesses in the control framework” that contributed to several instances of fraud and abuse at franchised providers since early 2022.

    However, a recent report by The Post-18 Project, an initiative aimed at shaping policy for universities and colleges, says the proposals “represent a fundamentally flawed approach that misunderstands both the scale and nature of the problem” afflicting the higher education sector. In particular, the report’s author says the current proposals could still create geographic and other loopholes for rogue operators to fall through the cracks and fails to give universities any real powers over their financial arrangements.

    Commenting on the recent developments, Rachel Soundy, corporate and education specialist at Pinsent Masons, said: “The regulation of franchise partners in higher education is long overdue but the proposed reforms only skim the surface to tackle rogue players – leaving the opportunity for certain providers to step around the proposals. It is expected that DfE and OfS guidance will be issued which will seek to further tighten the regulation of such providers.”

    Gayle Ditchburn, higher education expert at Pinsent Masons, said it is now critical for affected franchise delivery partners to take active steps to prepare for their registrations with the OfS to ensure they do not lose out on vital funding. “This is a reputational and financial risk for both the franchise delivery partner and the university franchisor,” she said.

    “Universities partnering with franchise delivery partners to deliver their programmes should be working with their partners to support their registration journeys as their failure to register with the OfS will result in the franchised courses no longer being designated for student finance – the impact of which will severely impact student enrolment.” 

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  • Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain – Financial Times

    Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain – Financial Times

    1. Saks divisive debt reshuffle shows a retail sector under strain  Financial Times
    2. Saks Global $600M deal with bondholders includes $200M in new financing  Retail Dive
    3. New Money, Same Staud — Fashion Brand Connects With Wealthy Investors  WWD
    4. Saks Secures Financing and Plans to Make Debt Payment Monday  WSJ
    5. Saks Gets $600 Million Lifeline as Creditors Face Steep Losses  Yahoo Finance

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  • Origin Of The RNA World In Cold Hadean Geothermal Fields Enriched In Zinc And Potassium – Abiogenesis As A Positive Fallout From The Moon-Forming Impact?

    Origin Of The RNA World In Cold Hadean Geothermal Fields Enriched In Zinc And Potassium – Abiogenesis As A Positive Fallout From The Moon-Forming Impact?

    Scheme of a geothermal valley between two snow-covered Hadean volcanoes. The fumaroles, thermal springs, apron pools, and terracettes are shown based on the reconstruction of the 3.48 Ga old Hadean geothermal system. On the right, various reactions of CO2 sequestration in a Hadean volcanic system are indicated, see Section 3.2.5 and Section 3.2.6. Inserts: (A) volcanic fumaroles, image from https://home.nps.gov/articles/000/fumaroles.htm, credit: USGS. (B) Schematic cross section of a pH-neutral hot spring, redrawn with modifications from [341,342]. (C) White Terraces of New Zealand as an example of volcanic terracettes (painted by Charles Bloomfield in 1884, two years before the terraces were buried under the waters of the lake Rotomahana following the eruption of Mt. Tarawera. Image credit: Museum of New Zeeland, https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/42254, accessed on 23 December 2024.). (D) Interconversion of nitriles, amides, and ammonium salts of organic acids, represented by their simplest species, in geothermal pools in the presence of inorganic catalysts; each of the nitrogen-containing compounds shown is considered as a substrate for further synthetic reactions. Formamide and other amides, as the least volatile components, may have sustained/buffered the whole system. — Life via PubMed

    The ubiquitous, evolutionarily oldest RNAs and proteins exclusively use rather rare zinc as transition metal cofactor and potassium as alkali metal cofactor, which implies their abundance in the habitats of the first organisms.

    Intriguingly, lunar rocks contain a hundred times less zinc and ten times less potassium than the Earth’s crust; the Moon is also depleted in other moderately volatile elements (MVEs). Current theories of impact formation of the Moon attribute this depletion to the MVEs still being in a gaseous state when the hot post-impact disk contracted and separated from the nascent Moon.

