Getting Sleepy After Eating

schaecher · Newbie Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 21

Why am I getting too sleepy after eating? Every time I finish my meal, I have a feeling I can fall asleep right away. Is something wrong with me?

sandy · Silver Member Joined: 16 Mar 2001 Posts: 278

No, there is anything wrong with you, this is totally normal that you feel sleepy after eating. This happens to everyone, have you talked about it with someone else? If you ask someone, they will tell you they also feel like sleeping after their meals. This happens because when you eat all the blood float right to your stomach in order to digest the food you have eaten, thus you have no will and mood for anything else, you just feel lazy and doing nothing. This is why it is healthy to have a rest after heavy meals so that your stomach can do its job properly. You just don’t worry about your sleepiness, it lasts only until you have digested the food you have eaten.

Guest · Guest

I have exactly the same problem and I am thinking of having Narcolepsy...I dont know

Guest · Guest

I am researching this very topic because lately I have been excessively sleepy after eating. This has NOT always been the case. I feel the need to respond to the previous answer because in my research thus far I'm finding that there can be many, many different reasons for excessive sleepiness after eating - EXCESSIVE sleepiness is NOT a normal response to a sensible meal (maybe a little tiredness after an overindulgent meal - but this is different). It can be triggered by certain food allergies or intolerances, non-diabetic hypoglycemia, adrenal gland issues, etc. I'm finding that the best way to determine why all of a sudden I can't trust myself to drive a car or work after eating (or anything else for that matter) due to falling asleep at inappropriate times is to go to the doctor and get tests done.
Also - laying down directly after a meal can present big problems for those who live with chronic heartburn or gas issues. The EXPERTS recommend waiting at least an hour or two after eating before laying down. Not to mention that laying down directly after eating slows the metabolism - EXPERTS recommend a walk after a meal. Not sure what credentials the previous poster has - but her answer was well out of range of what is considered the norm.

Guest · Guest

A high carb and low protein diet will typically make you groggy after meals...bread, potato, rice has a way with causing bubbles of happiness and contentment in the mind and we get zzzzzzies... early this year when I changed my lunch meal from a whole wheat bread and goat cheese sandwich to a roast beef/ tofu with greens salad my sleepiness immediately decreased.

desperateurgetosleep · Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 1

On this topic, another thing one should do is an elimination diet (meaning that you try one thing at a time) to see the effects of different foods.
For example: Gluten (wheat, barley, rye), moldy foods (cheese, mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar), other food allergies (In my case I don't eat eggplant prior to an important brain task such as an exam or language interpretation), high glycemic foods (potato, banana), sugar, lactose free--or reduced--dairy, dairy with lactose. In my personal experience the desperate urge to sleep whereby I am not safe driving is different from the sluggishness associated with dairy. Gluten (I think) and high glycemic foods, sugar (definitely) are clearly part of this picture for me. Incidentally, Wellbutrin (which I built up very slowly 1/8 tablet at a time to the maximum dose) has been great in keeping me going. However, I still think it is worth it to explore foods in case they are at the root of the problem; that is, depressing my system. The idea of getting a personal blood sugar monitor is a good idea also. In my case, although I still check my blood sugar sometimes, I discovered that my blood pressure was rising after meals, and reducing sodium plus getting on blood pressure meds made a huge difference. Good luck to everyone exploring this issue.

Guest · Guest

Getting sleepy after a meal is WRONG and not normal. If 100 million people jump off the interstate and onto concrete 2000 ft high, is that normal? How can normal be determined by the amount of times humans do things? if getting sleepy is normal after a meal (putting energy into the body) then superman must really be batman alltogether.

Guest · Guest

I was interested in this too after a recent biochemistry class, and here are my thoughts:

Carbohydrates absorbed from food will cause blood sugar levels to rise. I am not sure how long after eating, but I do know that the sugars are absorbed in the intestine and passed immediately to the liver (and broken down if complex, or converted to glucose if it is fructose or sucrose).

At this point, every cell in the body is directed to use blood sugar as a source of energy, in order to keep blood sugar levels normal. This means the muscles will be getting energy from blood sugar, the liver will, and fat cells will. They will also convert some of that excess to storage forms (glycogen/fat).

There are two parts of our body that ALWAYS use blood sugar for energy. Those are red blood cells and the brain (unless you haven't eaten for many days, and your brain will use ketone bodies, but that is irrelevant for the average human). Consequently, our blood sugar levels will always be maintained at a certain level in order to keep our red blood cells and our brain functioning.

Up to this point, everything I have said is a fact. Here is where my logic comes in. If the brain basically always uses blood glucose for energy, then the rate limiting factor in its uptake and utilization of glucose cannot be the blood sugar levels. We don't want the brain burning twice the energy just because our blood sugar levels have doubled! Therefore, brain energy utilization should not be affected by eating. At this point, I have a feeling my biochemistry lecture did me no good, because I am no closer to the answer...

Now, it is common knowledge that the body has two states: fight or flight, and rest/relaxation/digestion. Clearly, relaxation goes together with digestion, and evolutionary logic means that this is not a coincidence! Since I ruled out metabolic changes as a result of eating, I would hazard a guess that it has to do with diversion of blood flow (this is possible by constriction of capillary beds at various locations throughout the body) to the digestive organs to provide oxygen necessary for oxidative phosphorylation (necessary in the utilization of the energy-providing glucose). I think one of the previous posters mentioned this.

Guest · Guest

Lack of exercise or a sedentary lifestyle triggers this response to meals also. As long as I am working out regulary (3-4 days per week for 20-30mins per day), I have no desire to sleep after meals, but once I'm back to my couch-potato ways, I get very tired after even the smallest meals.

Sugar causes insulin levels in your blood to surge. This triggers your brain to curb its activity. The brain then sends a signal for body function to cease which triggers this "sleep" response.

You can choose to exercise (ez route) and let the body metabolize the sugar itself, or you can continue to be sedentary and lower your sugar intake. Scaling down your meals and eating more frequently (like children naturally do) can also help curb the desire to "nap" after a meal.

Guest · Guest

All of the metabolic explanations are sound...what it ultimately boils down to, in addition to the nutritional facts, is that your body is being strongly influenced by parasympathetics which slow your system down, thus, facilitating your body to metabolize rather than be in a "fight or flight" situation (e.g., sympathetics).

Getting Sleepy After Eating

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