After enjoying a delicious lunch, many of us are prone to severe drowsiness. That's why many people take naps. To overcome daytime sleepiness, you must pay close attention to the food you eat, as well as provide complete health care to your body. You can try to maintain your energy levels during the day by eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, and being active after lunch. Read this article in full to find out how to avoid drowsiness after lunch.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Understanding the Causes of Daytime Sleep
Step 1. Recognize that drowsiness after lunch is related to digestion
The main reason you feel sleepy after lunch is because the food you eat diverts blood from the brain into the digestive tract to help the process. Your body also releases a small amount of melatonin after lunch, a hormone that helps you sleep at night.
Step 2. Recall your bedtime
Sleepiness after lunch may be more bothersome if you didn't get enough sleep the night before. Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep at night to function optimally, so try to get to bed on time at night to get enough sleep. If you have insomnia, talk to your doctor to find out the cause.
Step 3. Consider whether your diet affects daytime sleepiness
While it's normal to feel sleepy after lunch, a lack of nutrition may make your sleepiness worse. To determine how to avoid drowsiness after eating, consider the following questions:
- Do you have breakfast every day?
- Does your breakfast provide enough energy? (more than coffee)
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Is your lunch healthy?
If your answer to any of the questions above is no, you should reevaluate your diet to prevent your post-lunch sleepiness from worsening
Step 4. Observe the habits that make you sleepy by recording your meals
Write down when you felt sleepy, what you ate, whether you exercised or not, whether you slept well last night or not, and any other factors that may have had an effect. Keep this record for one week, and at the end of the week, observe the data you have collected. Watch for patterns so you can learn to avoid any habits that can cause sleepiness problems.
Method 2 of 3: Changing Your Diet to Avoid Sleepiness
Step 1. Eat a healthy breakfast
Never skip breakfast, because this is the first source of energy for you throughout the day. Choose healthy foods such as whole grains and cereals, fruits and yogurt to provide enough energy in the morning. Breakfast will help you fight the temptation to eat unhealthy foods during the day, as well as improve your physical and mental health throughout the day. Healthy food choices for breakfast include:
- Breakfast cereal with skim milk and a piece of fresh fruit.
- Two slices of toasted whole wheat bread topped with 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and a banana.
- Whole grain bagel with scrambled eggs and a slice of low-fat cheese, and a glass of orange juice.
Step 2. Choose a healthy lunch instead of a high-fat or fast-food lunch
Most fast foods are low in nutrients, but rich in fat, sugar, salt, preservatives, and flavor enhancers. It tastes delicious when eaten, and feels energizing, but fast food will only fill your body with low-calorie nutrients, and is a very unhealthy food for your body.
If you must eat from a fast food restaurant, opt for baked or grilled foods, and stay away from fried foods and French fries
Step 3. Choose foods from whole grains and avoid processed sugars and flours
While breads, croissants, muffins, cakes, and pastas taste great, they don't contain a lot of energy. Doctor Gabe Mirkin advises avoiding bread, pasta, and baked goods if you want to stay awake, as the high flour and sugar content in them can cause drowsiness. Choosing unprocessed foods over overly processed, or preserved foods is a much healthier way to feel more refreshed after lunch.
Step 4. Eat a lunch that contains complex carbohydrates and is rich in protein
Instead of choosing foods that are processed and contain simple carbohydrates, make sure to choose a balanced and healthy lunch menu. Choose a lunch that uses vegetables as its main ingredient, and includes a serving of whole grains and healthy protein. Choose an energy-rich lunch menu from the following food choices:
- Sprouts, chickpeas, lettuce, mustard leaves, radicchio, pak choi, sea vegetables, cabbage, mushrooms, radishes, celery, avocado, cucumber, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, sweet pumpkin, zucchini, bamboo shoots, onions, tomatoes, artichokes, water chestnuts, pumpkins, etc.
