Is It Normal To Experience Fatigue After Eating?

Have you ever experienced fatigue after eating? That feeling of sleepiness and tiredness after you devour your favorite meal? Most of us have most probably experienced feeling tired after eating; you feel full, relaxed, drowsy, and sleepy all at the same time. Sometimes, we even forget to brush our teeth after eating, which is highly suggested by ADC Dubbo Dentist’s website. Generally, a bit of sleepiness post-meal is normal. It usually happens to everyone, and there’s nothing much to worry about.

To successfully perform our tasks throughout the day, we need to have energy. And you can get energy from the food you eat. After consumption, digestion will begin. During this process, the food will be converted into glucose, which you need to utilize. After this, your body will send various responses to different parts. It will start to secrete hormones like amylin, cholecystokinin, and glucagon. These hormones promote fullness, which comes in after eating.

Surprisingly, these hormones can also cause you to feel sleepy after eating if their levels on the brain are too high.Mainly, the hormones that result in fatigue after eating are serotonin and melatonin.

The process also promotes insulin production and increases blood sugar levels to move glucose into cells and distribute it throughout the body.

The Kind of Food You Eat

Did you know that sometimes, the food you eat is why you are tired after eating? Foods that are rich in carbohydrates and protein can make you feel tired. These are the kind of foods that we like to eat during lunchtime, probably why tiredness post-lunch occurs more often than dinner time.

As mentioned, a hormone called serotonin is produced due to tryptophan. And tryptophan can be found in protein-rich foods. In addition, carbohydrates also contribute to the absorption of tryptophan.

Tryptophan can be found in the following foods:

• eggs
• poultry
• spinach
• salmon
• soy products
• milk
• cheese

Moreover, foods high in carbohydrates include:

• sugar and candy
• rice
• pasta
• corn cobs
• milk
• white bread
• cakes, donuts, cookies

If you notice, these are the kinds of foods that usually lead to fatigue after eating. Cakes and candies specifically increase blood sugar levels but make you feel tired post-meal.

Food Quantity

You will also feel tired after eating if you too much food. Indeed, the quantity of your meals is a massivee contributor to how you feel after you eat.

Studies show that people who eat large meals during lunch will most likely experience tiredness after eating. Eating allows your blood sugar levels to rise, and insome instancess, a drop in energy may follow.

In addition to large meals, a person might also experience fatigue after eating due to lack of sleep and alcohol consumption the night before.

Sleeping Habits

Technically speaking, a person could feelfatiguedd throughout the day due to an unhealthy sleep routine. While we are pretty much aware that lack of sleep inevitably causes us to feel sleepy, eating while you are in a state of drowsiness will only make you feel more tired after eating.

Doctors suggest getting enough sleep to help you get through the day. Itwill also help if you acknowledge the reasons why you don’t sleep well; conditions like sleep apnea and teeth grinding often results in interrupted sleep at night.

If your sleep is usually distracted due to teeth grinding, you can browse this site to find the perfect mouthguard to wear during sleep.

Daily Activities

Physical activities like exercise can boost your energy and put tiredness after eating at bay. Experts suggest exercising to reduce fatigue and increase energy levels.

In other explanation, reserving your energy does not mean that you will not experience fatigue. Instead, it’s the other way around, stay physically active so you will have all the energy you need to avoid feeling tired.

Several Health Conditions

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try to manage fatigue after eating, you can’t win. Maybe it’s time for you to consider other causes and consult your doctor. While we mentioned that tiredness after eating is pretty much standard for many people, it could also be an indicator that you have an underlying health condition that needs to be medically reviewed.

Some of the conditions that cause fatigue after eating are:

• sleep apnea
• diabetes
• anemia
• food allergies
• low blood sugar
• inactive thyroid
• celiac disease

If you suspect that you have any of these conditions, we recommend that you seek medical advice immediately. Meanwhile, let us discuss some of these health conditions and determine how they make you feel sleepy.

Diabetes

Feeling tired after eating is one of the common symptoms of type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar occurs when a person consumes food with too much sugar. What’s even bothersome is if there is not enough insulin to bring sugar to the cells or energy conversion.

The main source of energy is sugar, if it isn’t converted into energy, fatigue might follow even though you just finished your meals. Other symptoms that might occur include severe thirst and frequent urination.

Food Allergies

If you have a food allergy, you might also suffer tiredness post-meal. Oftentimes, when a person is allergic to a specific food, their digestion, and other body functions get affected as well.

Certain symptoms might also take place like skin conditions, upset stomach, and migraine.

Medical Advice Diagnosis

Doctors suggest holding a food diary if you feel the need to sleep after your meals. This is one of the primary ways to determine the root cause of your problem. In some cases, food is indeed the culprit to fatigue after eating, but other triggers should also be considered such as the ingredients.

The food diary must contain all the food and beverages you consume from breakfast to dinner. It would also help if you will input the important details like how much you eat and drink.

After eating, you will also need to take note of the following:

• level of your energy
• changes in your mood
• quality of sleep
• gastrointestinal activity

If possible, write down important symptoms that think would be significant in the diagnosis.