It’s a common experience to feel a little sleepy Tired After Eating. You’re content, at ease, and having trouble keeping your eyes open. Why does one feel the need to snooze so strongly after eating, and is this something to be concerned about?
Comprehending Post-Meal Fatigue
Generally speaking, a slight drowsiness that occurs after eating is natural and should not be cause for concern. There are a few things you might be able to do to lessen the affects of being sleepy after a meal, but there are several elements that contribute to this occurrence.
The Cycle of Your Digestion
Not only does your body require energy to chase after your dog or work out, but it also needs energy to breathe and just live. This energy comes from the stuff we eat.
Our digestive tract converts food into glucose, which is used as fuel. Protein and other macronutrients give our bodies calories, or energy. Our digestive cycle does more than just convert food into energy; it sets off a host of other bodily reactions.
Your Nutrition
Even while every food digests pretty much the same way, every food has a different effect on your body. Certain foods have a more sedative effect than others.
Meals High in Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an amino acid present in turkey and other meals strong in protein, like:
Fish, Tofu, Eggs, Cheese, and Spinach
The body uses tryptophan to produce serotonin. One neurotransmitter that aids in controlling sleep is serotonin. That post-meal haze could be caused by an increase in serotonin production.
Tryptophan and turkey are arguably the two foods that are most closely connected in the United States. This is probably due to the occasional drowsiness that comes with eating a Thanksgiving dinner heavy in turkey, as is customary for many people.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) compares the quantity of tryptophan in turkey to that of certain other foods in the following ways:
- 0.93 g of dried spirulina
- Hard Parmesan cheese: 0.48 g; cheddar cheese: 0.55 g
- Pork tenderloin, boiled: 0.38–0.39 g
- 0.29 g of roasted whole turkey with skin
- Low-sodium turkey breast luncheon meat (0.19 g)
- Eggs hard-boiled: 0.15 g
The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of tryptophan for adults is 5 mg per kilogram (kg) of body weight per day, according to the National Academy of Sciences. That equals roughly 340 mg (or 0.34 g) per day for an adult weighing 150 pounds (68 kg).
Additional Foods
Bananas’ minerals ease muscle tension, cherries influence melatonin levels, and carbs raise blood sugar levels and then lower them. You could feel drowsy from any one of these causes, and different diets have varying effects on energy levels.
Your Sleeping Patterns
It should come as no surprise that inadequate sleep might also have an impact on your post-meal mood. Your body may feel more like resting if you’re content and relaxed, particularly if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.
Your Exercise
Exercise can minimize the likelihood of a post-meal slump by keeping you alert during the day in addition to improving your quality of sleep at night. Exercise on a regular basis has been shown in numerous studies to improve energy and decrease weariness.
To put it another way, being sedentary does not produce a reservoir of energy that you can draw upon whenever you like. Active living, on the other hand, ensures that you have the energy to get through each day.
Additional Medical Conditions
Occasionally, feeling exhausted after eating or constantly sleepy may indicate the presence of another medical issue. The following circumstances may exacerbate drowsiness after meals:
- Diabetes
- Food allergies or intolerances
- Apnea during sleep
- Anemia
Thyroid underactivity Celiac disease
If you have any of these problems and are often exhausted, discuss potential treatment options with your physician. Your doctor can assist you in determining the cause of your slump if you don’t have any underlying medical conditions and you’re experiencing additional symptoms in addition to post-meal tiredness.
Diabetes
It may be an indication of hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia if a person with prediabetes, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes has fatigue after eating.
Consuming excessive amounts of sugar can lead to hyperglycemia, or elevated blood sugar. If there is insufficient or inefficient insulin to deliver glucose to the cells for energy, it gets worse.
Since sugars are the primary energy source for cells, having little or ineffective insulin might make you feel exhausted. Additional indications linked to hyperglycemia could be heightened thirst and urine.
Food allergies or intolerances
Another reason for fatigue after a meal could be an allergy or sensitivity to a particular food. Allergies and food intolerances can affect how the body works, including digestion.
There might also be other acute or long-term symptoms, such as headaches or migraines, skin disorders, and gastrointestinal disturbances.
Making a Diagnosis
If you notice that you’re exhausted after eating, you might want to keep a food journal. It might be an easy and practical method to begin figuring out what specific foods and components, or other triggers, might be affecting your energy levels.
Even if you only keep one for a few weeks, a food journal need to contain a list of everything you eat and drink. You should include information on how much and when you eat or drink something. Make notes on your feelings as well. Be mindful of your:
- Levels of energy and mood
- sleep hygiene
- gastrointestinal function
Jot down any additional symptoms you may have. With the assistance of a healthcare provider or on your own, you might be able to make some inferences about the relationship between your diet and your overall health.
Talking to your doctor about your diet is usually a good idea, particularly if you experience fatigue soon after eating. To assist in determining the underlying reason of your exhaustion, they can perform a variety of diagnostic procedures, such as:
- The test for glucose tolerance
- The test for hemoglobin A1C
- The blood glucose test, which can be random or fasted
- To check for food allergies or sensitivities, use blood or skin testing.
- An elimination diet may also be recommended by them.
Your healthcare professional can decide which tests are most appropriate and whether testing is required for a diagnosis.
Stopping Post-Meal Tiredness
It’s advisable to talk to your doctor if you frequently feel exhausted after eating. To help maintain appropriate energy levels, there are easy steps you can take if the potential of a more serious underlying condition has been ruled out or if the weariness only occurs sometimes.
The following dietary and lifestyle choices may help increase or maintain energy levels and prevent fatigue:
- consuming water to maintain appropriate hydration
- Taking the right electrolytes in
- cutting back on the quantity of food consumed at one sitting
- Obtaining sufficient restful sleep
- Regular exercise
- reducing or abstaining from alcohol
- reducing the amount of caffeine consumed
Consuming foods that support healthy gut flora, blood sugar regulation, insulin production, and cognitive function, such as complex, high-fiber carbs and fish,
Sustained energy is encouraged by a balanced diet rich in whole grains, veggies, and fatty fish. Increase the amount of olive oil, almonds, and seeds you use in your meals.
Eating smaller, more frequent meals and limiting sugar intake can also be beneficial.
