Why Do We Get Sleepy After Eating And What Foods Are To Blame For That?

It is possible that the culprit of that irrepressible dream that comes to you after eating is your diet. And there are foods that stimulate the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone

Do you feel sleepy after eating and would you like to avoid it?  In general, this is due to the intake, especially, of a number of foods. Pay attention, because there are tips that can help prevent this from happening. We are sure that they will be of great help to you.

If you have the opportunity, the best remedy to end the drowsiness after the meal is to take a short nap, of 10 or 15 minutes. However, as that is not always possible, you can play with the diet. To do this, try to avoid the foods that we discuss below.

In addition, other recommendations such as not eating excessively and drinking water will also help you. Take note and you will no longer suffer that uncomfortable drowsiness that appears after lunchtime and that usually comes when we are working.

Avoid dairy products

Dairy products are essential for bone care, but care must be taken with the way in which they are eaten and especially with the hours at which they are taken. The set of tryptophan and calcium that these products usually have helps the brain to assimilate this amino acid.

Especially, this relaxing effect will be observed when we consume hard cheeses because they contain more calcium. Adding crackers to cheese will make you even more sleepy. And it is that, in the presence of carbohydrates, the effect of tryptophan becomes more marked and is enhanced.

So, be very careful if you don’t want to get too sleepy later.

Moderate the consumption of almonds

Almonds are another food rich in tryptophan, the amino acid that encourages the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Also, almonds contain a lot of magnesium, which relaxes your muscles and makes you sleepy.  If you have to work afterwards, better avoid its intake.

If you want to avoid sleep after eating, do not eat bananas

Thanks to the sugar in bananas, tryptophan is much more accessible to the brain. We must also take into account the amount of potassium and magnesium, which are found in abundance in this fruit. These minerals relax the muscles and, consequently, we can feel more drowsy.

Nuts and drowsiness

Walnuts are another product that can make you sleepy after eating, although less than other nuts such as almonds, mentioned above. And, although they contain less tryptophan than almonds, they have melatonin.

There is research showing that consuming walnuts increases the level of this hormone in the blood and, as a result, can make you sleepy, so beware of eating them at work.

If you don’t want to fall asleep, don’t eat cherries

Cherries are a delicious fruit but they can make you sleepy, as they increase the level of melatonin. Although a couple of cherries will not change anything, be very careful about having a glass of cherry juice, because then it will probably make you sleepy.

The relaxing effect of chamomile

Chamomile contains glycine, an amino acid that has a mild sedative effect and relaxes the muscles and nervous system. Therefore, after drinking chamomile tea, you will probably feel sleepy after eating. So be careful when you take it.

Don’t go overboard with pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds also contain significant doses of tryptophan, as well as plenty of zinc and magnesium. These elements relax the muscles and the nervous system, due to which you may feel like sleeping after consuming them. Keep that in mind.

Oatmeal for breakfast?

Oats provide us with both tryptophan and B vitamins, making it a food that relaxes the nervous system. They also have magnesium and calcium.

• If you don’t want to yawn after breakfast, don’t intensify the sedative effect by adding milk, bananas, or almonds.
• Better, try to mix it with other types of food.

Dream after eating white rice

White rice has a high glycemic index, which is why it causes drowsiness, although it does not do so immediately, but 3 or 4 hours later. The most marked hypnotic effect is jasmine rice so if you are a lover of this type, be careful.

The fattiest fish

The acids contained in the most fatty fish, such as salmon, tuna or other fried fatty fish enhance the production of melatonin. The same acids reduce the level of the stress hormone in the blood, which is why we relax and begin to feel that sleep is taking over.