You ate your weight in food and now, all you want to do is sleep.
Well, friends, this is called a food coma, that wonderful feeling of incredible fullness accompanied by ridiculous laziness and lethargy. Surprisingly, there is actually a scientific term for the food coma: postprandial somnolence. There is still much debate over the causes of a food coma, as many factors influence the sleepiness you feel post-feast including what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat.
A study done by Keith Murphy et al. that was published in 2016 in the online journal eLife found a positive correlation between the amount of food consumed and the level of post-meal lethargy. Additionally, David Levitsky, a professor of nutrition and psychology at Cornell University, argues that the most likely source is changes in your blood circulation.
Basically, when you eat a huge meal, blood is sent from other parts of your body to your digestive tract. Your parasympathetic nervous system, which works to rest and digest, is triggered, which tells your body to conserve energy in order to aid the break-down and absorption of nutrients. When this happens, blood flow is decreased to other parts of the body, leaving you feeling tired and lazy.
Sometimes, you have the time to sit and sleep for the rest of the day. But usually, you have to find some way to keep human-ing while dealing with the insane amounts of food you just ate. To fight the sleeps, here are five tips to recover from your next food coma.
1. Stay Active
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Because you are probably sitting while eating, your body can get used to not being active and conserving energy in order to focus on digesting. To fight this feeling, go on a short walk. This doesn’t have to be a crazy-long run or hike; rather, keep your body moving and your blood circulating.
2. Reduce “Bloating”
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Personally, I believe that bloating is less of what you look like, but more of how you feel. When you eat a large meal, you feel as though your stomach is expanding and your pants are getting tighter by the minute. Though unbuttoning your pants sometimes seems completely necessary, there are other solutions. In order to reduce the feeling of bloating, try drinking peppermint or ginger tea after your meal. Both are known to reduce stomach pains and sickness, and aid in digestion. You can also try to minimize your water retention by eating bananas, watermelon, oatmeal, or even dark chocolate.
3. Eat Well
Though you may not be able to bear the sight of food at the moment, it is important that you keep nutrients in your body. Instead of eating large amounts of solid food, try a smoothie or some leafy greens. It will also be vital that you have a nutritious meal the next morning in order to keep your body digesting and active.
Jaclyn London, a senior clinical dietician at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City that spoke with Women's Health, suggested eating small, spaced-out snacks that fulfill three essentials: "high in protein, low in simple carbs, and contain a dose of healthy fat."
4. Caffeinate Carefully
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It may seem kind of obvious, but if you’re tired, try drinking a small cup of coffee. However, small is important here. You don’t want to overdo it on the caffeine and stay up all night.
Scientifically, caffeine works by blocking the hormones that induce sleepiness in our brains. By consuming small amounts of caffeine throughout the day, you can stay alert and awake without dangerously spiking your heart rate.
5. Drink Water
Above all else, drink water. I know you are going to roll your eyes and say that's what everyone says to do and it never works, but it really does. I prefer ice-cold water because I feel as though it almost numbs my throat and clears any feelings of excessive fullness, but there are also those who favor warm water.
Nila Choudhury, a writer for The Teal Mango, describes her favorite remedy of “half a glass of warm water, some lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. [The] lemon water clears out your system pretty quickly.”
Although these tips may seem small, incorporating some of them like staying active and drinking water into your post-meal routine are essential to recovering from yet another food coma.