    The MVEs then fell out onto juvenile Earth’s protocrust; zinc, as the most volatile metal, precipitated last, just after potassium. According to our calculations, the top layer of the protocrust must have contained up to 1019 kg of metallic zinc, a powerful reductant.

    The venting of hot geothermal fluids through this MVE-fallout layer, rich in metallic zinc and radioactive potassium, both capable of reducing carbon dioxide and dinitrogen, must have yielded a plethora of organic molecules released with the geothermal vapor.

    n the pools of vapor condensate, the RNA-like molecules may have emerged through a pre-Darwinian selection for low-volatile, associative, mineral-affine, radiation-resistant, nitrogen-rich, and polymerizable molecules.

    Origin of the RNA World in Cold Hadean Geothermal Fields Enriched in Zinc and Potassium: Abiogenesis as a Positive Fallout from the Moon-Forming Impact?, Life via PubMed (open access)

    Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,

    Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻

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  • PTI to take loyalty oaths from lawmakers amid defection fears

    PTI to take loyalty oaths from lawmakers amid defection fears

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    ISLAMABAD:

    In a move reflective of deepening political unease, the parliamentary party of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has decided to administer fresh loyalty oaths to its lawmakers, amid concerns of possible defections following a Supreme Court verdict on reserved seats.

    According to a report by Express News on Tuesday, the PTI has convened a crucial meeting of its parliamentary party in Islamabad on Wednesday. All members of the national and provincial assemblies affiliated with the party have been directed to attend.

    Party insiders said that the primary focus of the meeting will be the evolving political dynamics in light of the apex court’s recent decision, which stripped PTI of its claim to nearly 80 reserved seats in national and provincial legislatures.

    Discussions will also centre around the political calculus in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), where shifting alliances could prove pivotal in the coming days.

    Read More: PTI loses court battle for reserved seats

    Particularly in K-P, where PTI-backed independents hold sway, the party leadership remains wary of overtures by rival political forces. Thirty-five of these independents—previously aligned with PTI—are expected to retake loyalty pledges, reaffirming their commitment to the party.

    Sources confirmed that a similar oath-taking exercise had been carried out post-elections, but fresh fears of desertions have prompted renewed action.

    The Supreme Court’s short order, issued last week, overturned a July 12, 2024 verdict that had restored PTI’s status as a parliamentary party and granted it access to reserved seats.

    The recent ruling has significantly altered the balance of power in the National Assembly, bolstering the position of the ruling coalition, which now stands within reach of a two-thirds majority—an outcome with far-reaching implications for constitutional amendments and governance.

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  • Detecting Land With Reflected Light Spectroscopy To Rule Out Waterworld O2 Biosignature False Positives

    Detecting Land With Reflected Light Spectroscopy To Rule Out Waterworld O2 Biosignature False Positives

    (a): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at different SNR with 50% cloud coverage. Given these conditions, an SNR of 20 is required for land detection. (b): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at an SNR of 20 with varying cloud fractions from 30% to 100%. 100% results in a clear non-detection, and for an SNR of 20, cloud fractions of approximately 50-60% or less are necessary for a land detection. (c): Total land fraction posteriors for the nominal Earth-like retrieval at an SNR of 20 for more restrictive wavelength ranges. A wavelength coverage of at least 0.3 − 1.1 µm is required for detection (dark blue contour). Restricting to 0.4 − 1.1 µm (red contour) results in a non-detection. (d): Long wavelength cutoff tests for SNR of 20. We find the total land constraint to be relatively unaffected by the cutoff as long as it is beyond 1.1 µm (red contour). The pink contour, 0.2 − 0.7 µm does not permit land detection. — astro-ph.EP

    The search for life outside our solar system is at the forefront of modern astronomy, and telescopes such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) are being designed to identify biosignatures.

