Food is designed to give you energy, but digestion can take an awful lot of energy and leave you tired directly after a meal. Here's how you can focus your diet to avoid feeling excessively tired after you eat.


Photo by John Lambert Pearson

If you overeat, a food coma is going to be inevitable. There isn't much you can do about it. Nonetheless, the sleepiness we sometimes feel after a meal isn't always related to the quantity of food we eat. As Scientific American explains, sucrose is the most common culprit:

Although large quantities of any food can cause a food coma, common table sugar, or sucrose, found in desserts tends to be the main culprit. As food breaks down into glucose-the simplest form of sugar, which the body uses for fuel-you will experience a surge in blood sugar. To ­counter this spike, your body releases the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to mop up the excess glucose in the blood and returns levels to normal. The increase in insulin also causes your brain to produce more serotonin and melatonin-two neurochemicals that can leave you feeling drowsy.


If you're concerned about feeling drowsy after eating, just try to avoid too much sucrose and, of course, don't overeat.

In the event you fail to avoid a food coma, there are a few things you can do that mostly relate to promoting blood circulation. For starters, eHow suggests bending over forwards, putting your head at heart level, to help the flow of blood (and therefore oxygen) to your brain. Do this every few minutes until the drowsiness begins to pass. HealthCentral suggests that a little yoga can help. Finally, drinking plenty of water can make a difference as it can help flush out your system faster.

Got any great tips for avoiding food comas? Let's hear 'em in the comments!


Why do I get a slump in mental energy after eating a meal? | Scientific American