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Jen Oliver: Welcome to the So that's
Why podcast where we unpack the

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science behind everyday questions.

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I'm Jen.

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Chris Smith: I'm Chris.

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Jamie Eynon: And I'm Jamie.

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Jen Oliver: Right.

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Today we're getting into
something that I can guarantee has

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happened to at least one of us.

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Why do we feel tired after eating?

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You know that feeling You've had
lunch, you sit back down at your desk

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and 20 minutes later your eyelids
weigh about 10 kilos each, and you

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can barely remember your own name.

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Jamie Eynon: It's the workplace
epidemic nobody talks about.

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You go into lunch as a functioning
human being and come out the other

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side like you've been mildly sedated.

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I've seen entire meetings derailed by it.

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Everyone's sitting there nodding
along, but nobody's actually

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processing a single word.

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Chris Smith: It's even got a
proper name, which is postprandial.

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Somnolence, but basically a
fancy way of saying food cover.

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Jen Oliver: That sounds much more
dignified than I need to lie face down

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on the sofa 'cause I've eaten my lunch.

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But seriously, there's some brilliant
science behind this, and it turns out

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that your brain has specific neurons
whose job it is to keep you awake,

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and food literally switches them off.

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On top of that, your gut is producing
raw materials for the same hormone

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that helps you fall asleep at night.

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Jamie Eynon: So eating lunch is basically
like taking a mild sleeping pill.

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That explains the 2:00 PM meeting
that we've all been through,

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Chris Smith: and what's interesting is
how common and how impactful this is.

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So research shows the post-lunch dip
affects the majority of us in some

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degree, and it typically hits hardest
about 30 minutes to an hour after meals.

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For some people, it can linger for hours,

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Jamie Eynon: and it's
not just about comfort.

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There's a real pro productivity cost here.

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If you think about how many people
are making decisions driving operating

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equipment in that post-launch window.

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Understanding what's happening and
how to manage it actually matters

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beyond just feeling a bit groggy.

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Jen Oliver: And that's
a really good point.

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You know, studies have found that
cognitive performance measurably

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drops jaw in the window and
the reaction times slow down.

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Your attention drifts and your ability
to take in new information, it decreases.

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So if you've ever tried learning
something right after lunch and

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felt like nothing was sticking.

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Well, it was real.

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Chris Smith: No, you're totally right.

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And the thing is, this persistent or
severe tiredness after meals can sometimes

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signal something worth paying attention
to, like blood sugar regulation issues.

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Mm-hmm.

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So while occasional post meal
drowsiness is completely normal, if

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it happens heavily after every meal
and it really is impacting your day.

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It's worth trying to understand
exactly what's going on,

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Jen Oliver: which is
exactly what we're gonna do.

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So Chris, when I eat a meal,
particularly one with a decent amount of

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carbohydrates, what's actually happening
inside my body to make me feel sleepy?

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Chris Smith: Okay, so there are actually
multiple mechanisms working together here.

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It's not just one thing.

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So let's start with what happens
when carbohydrates hit your system.

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When you eat carbs, your
blood glucose rises.

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And your pancreas releases insulin to move
that glucose into your cells for energy.

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So far, so normal, right?

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Jen Oliver: Right.

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That's like standard
blood sugar regulation.

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But the insulin's doing
something else too, isn't it?

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Chris Smith: Exactly.

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And here's the clever bit.

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Insulin triggers your muscles to absorb
certain amino acids from your blood.

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Okay.

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Specifically a group called large neutral
amino acids, and there's another amino

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acid called tryptophan that competes with
these four transport route to the brain.

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So when insulin clears those competing
amino acids out, the tryptophan

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suddenly has a much easier path
across that blood brain barrier.

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Jen Oliver: And what people probably
don't know is that tryptophan

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is the precursor to serotonin.

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So once it reaches the brain, it
gets converted into serotonin, which

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influences sleep and wakefulness.

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And some of that serotonin then
becomes melatonin, and that's the

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hormone that signals your body.

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It's time to sleep.

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Jamie Eynon: So your lunchtime pasta is
essentially manufacturing sleep hormone.

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Your body's running a melatonin
production line and you didn't know.

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Chris Smith: Mm, absolutely.

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Yeah.

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That's a good way of looking at it.

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But there's another really important
mechanism happening at the same

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time, your brain has specific neurons
called orexin neurons in an area

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called the lateral hypothalamus.

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These neurons are one of your
brain's primary stay awake signals.

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And research has shown that when
blood glucose rises after a meal, it

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actually silences those orexin neurons.

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Jen Oliver: You've got a double hit.

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You're increasing the ingredients for
sleep hormones while simultaneously

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turning down the volume on your
brain's wakefulness signal.

