Most often after having a heavy meal, we will feel that temptation to fall asleep. It even greatly comforts you when lying down after relishing your favorite dishes. Also, sleeping right after your meals can have a huge impact on your health and well-being. Further, this blog will brief you on why it’s crucial to avoid this habit, its health effects, and some bonus tips to develop a healthy routine post-eating.
What is the process of digestion?
Before knowing why it’s bad to sleep post-meal, it’s crucial to grasp knowledge about the basics of digestion. Once after eating your body will begin to break down the foods, transferring vital nutrients to the intestines and slowly absorbing energy for your body. Typically, this process takes some time and energy. Lying immediately after your meal will interfere with your digestion, resulting in numerous health problems, where gravity comes into the frame, and captures a significant role in moving food efficiently through your digestive tract.
What is indigestion?
Indigestion is nothing but experiencing pain or mild discomfort post-meal when your stomach is digesting the foods. Often, impaired digestion is commonly referred to as dyspepsia by medical professionals. You need to be aware that getting stomach pain or tummy upset post-eating denotes that there is a digestive problem. Always, it’s not necessary to blame your body. Often it can arise due to eating the wrong foods or eating too fast.
Everyone has experienced this unpleasant condition at some point in their life. But for a few individuals it is a daily occurrence that potentially disturbs the quality of their life. When indigestion begins to disturb your life you should consider reaching out to the healthcare provider for indigestion relief. Most of the time there will be an underlying gastrointestinal disease that needs to be treated.
What are the symptoms of indigestion?
Indigestion or dyspepsia is a group of signs that always targets your upper abdominal area and creates discomfort when you should consider reaching out to the gastro specialist in Coimbatore to get the desired outcomes. Notably, most of the digestive organs are found in the abdomen, individuals will feel the pain in that area when any issues arise in their digestive system. Also, everyone will experience indigestion in different ways, typically indigestion symptoms will occur post-eating and they include:
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Early satiety:
Feeling full too early when eating your meal indicates that your stomach gets overwhelmed and struggles to digest your food effectively.
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Abdominal pain:
When there is pain in your central, and upper abdomen it is known as epigastric pain. This also indicates that your organ cannot digest the foods that you are eating.
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Bloating:
An unpleasant feeling of tightness in an individual’s upper abdomen is a prominent sign of bloating. Often bloating is caused by more gas, but it can be connected to digestive problems.
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Gas:
Intestinal gas is a group of vapors that occurs in the digestive system. Whenever this gets mixed with intestinal bacteria, an unpleasant odor can be produced. This occurs due to insufficient digestive enzymes or swallowing air when eating. Further, some will go through burping.
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Nausea:
At times, indigestion will result in intense feelings of nausea or the constant urge to vomit.
What are the causes of indigestion?
The common causes of indigestion include:
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Improper chewing:
When an individual is not chewing well, their digestive system will find it difficult to break down the foods, and it remains a potential cause of indigestion.
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Binge eating:
Eating too fast or binge-eating can make your stomach stretch and let stomach acid escape through the top, this remains a significant cause of indigestion.
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Consuming fatty foods:
At times, meals high in fat and fried foods remain the cause of indigestion, which will trigger the release of more acids and enzymes for digestion, which will affect your system.
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Spicy foods:
Even a few foods will trigger your digestion. For instance, being sensitive to spicy foods can remain a cause of indigestion.
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Smoking and consumption of alcohol:
Both alcohol and smoking are the main cause of indigestion, and it can lead to swelling by irritating the mucosal lining of your digestive tract.
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Anxiety:
Research has highlighted the strong link between our brains and guts, that is one can disturb the other. So, anxiety can cause turmoil in your gastrointestinal tract when overlooked.
What health issues will arise with falling asleep post-meal?
Further, let’s see a few health issues associated with sleeping right after your meal:
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Acid reflux and heartburn:
The most common issue that arises with falling asleep immediately after your meal is acid reflux, also known as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). When lying down, stomach acid easily travels back to the esophagus, which develops a burning sensation in the chest referred to as heartburn. When overlooked, persistent acid reflux will damage your esophagus lining and result in further complications.
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Disturbed sleep pattern:
It’s natural to feel sleepy post-meal, notably if it was a heavy meal rich in carbohydrates, but it doesn’t mean that your body is ready for rest. Even lying down will trigger discomfort due to indigestion, heartburn, and bloating, altogether will never let you sleep peacefully. When this persists, low sleep quality may result in fatigue, irritability, and a weakened immune system.
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Weight gain and obesity:
In case you have the habit of falling asleep right after your meal can greatly contribute to weight gain. When sleeping, your body’s metabolism slows down, and the food that you consume will not be used for energy as efficiently. When this persists, it will result in fat storage, resulting in obesity. Further, snacking at night or heavy meals before bed will compound this problem by adding more calories.
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Increased risk of stroke:
Even studies too suggested that lying down post-eating can potentially contribute to stroke risks. Also, the precise mechanism is not completely understood, medical professionals believe that it could be related to acid reflux, when the irritation caused by stomach acid entering the esophagus will disturb blood flow and cardiovascular health.
