NEW YORK - If you think Burger King’s latest food gimmick is nothing more than a marketing ploy, well, there’s actual science to prove that it isn’t.

On Monday, Oct. 22, Burger King’s new “Nightmare King” burger will be available in participating restaurants for a limited time for the lofty price of $6.39 while supplies last.

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The burger consists of a quarter-pound beef patty, a crispy chicken fillet, one slice of melted cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, and onions on a glazed green sesame seed bun.

It’s most-prized ingredient, though? Nightmares.

To determine if the burger actually produces nightmares, Burger King partnered with the Paramount Trials and Florida Sleep & Neuro Diagnostic Services and Goldforest Inc. to conduct a scientific study over 10 nights with 100 different participants, who ate the Nightmare King before they went to bed.

Scientists tracked various signals for the purpose of the study, including measuring heart rate, brain activity and breath.

The study - along with its participants - was used in a recent two-minute long advertisement by Burger King.

“From different studies in the past, we know that foods can affect dreams and sleep quality,” said Dr. Jose Gabriel Medina, the study’s lead doctor, in the ad.

The study concluded that the unique combination of proteins and cheese in the burger led to “an interruption of the subjects’ REM (rapid eye movement) cycles, during which we experience the majority of our dreams.”

“According to previous studies, 4 percent of the population experiences nightmares in any given night,” said Medina. “But, after eating the Nightmare King, the data obtained from the study indicated that the incidence of nightmares increased by 3.5 times.”

In the video, one subject said he “remembered hearing voices and people walking around talking” the morning after eating the Nightmare Burger.

Another subject in the video said the morning after eating the burger that “someone in my dream turned into the burger .... the burger then transformed into the figure of a snake.”

A third subject said that he recalled a nightmare where he was swimming in the water and was then attacked by aliens.

After this scientific experiment, it’s safe to conclude that if you decide to indulge in the Nightmare Burger, do so at your own risk.