Sleepy and Tired after Meals?
Last week I wrote an article about feeling tired after meals. If you’re a blogger you will know there are a lot of things you’re supposed to do to attract readers and one of them is using numbers For example 10 Reasons why … or 5 ways to do … or The 7 Best ways to …
The article from last week was called The Top 3 Reasons for Sleepiness After Meals. Three is such a good number and perfect for comedic timing!
However, numbers and comedy aside when I woke the morning after writing the article I decided that we are not all so regimented as to be more attracted to numbers than what has been written.
I changed my mind (of course) and wrote what I wanted to say with no medical jargon, no mention of hormones or the time it takes to digest food or where it happens and certainly no numbers!. This is the result …
Nothing is numbered and there is no particular order …
Eating too much at meals makes you tired
Learning when to stop or say no works but requires practising self-discipline. Can you do that? Of course you can …
- Never keep eating until you’re feeling stuffed or just plain nauseous
- Always leave a small gap … guaranteed to rid you of feeling tired
- Eat lighter meals at lunchtime. Forego the pizza!
Eating the wrong foods can make your tired too
A huge bowl of pasta or a giant bowl of rice will bloat you, leave you feeling stuffed, tired and sleepy because your body has to work very hard to digest the food from this type of meal. You may also feel hungry again after an hour or so and you almost definitely will feel tired!
Carbohydrates may not be your friend if you’re gluten intolerant. If you’re prey to bloating and other side effects after eating carbs, go and get yourself checked out. If you are gluten intolerant, there are plenty of gluten-free products around and you can look at this list from Healthline which provides you with 54; and this is a Carbohydrate Reference Table which shows you the amount of carbs. in your foods. If you’re diabetic you will know all about this …
Stress/tension can make you feel tired without food …
Always try to be as relaxed as possible when you eat. Digestion is easier and your shoulders prefer being at shoulder height, where they should be, instead of around your ears …
Focus on your food
Ignore the phone or the TV or whatever is distracting you from eating … you’re eating and that’s what you should be doing. Eating well makes it easier to focus and this is what I mean by eating well …
If you find it difficult to focus on your food, feel tired most of the time and are desperate for a change perhaps you’re on a diet? When you’re on a weight-loss kick it’s sometimes difficult to focus on anything but the diet so we have included an article that walks you through 3 of the best weight-loss diets as well as being overall good diets … i.e. good for you!
Eat with family/friends/office mates … you’ll never feel tired
Nothing helps you relax more than being in good company. Socialisation at meal times aids digestion and may well influence the amount you eat and makes the process more enjoyable
Drink water
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve said this and you’ve probably lost count of the number of times you’ve heard it! BUT … please drink water! It can wake you up if you feel tired, if only to go to the loo!
Water helps break down the food in your gut and it may help with constipation,
Sleep
The most ignored part of the equation in almost any scenario. Truly, not getting enough quality sleep can affect how you feel after a meal as well as the way you feel throughout the day. When you’re relaxed and full, you may feel more like resting, especially if you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.
Eating should be pleasurable.
The idea of rushing out, grabbing a carb-laden sarnie and a diet soda does nobody any favours; especially not you. It doesn’t help with your work, it’s bad for your health and it’s even worse for your psyche!
As for a takeaway loaded with trans fats, sugar, preservatives and all things from hell … DON’T. Try a delicious insalata … the one in the picture is homemade… lot of work involved … not!
Last, but by no means least … Exercise!
Banish your tiredness with exercise during the day. Exercise, contrary to popular opinion, actually makes you feel less hungry due to the little endorphins running around making you feel good!
There is nothing scientific in this article … it’s mostly good old fashioned common sense. But if you would like to read something that talks about Insulin and Tryptophan and Glucagon and Serotonin et al and how they affect you and your postprandial somnolence, you should read this Prevention article.
Finally, a short list of foods that will make you feel tired …
Milk
Meat: pork, chicken, beef
Fish: tuna, mackerel, salmon, halibut, trout
Cheese: Parmesan, Emmental, Edam, Brie, Camembert
Cereal products: oats, products with spelt flour/millet/(buck)wheat
Nuts: hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts
