Food Coma: Why Do We Feel Sleepy After A Meal?

Have you always felt the bed is  more inviting after a meal? Such people are not alone as sleepiness after lunch or a meal is a common phenomenon. This sleepy feeling is called food coma.

Food coma is a well-researched occurrence and now scientists have revealed some of the reasons why we feel sleepy after eating.

A study conducted by reserchers observed and documented the pattern of eating and sleep of fruit flies. The results of the study published in the journal eLIfe has revealed that the intensity of sleepiness is dependent upon the amount of food consumed.

The study found that flies would doze off for a good 20 to 40 minutes. While the ones who consumed food in greater quantities were asleep longer hours, reveals IB Times.

A major finding in this study was the component of food. Each component had a different influence in inducing sleep. For instance, sugar did not seem to have any effect on sleepinies post meal. Protein and salt in the meal did impact the extent of sleepiness in a big way, reports CTV News.

Study co-author William Ja of The Scripps Research Institute in the United States said that, "Different foods play different roles in mammalian physiology, but there have been very few studies on the immediate effects of eating on sleep."

Ja said that the study showed for the first time that increased sugar consumption in a meal enabled a thrust to the blood glucose levels in the body in humans. Sugar's influence on sleep after a meal may occur only after 20 to 40 minutes after the meal. This, of course, needs to be observed as sugar provides more energy.

More research is needed to unravel the effects of different types of food on humans and decode the necessity of sleep after a meal.