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Why do I feel sleepy after a meal?

Are you one of the person who needs to take a nap after a meal? Do you keep yawing after a heavy breakfast at your work table? Do you feel lethargic during your productive hours? After all the most logical thing would be that after you eat a meal, your body should be bursting with energy. Not feel sleepy. Let us explore the various reasons behind this.

Key Points

1. Too much insulin blocks certain chemicals in the brain which keep you awake.
2. Insulin resistance increases the amount of insulin in your body.
3. Carbs and Sugars spike insulin levels in the body.
4. Large amount of protein also spikes insulin.
5. Weak digestive system keeps food in your stomach and makes you feel sleepy.
6. Intermittent fasting with a low carb and low sugar diet will help transition your body from sugar burning to fat burning.
7. Intermittent fasting will keep your blood sugar regulated & improve insulin sensitivity.

Carbs make you feel sleepy

Carbohydrates and sugar triggers creation of insulin. It is the job of insulin to convert carbs and sugars into glucose. Large amount of insulin in your body will block certain chemical in your brain which are responsible to keep you awake.

Insulin resistance

Insulin is supposed to keep your sugar levels in the blood low. Insulin carries glucose into your cells. They have a key which unlocks the cell and allows glucose to flow into the cells. Glucose is the repair mechanism of damaged cells. A cell which needs repair sends a signal to the pancreas to generate insulin. But insulin resistance renders the key ineffective. The cells are not able to get glucose and so they again send a signal to the pancreas. This creates a vicious cycle of too much of insulin but all that is ineffective because it is not able to insert glucose into the cell any longer. This condition is called insulin resistance. Too much of insulin now blocks the brain chemicals which keep you awake.

Till you have insulin resistance, you will continue to feel sleepy.

High protein meal will make you sleepy

Large amount of protein will also trigger the release of insulin which makes you feel sleepy.

Digestive system is not fully functional

Food remaining for a longer time in the stomach makes you feel heavy. Besides the longer is the digestive time, more your body is flooded with insulin. Normally your stomach should be able to finish digestion in two hours. Anything longer means your digestive system is not acidic enough or the digestive juices are not working optimally.

How to avoid feeling sleepy after a meal?

You need to address the problem of insulin resistance. Most effective way to do that is to start with intermittent fasting. A further reduction in consumption of carbs and sugars will definitely improve the situation. Read about intermittent fasting here.

If you have a belly, you are in the initial stages of insulin resistance due to fatty liver condition. Eating too many meals in a day will spike your insulin levels. Intermittent fasting combined with a low carb and low sugar diet will help take care of the problem of insulin resistance. It will also help you burn the visceral fat and help you lose weight too. Even after that if you still feel sleepy means you have a weak digestive system.

Consuming apple cider vinegar will help increase acidity in your stomach and help with digestion.

Good luck on your way to boundless energy during the day to help with you work.

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