    Molecular oxygen, O2, is considered a promising indication of life, yet substantial abiotic O2 may accumulate from H2O photolysis and hydrogen escape on a lifeless, fully (100%) ocean-covered terrestrial planet when surface O2 sinks are suppressed.

    This so-called waterworld false positive scenario could be ruled out with land detection because exposed land precludes extremely deep oceans (~50 Earth oceans) given topographic limits set by the crushing strength of rocks.

    Land detection is possible because plausible geologic surfaces exhibit increasing reflectance with wavelength in the visible, whereas liquid water and ice/snow have flat or decreasing reflectance, respectively.

    Here, we present reflected light retrievals to demonstrate that HWO could detect land on an exo-Earth in the disk-averaged spectrum. Given a signal-to-noise ratio of 20 spectrum, Earth-like land fractions can be confidently detected with 0.3-1.1 um spectral coverage (resolution R~140 in the visible, R~7 in the UV, with Earth-like atmosphere and clouds). We emphasize the need for UV spectroscopy down to at least 0.3 um to break an O3-land degeneracy.

    We find that the SNR and resolution requirements in the visible/UV imply that a larger aperture (~8 m) will be necessary to ensure the observing times required for land detection are feasible for most HWO terrestrial habitable zone targets. These results strongly inform the HWO minimum requirements to corroborate possible oxygen biosignatures.

    Anna Grace Ulses, Joshua Krissansen-Totton, Tyler D. Robinson, Victoria Meadows, David C. Catling, Jonathan J. Fortney

    Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
    Cite as: arXiv:2506.21790 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2506.21790v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
    https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.21790
    Focus to learn more
    Submission history
    From: Anna Grace Ulses
    [v1] Thu, 26 Jun 2025 22:12:38 UTC (1,517 KB)
    https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.21790
    Astrobiology,

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  • Air Pollution Exposure May Cause Heart Damage

    Air Pollution Exposure May Cause Heart Damage


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    Long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution may contribute to subtle heart tissue changes associated with the early signs of heart damage, according to research published in Radiology.

    The study, which used cardiac MRI, found a connection between higher exposure to particulate matter and diffuse myocardial fibrosis – microscopic scarring in the heart muscle.

    Although the relationship between air pollution and cardiovascular disease is well established, the specific tissue-level changes driving this risk remain unclear. This investigation aimed to clarify that link using imaging-based assessments of myocardial health.

    MRI reveals early signs of fibrosis

    The study examined 694 individuals in total, including 201 healthy participants and 493 people with dilated cardiomyopathy. Researchers measured each participant’s myocardial extracellular volume, a marker of fibrosis, using cardiac MRI. These values were then compared with estimates of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5.

    PM2.5 refers to airborne particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller. These particles are small enough to be inhaled deeply into the lungs and pass into the bloodstream. Common sources include traffic emissions, industrial activity and wildfires.

    “We know that if you’re exposed to air pollution, you’re at higher risk of cardiac disease, including higher risk of having a heart attack,” said the study’s senior author Kate Hanneman, MD, MPH, from the Department of Medical Imaging at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and University Health Network in Toronto. “We wanted to understand what drives this increased risk at the tissue level.” 

    Participants with higher long-term exposure to PM2.5 exhibited greater levels of myocardial fibrosis. This association held true for both healthy individuals and those with existing heart disease. The most pronounced effects were observed in women, people who smoke and individuals with hypertension.

    Reinforcing pollution as a risk factor

    The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting that air pollution is an independent cardiovascular risk factor. This risk persists even when other major contributors, such as smoking and high blood pressure, are accounted for. The study also showed that health impacts may occur even when pollution levels fall below current global guidelines.

    “Even modest increases in air pollution levels appear to have measurable effects on the heart,” Hanneman said. “Our study suggests that air quality may play a significant role in changes to heart structure, potentially setting the stage for future cardiovascular disease.”

    “Public health measures are needed to further reduce long-term air pollution exposure,” continued Hanneman. “There have been improvements in air quality over the past decade, both in Canada and the United States, but we still have a long way to go.”  

