We all know that eating cheese before bed tends to give you nightmares, but if you are after something a little more erotic then you should definitely try sleeping on your stomach, Hong Kong researchers have discovered.

Those who sleep on their fronts are more likely to have sexy dreams than if they went to bed in other postures.

Prone sleepers reported feeling sensations related to “sex” and “persecution” more frequently than anyone else.

Among the other racy motifs that came up for them were “being tied up”, “being locked up” and “unable to move”.

The researchers said that the increase in sexy thoughts could be because when you are on your front you do not get so much air, so your mind was imagining being constricted when you sleep.

Prone sleepers reported feeling sensations related to “sex” and “persecution” more frequently than anyone else

The research was carried out by researcher Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, of Shue Yan University in Hong Kong.

He spoke to 670 students, two-thirds of whom were female, and asked them to fill out surveys about their dreams.

The details included how often they occurred, how intense they were and what themes came up.

He also asked them to write down how often they slept on their sides, face down or face up.

Among the other ideas which came to those on their front most frequently was “erotomania”, which is when a person believes they have a secret admirer, often a famous person.

Kai-Ching Yu said: “This study provides the evidence that dream experiences, and in particular dream content, can be influenced by body posture during sleep.

“I believe that the brain during sleep is not at all totally detached from the external world, and stimuli, including those stemming from the environment, are probably incorporated into dream content more often than people observe or are aware of.

“The unconscious brains of the dreamers try to make sense, and even make use of, the external stimuli.”

The study was published in the journal Dreaming.