Why do people feel sleepy after lunch...or after a heavy meal?
Many people feel sleepy after eating, or have a food coma, effects that often occur in the early afternoon or after lunch.
Despite their frequency, food comas are not well-studied, as many theories about the causes of food comas have been challenged or debunked, while others may be scientifically plausible. However, very little recent research is available.
For a long time, food comas were thought to be caused by increased blood flow to your gut causing reduced blood flow to your brain. However, this theory has been challenged, as your body is able to maintain blood flow to your brain in many types of stressful situations. , such as during exercise, when your muscles require more blood.
Therefore, the flow of blood to your intestines is unlikely to divert enough blood to cause drowsiness.
In fact, an older study suggests that blood flow to your brain may increase after meals, while a small study found a decrease in blood flow to the brain after lunch. This effect was only seen in people who skipped breakfast, and this study also did not link decreased blood flow to the brain after lunch. blood with feelings of tiredness;
People often complain of food comas after eating large or heavy meals, as studies conducted on fruit flies found that large meals, especially those high in protein and salt, led to longer sleep after the meal.
In a study of men who ate pizza, those who ate pizza more reported less energy, more physical fatigue, drowsiness and lethargy after eating, while those who ate only until their stomachs were comfortably full had no adverse effects.
Diets rich in carbohydrates, fats and protein have been linked to food coma, as these macronutrients may promote sleepiness independently through various mechanisms, and they may also influence each other.
For example, high-carb meals may raise levels of the amino acid tryptophan in your blood, which increases the amount of serotonin, a sleep-related hormone, in your brain.
Furthermore, high-protein meals may also induce sleepiness if they contain foods that contain high amounts of tryptophan.
These foods include chicken, eggs, cheese, fish, turkey, and milk.
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