why feel sleepy after eating lunch or any meal?

Hello friend. I also feel very sleepy after lunch. I have to take a nap to make sure that I am wide awake for my afternoon work. I have had this habit of taking a nap after lunch ever since my late twenties. Before this, I did not have to take a nap and always felt very energetic. I am wondering why it was like this and has been like this ever since. I often hear people say that it is because of the brain that needs to have a rest at this time of the day for some people. I think that I am just one of this kind of people. lol

They said that when you eat, your blood circulation increases in your stomach area therefore decreasing the blood supply in your brain. This will make you feel sleepy. Increase in your sugar level would also make you feel sleepy. or maybe you didn't sleep well last night. LOL I am not sure of my answers.

It is because after a good meals or lunch the blood system directs its attention to the stomach for the digestion and so the blood flow to the head is minimized and we feel sleepy.So it is always recommended to not plunge into brisk activities after a good meal.take some rest or even a short nap.That will be good for the digestion.Cheers!

i read an article before explaining this phenomenon.it said its because you ate more carbohydrates than protein.there's soemthing about carbo that produces serotonin, hormones responsible for sleep among people. try eating less carbo and more protein and observe if you won't feel sleepy at all.just a suggestion. :)

I think I do not know the specific circumstances,but I think there may be physical problems, went to the hospital to check it , well be good!

I have that reaction too,by sometimes test,I think I may be leaded by this.After all the the morning work,your cerebra has very tired,and when you eat lunch,you paunch would need more flood to assimilation the food,so,your cerebra in defect of blood,that makes your cerebra hasn't enough oxygen to work,so you will feel sleepy.

I think it got something to do with the food we eat and our metabolism. It also a symptom for those people who had diabetes.Having slow metabolism slow you which makes you feel sleepy. I do feel that most of the time and i really gain a lot of weight but i am trying to get rid of the habit as i know it will just make me unhealthy. I think to avoid that we have to eat food that is rich with fiber and protein and avoid too much sweets and fatty foods.

Gee, this is one thing that I myself have never thought about....but being in the healthcare line, a few thoughts start to form in my mind about how this is possible. I think people tend to get sleepy after a meal is because most oxygenated blood in the body will tend to focus on blood vessels in the digestive system to start the food metabolism. Hence, less of those oxygenated blood will flow to the brain and this will make us drowsy and feel tired. Haha, not sure if this is a plausible explanation, but it certainly does sound logical!

Usually after you have your lunch your body is burning the carbohydrates that is consumed.When you consume overdose or too much amount of carbohydrate you will feel very sleepy and that is not that good.Having a nap after you eat will make you becomes fatter easier and faster.

here are some of the great sources I found in the internet. http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/9797.html http://sleep.lovetoknow.com/Sleepy_After_Eating I only feel sleepy when I'm really full and when I'm a bit inactive during that day... I feel lousy, but its not advisable to sleep right after eating coz it causes unwanted nightmares. I'm not sure about the relation but I take it as a precaution not to sleep when I'm full... I give 2-4 hours for my body to absorb the excess calories before I sleep.

I feel sleepy after eal specially in lunch time because this is my break of the work. I will eat fast then have to take a nap. To reserve energiesfor afternoon work session. If I cannot have a rest even for few minutes I always yawning in my table .

Well, it's good to keep a pause and rest after eating, but if you really like fall asleep for some time i don't know then :P

They said that when you eat, your tummy become heavy, thats why we feel sleepy after eating.

I feel the same thing, especially around lunchtime, when I ate a lot of food and then I feel really sleepy and take a nap, we call it siesta here

I have heard that it has alot to do with what the food has in it or consists of. When we eat, we satisfy ourselves and it makes our body very relaxed. When we are relaxed, we tend to get sleepy.

i believe the tendency to get sleepy after eating is a matter of brain function. and it is individually-based. it certainly doesn't happen to me. all i can give as an advice is enjoy it. but i hope you don't give in to sleep's call all the time for you may end up awake all night.

we do the same, i always feel sleepy and slouchy after having a heavy meal, i think it also depends on the food we eat. it's better for us to eat more veges and fruits to get us more energize instead of bulging into meats and oily foods.

medical studies have no conclusive facts about this drowsy feeling we sometimes get after a hearty meal. some doctors think it is related to body metabolism. after eating, our digestive system starts to work and because of poor nutrition and health, the digestion tends to slow down, our body gets tired and that causes us to sleep. This happens to me too. are we getting too old already?!?!