- Whole wheat bread, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat crackers, bulgur wheat, quinoa, etc.
- Chickpeas, eggs, chicken breast, tuna, tofu, turkey breast, etc.
Step 5. Reduce food portions
Eating large portions of food makes you expend more energy digesting it, making it easier for you to fall asleep. Instead of eating a large lunch, eat several smaller meals throughout the day. Balance small lunches with mid-afternoon and late-afternoon snacks, so you're still getting your recommended calories throughout the day. If you plan to eat smaller meals throughout the day, make sure to eat every 3 hours at least.
Step 6. Eat a healthy snack in the late afternoon
A healthy mid-afternoon snack is one that won't drain your energy, but on the contrary, boosts it. Resist your temptation to eat a bar of chocolate, and replace it with fruit, a low-fat cheese-covered cracker, or a bowl of almonds.
Method 3 of 3: Taking Other Steps to Overcome Daytime Sleepiness
Step 1. Stay away from wine or beer at lunch
While a hectic half day of work makes drinking wine or beer at lunch a bit of a relief, these drinks will only make you sleepy so it's best to avoid alcoholic drinks at lunch. Alcohol is a sedative compound and just one drink can leave you feeling sluggish throughout the day.
Step 2. Reduce your caffeine intake after lunch
While caffeine is known to help you stay awake, it will diminish as you continue to increase your dose. Increasing your caffeine dose is an unhealthy habit because you run the risk of having too much caffeine, and your body will feel sore afterwards, and in the end, you are at risk of becoming addicted to caffeine.
Switch to coffee or decaffeinated drinks to keep you awake during the day. Water is the right choice, because it is also important to meet your body's fluid needs throughout the day. Another plus, you can often walk to the office refrigerator for a drink
Step 3. Exercise after lunch
After lunch, try some light exercise. Walk a few hundred yards, or stretch yourself, use the stairs to get back to your room and avoid using the elevator, or take a quick hop in the bathroom--or whatever works for you and where you're at. Light exercise after eating will help improve blood flow and ward off fatigue.
Step 4. Visit your doctor
If you experience severe drowsiness after lunch, you may need to see your doctor. There are several health conditions that can cause drowsiness, including iron or other nutrient deficiencies, insulin resistance or diabetes, hypoglycemia, or other health problems. Diagnosis and health care is something only a doctor can do.
Tips
- Ask the level of energy felt by the children and youth in your family. If they (or their teacher at school) report a drop in energy after lunch, you may need to reorganize their lunch menu and pay attention to the food they buy. Adequate nutrition is very important for children. Read articles on how to make vegetarian lunches or make lunches for your consideration.
- While sports drinks can provide an immediate energy boost, don't count on them as a daily source of energy. Not only are these drinks high in caffeine and sugar--both of which are unhealthy in high doses, but they're also not great sources of nutrients.
- Make time so you can enjoy a relaxed and quiet lunch. Try to get out of the office or workspace and get some fresh air. In addition to filling the stomach, lunch like this can refresh your spirit again, so that afterward you will be more energetic and productive.
- Try to eat slowly. Having lunch in a hurry will trigger your body to release unnecessary compounds that make you feel tired.
- Even if it doesn't fit into your work schedule, try to take a short 15-minute nap after lunch, and this will help prevent you from being drowsy throughout the day, as well as increase your productivity.
- Even if you only have 10 minutes to eat something, make sure what you eat is nutritious. If you are invited to eat at a restaurant, choose a lighter meal.
Warning
- Chronic fatigue caused by immune system disorders such as fibromyalgia requires you to sleep after lunch. If the methods in this article don't work, and you have fibromyalgia, consider talking to your boss to explain that sleeping after lunch is a necessity because of your condition. If you can take a nap at the office and feel refreshed, you've found a partial solution to your problem--which is more effective than trying to work half-asleep.
- Consult a doctor first before making a decision that has a major impact on your diet or health.
