Why Do You Get Sleepy After Eating? These Are The Top Theories

Why Do You Get Sleepy After Eating?
These Are the Top Theories
If eating makes you tired, you’ve got something in common with most
people—and, for that matter, with most living things. Researchers have
turned up evidence of “postprandial sleepiness,” also known as a food
coma, in insects, snakes, worms and rats.
“The conservation of this behavior across species suggests that it’s

really important for something,” says William Ja, an associate professor
of neuroscience at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida who has
studied this food coma phenomenon.
Some experts have hypothesized that animals—humans included—have

built-in “vigilance signals” that keep them awake and alert when
hungry. These signals help them locate and acquire food. It follows that
once an animal (or a human) has eaten a lot, these vigilance signals
dissipate and are replaced by feelings of fatigue.
Others have theorized that post-meal changes in blood circulation could

explain why eating makes some people sleepy. Blood flow to the small
intestine “dramatically increases” after a person eats, says Dr.
Tomonori Kishino, a professor of health science at Japan’s Kyorin
University. And as blood is pumped into the gut to fuel digestion, a
corresponding drop in blood flow to the brain could trigger feelings of
sleepiness, he says.
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Some past research into this hypothesis concluded that blood flow to

the brain does not change after a person eats a meal. But some of
Kishino’s recent work found that, among people who skipped breakfast,
one measure of cerebral blood flow plummeted after they ate lunch.
“Skipping breakfast could therefore place a heavy burden on the body
after lunch by causing greater changes in [blood flow],” he says. This
could lead to sleepiness.
While scientists are still figuring out exactly why food comas happen,
they’ve started to home in on some factors that may contribute to post-
meal fatigue.
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to all your burning sleep questions.
Eating a big meal may be one trigger. Ja’s research on fruit flies

suggests that meal size is a “strong driver” of post-meal sleepiness. So
too are meals loaded with salt or protein. But why? He says one long-
held idea is that sleep somehow aids digestion. One of his not-yet-
published studies—again, on fruit flies—found that sleep changes the
way the insects absorbed certain macronutrients, including protein.
“This would support the idea that post-meal sleepiness affects gut
nutrient absorption,” he adds.
Ja is quick to point out that his work may not translate to humans. But
some of his findings—like the idea that certain foods are more likely
than others to cause fatigue—dovetail with some recent research on
people.
A small 2018 study of truck drivers found those who ate diets rich in
vegetables and fats from foods like olive oil and dairy tended to
experience less post-meal sleepiness than those eating “Western” diets
heavy in processed meat, fast food and soft drinks. “Our results
suggested that a healthy diet produces low sleepiness during the day,”
says Claudia Moreno, one of the authors of that study and a faculty
researcher at the University of São Paulo School of Public Health in
Brazil. Her study points to some older research that suggests heavy fat
or carbohydrate intake could potentially trigger sleepiness by disrupting
the body’s natural circadian sleep rhythms.
Meanwhile, a 2018 study found that a high-fat, high-carb meal led to

both sleepiness and an uptick in some inflammatory markers, especially
among obese adults. But there’s still a lot of uncertainty and
contradiction when it comes specific foods and their effects on post-
meal fatigue. “Some human studies show an effect after eating, but
others don’t,” Ja says.
His research in flies, he says, helps explain why a lot of the food-coma
research on humans is so inconclusive. “We could see [the observed
effects] because we used hundreds of flies and thousands of meals,” he
says, “but these numbers are obviously much harder and more
expensive to replicate in humans.
If you want to prevent a food coma, the best advice is to “eat smaller
meals,” he says. This tactic may be especially effective at
lunchtime. Predictable shifts in the body’s circadian rhythms tend to
make people feel drowsy in the afternoon, so if you’re the type who eats
a big lunch, you may be in for a double whammy.
Moreno’s research indicates that eating healthy, vegetable-centric meals

could also help curb your post-meal fatigue. But the fact is, experts are
still teasing out all the ins and outs of food comas.

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Why Do You Get Sleepy After Eating?

These Are the Top Theories

“The conservation of this behavior across species suggests that it’s

Some experts have hypothesized that animals—humans included—have

Others have theorized that post-meal changes in blood circulation could

Get our Health Newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest health

Some past research into this hypothesis concluded that blood flow to

Looking to improve your sleep? Subscribe to TIME’s guide for answers

Eating a big meal may be one trigger. Ja’s research on fruit flies

Meanwhile, a 2018 study found that a high-fat, high-carb meal led to

Moreno’s research indicates that eating healthy, vegetable-centric meals

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