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Indigestion and bloating:
Your stomach requires some time to digest food properly, so sleeping right after eating will delay this process. Often this will result in indigestion and bloating, which will make you feel uncomfortable, so you should take proactive steps to beat bloating. Whenever issues arise with digestion, it may trigger issues like gas, cramping, and nausea, altogether which will disturb your overall digestive system.
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Spikes in blood sugar:
Post-eating, notably meals rich in carbohydrates, your blood sugar will be increased rapidly. When sleeping post-eating, there is no chance to burn off the energy, which elevates your blood sugar levels. When this condition persists, it will result in insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
What are the healthy habits I should adopt after a meal?
To avoid such health issues, it’s crucial to develop healthy habits post-meal that will enhance your digestion and remain the best cure for indigestion. Further, let’s see some tips:
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Wait before lying down:
Experts suggest to wait at least for 2 to 3 hours post-meal before lying down or going to sleep. This period will let your body digest food efficiently and lower the acid reflux risks, and remains the best cure for indigestion, and other digestion-related problems.
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Engage in mild walking:
A gentle walk post-meal will work wonders and also remains the best cure for indigestion. Individuals’ digestive systems will be stimulated by walking post-meal highly helps in regulating blood sugar levels. Even walking at least for 10 to 15 minutes will make a huge difference in how you feel post-eating and also prevent the sluggish feeling that often accompanies heavy meals.
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Drink sufficient water:
As all we know, drinking sufficient water is crucial but drinking more water immediately after your meal will dilute stomach acid, which is significant for proper digestion. So the best cure for indigestion will be drinking water in moderation and not drinking more water during or after the meal.
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Avoid heavy meals before bed:
To enhance your digestion and prevent discomfort during the night, avoid heavy meals and spicy foods before bed. Even if you are hungry, consider eating light snacks such as fruits, yogurt, or nuts that don’t disturb your digestive system. Also, you can plan the last meal of the day at least two to three hours before bedtime, which remains the best cure for indigestion.
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Practice mindful eating:
Concentrating on how and what you eat can make significant changes in your digestion and reduce the feeling of sleepiness post-meal. Notably, chew your food thoroughly, also eat slowly, and avoid all distractions such as watching television or scrolling through mobile phones when eating. Simply, mindful eating will make you recognize when you are feeling full, and it also helps to prevent overeating and remains the best cure for indigestion.
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Keep your head elevated when sleeping:
If you are completely lying down after a meal, make sure to elevate your head and upper body with the help of pillows or by sleeping in a slightly reclining position. This will assist in reducing the likelihood of acid reflux, while gravity will help in balancing stomach acid from traveling back to the esophagus, and it is also the best cure for indigestion.
What are the benefits of modifying your post-meal habits?
Following a healthier routine post-meal not only enhances your digestion but also contributes to overall wellness, if those healthy habits are not helping you enhance your digestion consider getting indigestion treatment in Coimbatore to get the desired outcomes. By providing your body the time it requires to appropriately process the food, individuals can:
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Improve gut health:
Just by avoiding falling asleep post-meal your digestive system can function effectively, promoting better nutrient absorption and one can greatly avoid the risk of digestive disorders.
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Boost energy levels:
Don’t respond to food-induced drowsiness, and by staying active you will feel more energized and productive the whole day.
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Maintain an ideal weight:
By giving your body sufficient time to burn calories, your body does not need to store more fat, and you can also deal with issues like weight gain.
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Reduced risk of chronic disease:
Healthy digestion and stable blood sugar levels will assist in preventing the onset of certain conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
What are the other things I should avoid post-eating?
You need to understand that lying down right after eating is not the sole cause of indigestion, some common things to avoid post-eating for indigestion relief include:
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Rigorous exercise:
An intense workout after eating will make it harder for the body to digest your food. This happens because the body’s resources will be directed to your exercising muscles, not to the digestive tract. This will result in cramping, vomiting, or diarrhea when exercising, and make indigestion relief a difficult thing.
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Overconsumption of water:
Drinking water throughout your meal will be one of the efficient ways to stay hydrated. But drinking more water post-eating will dilute stomach juices and make indigestion relief a difficult thing.
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Taking showers:
A warm shower will increase your body’s temperature, which will direct blood flow to your skin and away from your digestive processes. Eventually, your digestion will be delayed and will result in signs like bloating and gas, and this makes indigestion relief difficult.
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Falling asleep right after your meal:
As mentioned before, falling asleep soon after your meals will slow down your digestion and let your stomach acid come back to your esophagus. Further, during the nighttime, you may also experience bloating and pain or discomfort, which will badly affect the indigestion relief.
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Loosening the belt:
If you are loosening your belt post-eating, it denotes that you have eaten more than your system can accommodate in one sitting, it disturbs the indigestion relief. In the end, the relief you feel after loosening the belt may be misleading, and mainly you may tend to eat more than you need.
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Start walking right after your meal:
At times, immediately rushing to walk post-eating can result in reflux symptoms or severe indigestion. Walking assists in enhancing metabolism and stretching your muscles, at least you need to wait for 10 minutes post-eating for walking for better indigestion relief.
Final thoughts:
In conclusion, we can say that, just by avoiding falling asleep right after a meal, you can enhance your digestive health and overall well-being. With a simple act of waiting for a few hours post-meal, you can avoid a range of health concerns like acid reflux, indigestion, weight gain, and complex conditions such as stroke.
