Need or laziness - why do you want to sleep after a meal?

After lunch you often want to sleep, but it's uncomfortable to experience that at work. We don't have Japan, where employees sleep right in the office. Why does this happen and what to do in such a case?

The body's needs
It turns out that this is a physiological need of the body. He got one need and now he needs another. Not only that, the specialists recommend to sleep after dinner, because it is very important for the body.
Just look at the animals, they don't have to go to work, they don't have to do homework either, they lie down and rest peacefully after eating because it's natural. Drowsiness after a meal is characteristic of almost every living creature.

Earlier there was this explanation from the researchers - our stomach has received a portion of food, after which it takes over its processing. This process requires a rush of blood to the stomach to provide energy. There is a redistribution of blood in the body, and the brain gets less of it, along with the oxygen that comes with the blood. Because of this reversal after a meal, drowsiness occurs.

But recently there is a different version of this human condition. Scientists at Manchester University have found that the activity of the brain cells responsible for maintaining wakefulness, it is after a meal decreases. In addition, the reaction rate also decreases, the process of thinking becomes slower. And all due to an increase in blood glucose levels, which leads to violations of the transmission of nerve impulses. The cells that synthesize the hormone orexin simply stop giving signals.

Eat, rest
But the opposite happens if a person is hungry. The level of the hormone increases significantly when the glucose level is low, and a person simply cannot fall asleep until he or she has eaten. This is how the body signals that it needs food. And nobody is able to change all this physiology. That's why scientists have given the advice not to do intellectual work right after a meal, because it's almost useless.
The most suitable time for daytime sleep is from 2 to 3 pm. It is at this time that the body needs a break. If you do not manage to make such breaks every day, you should try to make them at least 2 times a week. You do not need a lot of time for this, 20 or 40 minutes is enough, and the body already feels awake. It is not recommended to sleep for more than one hour, it's already harmful. After an hour of sleep, the body starts to go into a deep sleep phase, which leads to a malfunction of the internal rhythm.