Have you felt drowsy or sleepy after eating meals?
Combination of both lifestyle factors and physiological factors are responsible for making a person feel drowsy or sleepy after consuming lunch. It must be noted that when we eat lunch then blood is directed towards the digestive system and oxygen supply to the brain gets reduced. As a result, we could feel drowsy or sleepy after eating lunch. There are also possibilities of spike in the blood sugar levels post heavy lunch and sudden crash. This could also make a person drowsy.
There are many reasons for drowsiness after consuming foods such as
Poor or disturbed sleep during nights:
We could get post meal drowsiness if we do not sleep soundly during the night time. Hence, we must try to sleep well during the night and not avoid sleep.
Insulin and blood sugar levels:
When we eat high carbohydrates foods at lunch, then we could get a spike in the blood sugar levels followed by a sudden drop. This can result in drowsiness. It is good to opt for balanced meals consisting of healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and proteins etc.
Hormonal changes:
Consuming foods rich in carbohydrates during lunch would increase our serotonin and melatonin levels. It is known that these 2 are sleep inducing hormones in us. Therefore, we could feel drowsy after eating such kinds of foods. Eating a well balanced meal is essential.
Iron deficiency:
When we have poor or low levels of iron in us, then we might move our legs while sleeping at night. This would prevent us from getting a sound sleep. This would make us feel drowsy after eating lunch.
Hydration:
Feeling drowsy after consuming meals can also be due to poor hydration. Every day, our body would need 2 litres of water and if we do not drink enough water then we could feel sluggish post meals.
There are certain ways that will help us to fight post meal drowsiness and these are
By staying hydrated:
It is necessary to drink water throughout the day and this would make sure that blood gets circulated well and oxygen flows to the brain.
By taking a walk:
There are chances of getting drowsiness if we sit for a long duration after consuming lunch. It is necessary that we must take a short walk of about 5 min to 10min after eating lunch to avoid drowsiness.
By avoiding caffeine:
Not only our energy would get boosted by drinking caffeine but it could disturb sleep patterns and lead to energy crash also. Instead of coffee it is good to drink green tea or matcha etc.
By stretching at the desk:
We can do simple stretching exercises by sitting on the bench itself to fight drowsiness after eating meals. Prolonged sitting can lead to poor blood circulation.
Exposure to sunlight:
After eating meals, we must try to go out and expose ourselves to the sunlight for a few minutes. By this, we would be able to fight our post meal sluggishness well.