    This research may support efforts to improve cardiovascular risk prediction. For example, air pollution exposure history could help clinicians refine risk assessments for patients in high-exposure settings, including outdoor workers or those living in highly polluted regions.

    The results also underscore the role of radiologists and medical imaging in environmental health research. 

    “Medical imaging can be used as a tool to understand environmental effects on a patient’s health,” Hanneman said. “As radiologists, we have a tremendous opportunity to use imaging to identify and quantify some of the health effects of environmental exposures in various organ systems.” 

    Reference: Du Plessis J, DesRoche C, Delaney S, et al. Association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and myocardial fibrosis assessed with cardiac MRI. Radiology. 2025. doi: 10.1148/radiol.250331

    This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source. Our press release publishing policy can be accessed here.

    This content includes text that has been generated with the assistance of AI. Technology Networks’ AI policy can be found here.

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  • Michèle Lamy Reveals Her Top Five Recent Obsessions

    Michèle Lamy Reveals Her Top Five Recent Obsessions

    Michèle Lamy is a designer and executive manager of art and furniture at Owenscorp, the company she cofounded with fashion designer Rick Owens. Below, she discusses artificial intelligence (AI) and her hopes for the future.

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  • Lenovo Named Global ‘Champion’ in Inaugural Canalys 2025 Global Channel Leadership Matrix

    Lenovo Named Global ‘Champion’ in Inaugural Canalys 2025 Global Channel Leadership Matrix

    Lenovo has been named a Champion in the inaugural Global Channel Leadership Matrix cementing its position as a worldwide leader in partner engagement, innovation, and sustainable channel growth.

    Canalys, part of Omdia, recognized seven technology vendors  recognized seven technology vendors with Champion status for demonstrating outstanding performance and leadership in global channel ecosystems, including Lenovo alongside AWS, Dell, HPE, NetApp, Palo Alto Networks, and Schneider Electric.Canalys global champions

    This first global Matrix consolidates regional rankings from Asia Pacific, Europe Middle East and Africa, and North America into a single, worldwide assessment of 24 leading IT vendors. Vendors were required to meet robust thresholds in global revenue and channel mix, demonstrating strategic scale and commitment to partner-led go-to-market models.

    Sustained Partner Excellence

    Lenovo’s consistent leadership in delivering profitable growth for partners through its globally integrated Lenovo 360 framework has unified the company’s portfolio and people across devices, infrastructure, services, and solutions. With more than ~80% of Lenovo’s commercial business conducted through partners, this recognition marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Lenovo’s channel-centric model.

    “Lenovo’s strong revenue growth over the past 12 months reflects its commitment to a partner-first go-to-market strategy, with over 90% of global revenue generated through the channel and significant expansion in infrastructure and solutions, now accounting for 46% of sales,” said Alastair Edwards, Chief Analyst, Canalys (part of Omdia). “Its focus on sustainability, innovative partner programs like Lenovo 360 Circle, and tailored enablement for verticals such as AI and Education, as well as routes to market like MSPs, further solidify its leadership and momentum in the channel.”

    “Being named a global Champion by Canalys is a tremendous honor and validation of our partner-centric mindset,” said Pascal Bourguet, Lenovo’s Global Channel Chief. “We’ve made long-term investments in enabling partner success, from tools that simplify selling and boost profitability to sustainability-focused initiatives like Lenovo 360 Circle. This award reflects the commitment of our global channel teams and the trust of our partners.”

    Enabling the Channel of the Future

    The recognition comes at a time when channel ecosystems are adapting to rapid shifts in AI, hybrid work, and sustainability priorities. Canalys recognized Champions for forward-looking strategies and partner-centric models focused on co-selling, co-development, and co-delivery.

