吃完午饭就犯困？你需要这么做…… Tired after eating? Here’s why, and how to fix it

一吃饱就犯困，很多人都有这种情况。很多时候，只是因为你吃多了或者摄入了太多高糖高脂肪的食物，但如果你在调整了饮食之后困倦感依然没有消失，那么你就要注意了，这可能是身体亮起了红灯。

After a busy morning, lunch can feel like just the pick-me-up you need — but sometimes the meal you thought would energize you is the very thing that makes you want to nap at your desk.

在忙碌的早晨结束后，午饭是你所需的能量补给站，但是有时候这顿饭不仅没有像你想的那样让你重振精神，反而让你在办公桌前打起盹来。

Feeling tired after lunch, or post meals in general, is known as postprandial somnolence — or, colloquially, the food coma.

吃完午饭感到困倦，或是一吃完饭就犯困，被称为餐后嗜睡症，也就是俗称的饭气攻心。

Part of this phenomenon is due to basic physiology: When humans eat, most of our blood goes to the digestive organs to process the food, said Sandra Arévalo, director of community health and wellness at Montefiore Nyack Hospital in New York state.

美国纽约州蒙蒂菲奥里·奈阿克医院社区卫生和保健部主管桑德拉·阿雷瓦洛指出，这种现象一部分是因为自然的生理反应：当人类进食时，大部分血液都流到消化器官去处理食物了。

The tendency to get tired after eating isn’t inherently suggestive of something amiss. But there can be additional factors that exacerbate this natural response, making getting through the rest of the workday or any activities feel like a slog. Here’s what to watch out for and how to make adjustments.

吃完就犯困不一定意味着身体出了毛病，但是有一些因素会加重这种自然反应，让接下来的工作和其他活动变得很艰难。来看看应该注意哪些因素，以及怎么做才能减轻饭后的困倦感。

Heavy or sugary meals

油腻或高糖的饭食

When it comes to why you feel overly tired after eating, a common cause is consuming meals that are heavy in terms of quantity or quality.

如果你饭后觉得特别累，一个常见的原因是你吃得太多或太油腻。

Some people overeat instead of stopping when they feel comfortably satiated. Not eating breakfast can also lead to overindulging later in the day if excessive hunger makes controlling your appetite difficult, Arévalo said.

有些人吃饱了还吃，结果就吃多了。阿雷瓦洛表示，不吃早餐也容易造成午饭吃太饱，因为过饥会让你难以控制自己的食欲。

Sometimes, however, the makeup of certain foods can contribute to tiredness. Fats are the hardest nutrient to digest because their molecules are much larger than those of protein or carbs, said Julie Stefanski, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. If you had a meal high in fat — such as fried foods or pizza — that could make you feel tired. Meals high in added sugar or refined or highly processed carbohydrates can have the same effect.

不过，有时候，特定食物的成分也会引起困倦感。营养与饮食学会发言人朱莉·斯特凡斯基指出，脂肪是最难消化的营养物质，因为脂肪分子比蛋白质或碳水化合物的分子大得多。如果你的餐食富含脂肪，比如油炸食品或披萨，你就容易感到困倦。含糖量高或精制以及高加工碳水化合物也会产生同样的效果。

The fiber in so-called whole foods slows the absorption of sugar into the body, which means they don’t cause blood sugar or insulin spikes and instead give you more stable, lasting energy, said Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic.

克利夫兰诊所的注册营养师克莉丝汀‧克派崔克指出，所说的天然食品中含有的纤维会减慢人体对糖的吸收，这意味着全食不会导致血糖或胰岛素飙升，能给你提供更稳定持久的能量。

“A five-minute walk or something helps to improve circulation and alertness, as well,” Arévalo said.

阿雷瓦洛称：“散步5分钟之类的运动有助于改善循环，让你更清醒。”

Poor sleep

睡眠不佳

Sleep regulates your hormones, including your digestive ones, according to Kirkpatrick. And if you’re sleep-deprived, your body’s likely to suppress the hormone called leptin that signals “I’m full and don’t need any more” or elevate ghrelin, the hormone that commands “feed me,” she explained. Being insufficiently rested can also negatively affect your decision-making skills, emotional regulation and a brain region that regulates food intake, making it harder to resist cravings for highly palatable foods.

克派崔克指出，睡眠能调节激素分泌，包括你的消化系统中的激素。她解释道，如果你睡眠不足，你的身体会抑制瘦素的分泌，这种激素会发出信号让大脑知道“我已经饱了，不用再吃了”，你的身体还可能增加胃饥饿素的分泌，这种激素会向大脑发出“喂饱我”的信号。睡眠不足还会给你的决策能力、情绪调节能力和调节食物摄入量的大脑区域带来负面影响，让你更难抵制美食的诱惑。

Blood sugar issues

血糖问题

For some people, post-meal fatigue can signal something more serious.

对有些人来说，饭后的困倦感可能意味着更严重的问题。

“Statistics show right now that a lot of people in the US have diabetes or prediabetes and don’t know it,” Stefanski said. When someone can’t properly metabolize carbs and therefore has a high amount of insulin in the blood, that can diminish energy levels, she added.
斯特凡斯基表示：“数据显示，现在美国有很多人患有糖尿病或前驱糖尿病而不自知。”她补充道，如果一个人不能很好地代谢碳水化合物，从而让血液中含有大量胰岛素，这会让人精力不济。

If you regularly feel drowsy after eating even after making dietary adjustments, ask your doctor to administer the hemoglobin A1c test. The test measures average blood sugar levels and shows how much glucose is attached to hemoglobin in red blood cells, Stefanski said.

如果你常常在吃完饭后感到困倦，即使在调整饮食后也没有改善，你应该让医生给你做糖化血红蛋白试验。斯特凡斯基说，这一试验会测量你的平均血糖水平，看你体内红细胞的血红蛋白上附着了多少葡萄糖。

“If that’s high,” she said, “it shows that your body is struggling to metabolize food and metabolize carbohydrates.”

她说：“如果糖化血红蛋白水平高，说明你的身体难以代谢食物和碳水化合物。”

英文来源：美国有线电视新闻网

翻译&编辑：丹妮