Why you may feel tired after eating.
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Why you may feel tired after eating.

It may be concerning if it always happens and starts to affect your everyday life.

Why you may feel tired just after taking a meal.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re about to fall asleep after lunchtime, it’s probably because of how much you ate.

The answer to this phenomenon is simple: it takes a lot of energy to digest the foods you eat. Therefore, the larger the meals, the more likely it is that you feel drowsy after eating.

Our gut takes about 2 hours to digest an entire meal. Because of this, you’ll often feel drowsy after eating.

This is especially true after eating lunch since we usually get back to work or continue with our duties shortly after. Besides that, the quality of food you eat also influences the amount of energy you’ll have after a meal.


Foods that are high in saturated fat, simple carbs, and artificial flavors (like junk food), give you poor nutrition and instead load up your body with lots of calories.

Besides the digestion process it takes, the high amounts of carbs and fats make your blood sugar unsteady, creating constant spikes.

This is what causes the constant energy crashes in the afternoon time.

Spoiler alert! You should be eating enough protein and carbs each day.

Don’t think that you should eat less protein or eliminate carbs.


In fact, these will help to prevent constant cravings throughout the day and keep you healthy overall.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensure discussion or debate.

Thank you?….?It is worth the mention that certain foods can cause you to feel sleepy after a meal.


Protein-rich foods, like salmon, poultry, dairy products, soy, eggs, and seeds, have higher levels of tryptophan.

You can also find it in foods rich in carbs, such as pasta, rice, white bread and crackers, and processed pastries.

Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps the body produce serotonin, which is the hormone that brings relaxation.

While it’s completely normal to have your blood sugar levels rise and fall, unhealthy sugar spikes can cause the infamous energy crash.


This happens because there is a sudden high amount of sugar in your blood that forces your body to store it, leaving you with a very low sugar level that will cause you to crave more sugary foods.

It’s a vicious cycle you certainly don’t want to be into.

Not eating enough throughout the day or even skipping meals is also a very common reason why you may feel tired after eating. Sometimes, we don’t realize how our energy levels are so low until we miss a meal.

Not eating during regular hours (AKA starving) is why you feel tired, have less energy, and have the urge to overeat during your next meal. As a result of that hungriness and your huge meal, you feel drowsy.

Do you want to add a word or two?


There is nothing wrong with starting your day with your favorite cup of coffee. Coffee is one of those foods that can help us stay alert during the day. But overdoing the coffee mugs can cause the opposite effect and make you feel sleepy.

Why do you feel tired after eating or taking caffeine?

Simple: Too much caffeine will eventually make the energy-boosting effect wear off. This happens especially during your next coffee break in the afternoon or after lunchtime.

This may sound like it’s not directly related to being sleepy, but it is.

When you’re not physically active, your body lacks the energy it needs to perform well and help you stay alert.

That’s another reason why you should always include workouts in your weekly schedule. Not exercising will cause you to feel more tired and moody.


Another reason why you may feel tired after eating is you may not be sleeping well at all.

If you think of it, our body needs enough rest to perform well and keep us with enough energy. Because of this, not sleeping enough the night before will make you crave more food the next day and cause you to be sleepy around the afternoon hours.

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Avoid Feeling Tired After Eating

Feeling tired after every time you eat can be annoying and may sometimes even have a significant impact on your lifestyle. Below are some tips on how to avoid feeling tired after eating.

Drinking enough water is key to keep your body working well. When you hydrate your body, your metabolism is boosted and you have less fatigue and hence, you also have more energy.

One of your objectives is to balance your blood sugar levels. To do this, you have to make sure that you’re eating enough whole foods and less over-processed foods.

Practicing intuitive eating is very effective. It not only helps you stay in shape, but it also aids your digestion and boosts your energy.

You must eat until you’re satisfied, not until you’re full. Eating too much food than what your body asks for in one sitting will only cause you to overeat and give you that sleepy sensation.

This is another big problem you want to avoid. When you eat at regular hours, your body will have more energy throughout the entire day.

Don’t try to stand hunger because then you’ll overeat in the next meal and feel more tired than you should be.

Stay active as much as you can. You don’t have to run a marathon to stay healthy, but engaging at least in some regular basic exercises can already?help raise your energy levels.

Sleeping enough is key for your body at all times.

Even though alcohol per se is not one of the main reasons why you may be tired after eating, you may want to look into your drinking patterns.

What this means is that having alcohol with your meals or drinking the night before can make you feel sleepy. Alcohol is a sedative and can lower your energy.

Other Health Problems?


There may be other underlying health issues related to feeling tired after eating. Excess tiredness after eating could be a symptom of the following health problems:

Diabetes

Diabetic patients could struggle with feeling tired after eating due to unusual blood sugar levels. When it’s too low or too high, there could be dizziness, less energy, and increased fatigue.

Anemia

When you lack certain nutrients in your body, such as iron, folate, and vitamin B-12, you could experience symptoms of anemia. This happens when the number of red blood cells in your body is too low. One of the main signs is feeling extremely tired and dizzy.

Food Intolerance or Allergies

If you didn’t know, that extra drowsiness could be a sign of a food allergy or intolerance.

Having digestive issues, such as diarrhea and vomiting, is not always a sign of allergies.

Food intolerances could manifest in different ways.

That’s why it’s always best to check with your doctor and confirm any diagnosis.

Thyroid Problems

People who also have hormonal imbalance related to their thyroid show excess sleepiness or sleep disturbances. This is on top of weight loss, irregular bowel movements, and even muscle weakness.

Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a rare condition in which you have problems breathing while you’re sleeping. This constant sleep interruption can make you feel extra tired the next day. There are many factors why sleep apnea happens, but in most cases, it has to do with obesity and high blood pressure.

Celiac Disease

Being gluten intolerant is another reason why you could be more tired than usual, especially after eating. This happens because your body has problems digesting gluten foods.

Therefore, you absorb fewer nutrients and your gut is constantly irritated. One of the main symptoms of this disease is fatigue.

For more articles like this, check out my website at dayalram.in/

Dayal Ram

Managing Director at DAYALIZE

10 个月

Sleeping enough is key for your body at all times. Good quality sleep is at least about seven to nine hours. Try not to eat too late at night before you go to bed, turn off distractions including your cell phone, and block off excessive light to help you develop a good sleeping habit. Eating enough nutrient-rich foods will make your body work more efficiently and boost your energy. Aim at getting protein, healthy fiber, and healthy fats in all of your meals. Make your plate balanced and colorful. When you limit alcohol, you’ll notice a significant improvement in your energy levels overall. This especially applies to when you eat your meals during the day. Focus on no more than one to two glasses of wine a day. Drinking alcohol with meals can make people feel more tired. Even though feeling tired after eating is normal, there are still some lifestyle habits you can improve to reduce this situation. If you’re feeling more tired than usual after your meals, make sure you work on quality nutrition, daily movement, proper rest, and do regular healthcare check-ups.

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