    Through Lenovo 360, partners benefit from a unified platform to build and deliver solutions across customer lifecycles, with added accelerators for as-a-service offerings and sustainability-led innovation. Since its inception, the Lenovo 360 framework has greatly simplified and reduced complexity of partner incentive programs by 63%, delivered more than 57,000 certifications and 12,000 partner accreditations through ‘learn and earn’ training opportunities, and enabled more than 54 ready-to-deploy solutions for partners across 50 markets through the Lenovo 360 Solutions Hub.

    Looking ahead, Lenovo is investing in AI-driven growth across the channel with initiatives like Lenovo 360 for AI, featuring a dedicated AI curriculum and tools to help partners build and scale AI practices.

    Methodology

    The Canalys Channel Leadership Matrix is a comprehensive assessment framework that evaluates the channel performance of 24 IT vendors across all major technologies and regions meeting minimum revenue and channel share thresholds. It is based on their contribution to the global partner ecosystem’s success.

    This evaluation relies on two primary inputs:

    • Analyst Assessment: Expert scoring of vendors’ channel vision, program execution, M&A activity, portfolio competitiveness, and channel initiatives
    • Ecosystem Feedback: Direct input from the partner community through interviews and ratings focused on enablement, sales engagement, and partner experience metrics

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  • M&S’s online business should be ‘fully’ operational by end of month, CEO says | Marks & Spencer

    M&S’s online business should be ‘fully’ operational by end of month, CEO says | Marks & Spencer

    Marks & Spencer’s online business should be running “fully” within the next four weeks, its boss has said, as the retailer recovers from a damaging cyber-attack.

    The hack forced the retailer to pause customer orders through its website for almost seven weeks, before resuming them last month. However, its click-and-collect services remain suspended, and the full range of clothing and homeware is not available to buy online.

    Stuart Machin, the M&S chief executive, told its annual general meeting in London: “I have previously highlighted that it would take all of June and all of July, maybe into August [to resume all of its operations].”

    Machin added: “Within the next four weeks we are hoping for the whole of online to be fully on.” Then the company’s focus will be on replenishing its Castle Donington warehouse in the East Midlands, the main distribution centre for its clothing and homeware.

    “We’re hoping that by August we will have the vast majority of this behind us and people can see the true M&S,” Machin told shareholders.

    He added: “During the incident we chose to shut things down because we didn’t want the risk of things going wrong.”

    In the aftermath of the cyber-attack that brought chaos to the department store chain, M&S lost ground to fashion rivals such as Next, Zara and H&M, and has estimated a £300m hit to profits this year.

    When asked about M&S losing market share to competitors, Archie Norman, the company’s chair, said this was “at the forefront of our minds”, adding: “We are going to have to win them [customers] back in the autumn.”

    Machin said the retailer would use its Sparks loyalty card to try to re-engage customers, for example by offering the usual birthday treat retrospectively to customers whose birthdays had been missed.

    He had been in stores every weekend and had tried to reply to as many customers as possible in writing, he added. He also admitted that M&S should improve its customer service.

    Machin received £7.1m for the last financial year – which ended weeks before the hack – up nearly 40% on the £5.1m he took home a year earlier, the company said last month.

    M&S was also asked whether bonuses for its bosses would be reduced after the cyber-attack. Norman said: “All of our pay is performance-related so of course the financial effect of the incident will be reflected in the bonus.”

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    The company’s share price is trading about 13% lower than in mid-April, before the hack.

    The Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Susannah Streeter said: “There will be high hopes that M&S can put this unfortunate chapter behind it, and the early signs are that there is pent-up demand, particularly for its summer styles, with many of the popular products sold out online.

    “Its strong set of annual results showed the retailer was in a resilient position before the cyber-attackers infiltrated systems. Sales growth in the fashion and home and beauty division reflected improved customer perceptions of value, quality and style. Demand for M&S food remains robust, with increased volumes driving growth.”

    All resolutions were passed by shareholders at the hybrid meeting, which was held in person in London as well as online, apart from one brought by campaign group ShareAction. The resolution was not supported by the board but received the backing of 30.7% of investors. It asked M&S to disclose information about its approach to pay for contracted staff, as well as a cost-benefit analysis of setting the real living wage across its workforce.

    The company said all its employees were “paid the living wage or above and we attach great importance to ensuring that subcontracted employees are appropriately paid and treated as part of the M&S family”.

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  • Is cheese secretly fueling your nightmares? Science weighs in

    Is cheese secretly fueling your nightmares? Science weighs in

    Scientists have found that eating too much dairy could ruin your sleep. Researchers questioned more than 1,000 students about the quality of their sleep, their eating habits, and any perceived link between the two, and found a strong association between nightmares and lactose intolerance — potentially because gas or stomach pain during the night affects people’s dreams.

    “Nightmare severity is robustly associated with lactose intolerance and other food allergies,” said Dr Tore Nielsen of Université de Montréal, lead author of the article in Frontiers in Psychology. “These new findings imply that changing eating habits for people with some food sensitivities could alleviate nightmares. They could also explain why people so often blame dairy for bad dreams!”

    Sweet dreams?

    Although folk beliefs have long held that what you eat affects how you sleep, there’s very little evidence to prove or disprove them. To investigate, researchers surveyed 1,082 students at MacEwan University. They asked about sleep time and quality, dreams and nightmares, and any perceived association between different kinds of dreams and different foods. They also asked about participants’ mental and physical health and their relationship with food.

    About a third of respondents reported regular nightmares. Women were more likely to remember their dreams and to report poor sleep and nightmares, and nearly twice as likely as men to report a food intolerance or allergy. About 40% of participants said that they thought eating late at night or specific foods affected their sleep; roughly 25% thought particular foods could make their sleep worse. People who ate less healthily were more likely to have negative dreams and less likely to remember dreams.

    “We are routinely asked whether food affects dreaming — especially by journalists on food-centric holidays,” said Nielsen. “Now we have some answers.”

    Cheesy culprits

    Most participants who blamed their bad sleep on food thought sweets, spicy foods, or dairy were responsible. Only a comparatively small proportion — 5.5% of respondents — felt that what they ate affected the tone of their dreams, but many of these people said they thought sweets or dairy made their dreams more disturbing or bizarre.

    When the authors compared reports of food intolerances to reports of bad dreams and poor sleep, they found that lactose intolerance was associated with gastrointestinal symptoms, nightmares, and low sleep quality. It’s possible that eating dairy activates gastrointestinal disturbance, and the resulting discomfort affects people’s dreams and the quality of their rest.

    “Nightmares are worse for lactose intolerant people who suffer severe gastrointestinal symptoms and whose sleep is disrupted,” said Nielsen. “This makes sense, because we know that other bodily sensations can affect dreaming. Nightmares can be very disruptive, especially if they occur often, because they tend to awaken people from sleep in a dysphoric state. They might also produce sleep avoidance behaviors. Both symptoms can rob you of restful sleep.”

    Eat well to sleep well?

    This could also explain why fewer participants reported a link between their food and their dreams than in a previous study by Nielsen and his colleague Dr Russell Powell of MacEwan University, conducted eleven years earlier on a similar population. Improved awareness of food intolerances could mean that the students in the present study ate fewer foods likely to activate their intolerances and affect their sleep. If this is the case, then simple dietary interventions could potentially help people improve their sleep and overall health.

    However, besides the robust link between lactose intolerance and nightmares, it’s not clear how the relationship between sleep and diet works. It’s possible that people sleep less well because they eat less well, but it’s also possible that people don’t eat well because they don’t sleep well, or that another factor influences both sleep and diet. Further research will be needed to confirm these links and identify the underlying mechanisms.

    “We need to study more people of different ages, from different walks of life, and with different dietary habits to determine if our results are truly generalizable to the larger population,” said Nielsen. “Experimental studies are also needed to determine if people can truly detect the effects of specific foods on dreams. We would like to run a study in which we ask people to ingest cheese products versus some control food before sleep to see if this alters their sleep or dreams.”

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