Why do you get sleepy after eating a big meal?
The Gold Coast has great restaurants that you can visit, and you can always get some really good meals here. But the reality is that whenever you have a big meal, you always end up getting rather sleepy. That does bring a question, why do we end up being sleepy when we eat well? It all comes down to our metabolism.
Our metabolic process transforms the caloric intake into energy. But if we don’t use that energy, we end up having a metabolic problem. Another similar issue happens when you spend more calories than your intake.
Why do those big meals make you sleepy?
There are a plethora of factors here. One of the major factors would be your carbs and glucose intake. Too much glucose in your blood will start suppressing orexin, and this is the most important peptide that controls wakefulness. You should note that most carbs are broken down to glucose, so you will have a very low amount of orexin in your bloodstream. Obviously, this will make you sleepy rather quickly.
Then there are other factors like inflammation. A lot of people that reside in Australia have undiscovered food sensitivities. As a result, they end up getting inflammation from various food components. This can lead to that unwanted fatigue after meals.
Moreover, whenever your blood becomes more alkaline, the orexin levels will be suppressed and thus you will end up being very tired. A similar thing appears when you eat a lot of food, and the leptin levels go up. Leptin is associated with fatigue, hence the reason why you get sleepy after that big meal.
While eating the GI tract blood vessels are dilated, which means the local blood flow is increased. But since most of the blood is moving in that area, your brain has less blood, nutrients and oxygen. As you can imagine, this leads to immediate fatigue, and things only tend to get worse if you continue eating.
The circadian rhythms also end up leading to some fatigue too. You will see that you always end up very tired after lunch in particular. The reason is simple, you are accustomed to a wakefulness rhythm, and at 1-3 PM you end up being tired anyways. This is when you have a natural sleep urge. So yes, the circadian rhythm does lead to sleepiness as well. There are some other things that make you sleepy. These include insulin-induced low potassium, the use of cannabinoids and so on.
Does this have any connection to the way we sleep or how much we sleep per night?
While tiredness can appear from an irregular sleep pattern, the reality is that you will still be affected by eating a big meal. So no, you don’t have to worry about changing your mattress or bed. The food ingredients are making you sleepy but it feels amazing to lay on a quality mattress and bed after a big meal!
What can you do to avoid getting sleepy after a big meal?
- Avoid lectins and reduce carbs
- Take fish oil
- Drink some apple cider vinegar
- Eat more protein-filled meals
- Add potassium to your diet
- Give both butyrate and curcumin a shot half an hour before each meal
- Use Andrographis to reduce inflammation
If you give these ideas a shot, you will be more than impressed with how easy it can be to maintain wakefulness after big meals. Sure, you may have to adapt your diet a little bit, but you can do that without any hassle. One thing is certain, if you use these ideas it will be very easy for you to avoid sleepiness after a large meal, so give them a try and you will not regret it!
