Eat light and feel right. Eat the wrong food and you are off to dreamland! Read on to know why this happens and also get some remedial measures to undertake when you have indulged a bit.

Have you ever felt sleepy after a meal? Who hasn’t!!! By making you feel drowsy, your body is trying to tell you something...eat right...read ahead to know the connection between what you eat & it’s after effect!!

Digestion of food requires energy - When we eat something, the body’s top priority is to take care of that food, i.e. to digest it.

Eat an easy-to-digest food - The body spends less energy on digestion. Hence, you don’t feel tired after such a meal as there is still a lot left in body’s energy reserves.

Eat a difficult-to-digest food - The body spends more energy on digestion. Hence, you feel tired after such a meal as the body’s energy reserves are depleted.

What are easy-to-digest foods? – All raw foods, i.e. Fruits, dry fruits, raw vegetable salads, vegetable juices, sprouts, nuts & seeds.

What are difficult-to-digest foods? – All foods except the above, especially dairy, non-veg, refined & processed foods, oily and heavily spiced foods.

How to remain energetic & not feel tired or sleepy after a meal?

1. If you don’t want to feel sleepy, if you want to feel energetic – Load up on easy-to-digest foods
2. If you can’t avoid heavy food - ensure you eat a lot of raw vegetable salad before that. This allows the body to start manufacturing enzymes that can be carried over & used to produce your own enzymes, required to digest the heavy food.
3. Eat mindfully – Give attention to the food you are eating, chew each mouthful well, feel the taste and texture of what you are eating. Eating mindfully and slowly, the stomach can better signal to the brain when we have had enough so you do not overeat.

What to do if you have eaten a heavy meal or over eaten? Few things which may help you.

1. Rest if you can – Avoid heavy mental and physical work after a heavy meal so your body can quietly work on digestion
2. Sit in Vajrasana. This is supposed to help you with better digestion.
3. Be mindful of your eating habits so you do not over eat next time.