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And it's quite a combination to deal with.

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Chris Smith: It is.

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And as always, there's more.

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So after a meal, your body shifts
into what's called parasympathetic

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nervous system mode, often
described as rest and digest.

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So your heart rate slows slightly,
your blood pressure drops a touch,

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and your digestive system ramps up.

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That whole shift promotes the
state of calm and relaxation that

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naturally overlaps with drowsiness.

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Jamie Eynon: That makes sense.

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Makes sense of something
you'll have noticed.

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It's not just tiredness, it's
specific kind of heaviness.

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Mm. You don't feel sleepy
the way you do at bedtime.

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It's more like your whole body downshifts
and it's worse than when you eat.

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It's worth when you eat a massive
meal versus something lighter.

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The bigger the meal, the
harder the, uh, the shift.

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Chris Smith: That is exactly right.

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And there's a reason for that.

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So for larger calorie dense meals, like
particularly those high end, both fat and

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carbs, the body releases pro-inflammatory
cytokines, and these are small signaling

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proteins and elevated levels are
associated with fatigue and sleepiness.

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So the bigger and richer the
meal, the stronger that response.

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Jen Oliver: Then there's also
the role of gut hormones.

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So when you eat meals high in
fat and protein, the gut releases

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hormones that are satiety signals
that tell your brain you're full.

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But these hormones have also been
linked to increased drowsiness

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Chris Smith: they have.

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And so after we eat, our
body doesn't rely on just one

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process to feel full or relaxed.

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Instead, several systems
are working together.

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Insulin signaling, uh, gut hormones
and even inflammatory signals.

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And one important piece is that
orexin, which is that brain chemical

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that keeps us awake and alert.

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So after eating a orexin activity is
reduced, which contributes to that

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sleepy, relaxed post-meal feeling.

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So the bigger and richer the meal, the
stronger that response tends to be.

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Mm.

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Jamie Eynon: No wonder we can, can't keep
our eyes open after a big Sunday roast.

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Jen Oliver: Mm-hmm.

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Chris Smith: Yep.

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That's pretty common.

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Uh, but something really important to
layer in here is the circadian rhythm.

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So your body has a natural dip in
alertness in the early afternoon,

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so roughly between one and 3:00
PM And this happens regardless

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of whether you've eaten or not,

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Jen Oliver: Which means for most people,
lunchtime actually collides directly

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with the preexisting biological dip.

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Um, but interestingly, research
has shown that meals don't

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actually cause the afternoon slump.

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They amplify it.

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And one study found that eating
increased the length of an afternoon

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nap, but it didn't initiate it.

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Jamie Eynon: That's interesting
because it also showed up in studies

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of night shift workers when they
ate during their shifts at night.

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They experience more tiredness
than when they didn't eat.

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So it's not just an afternoon thing.

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Eating at any time of day or
night can trigger this response.

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It's just that lunchtime is when it
stacks on top of your body's clock.

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Chris Smith: Yeah, exactly.

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And what you eat matters enormously.

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So high glycemic carbs like white bread,
uh, white rice, sugary foods, they cause

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a faster sharper blood sugar spike, which
drives that a bigger insulin search.

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So more tryptophan entering the brain
and a. More dramatic orexin shutdown.

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The whole cascade is
amplified in that case.

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Jen Oliver: Whereas meals that combine
complex carbs with protein, healthy

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fats and fiber, they slow down that
gluc glucose absorption, and that

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produces a more gradual response
and a less dramatic sleepiness.

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But it also varies between people too.

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So some people experience what's called
reactive hypoglycemia, where the insulin

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response overshoots after a high carb
meal driving blood sugar below normal

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levels, and then that causes fatigue,
shakiness, and brain fog that goes beyond

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that typical post post-meal drowsiness.

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Chris Smith: Yeah, totally.

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And there was a longstanding, uh, theory
that digestion diverts blood away from the

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brain to the gut, reducing oxygen supply.

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That's been partially challenged
though, and one study actually

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found that blood flow to the brain
may increase after meals, and the

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brain is remarkably good actually
at protecting its own blood supply.

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So while blood redistribution does happen
during digestion, it's unlikely to be a

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main driver of that post meal drowsiness.

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Jen Oliver: Okay, so given
all these mechanisms, what can

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people actually do about it?

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Because I can imagine most of our
listeners can't exactly take a nap

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after their lunch on a Tuesday.

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Say,

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Chris Smith: yeah, that'd
be nice, wouldn't it?

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Um, so the, the single most impactful
thing is the meal composition.

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So building meals with complex
carbohydrates, lean protein,

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uh, healthy fats, and fiber.

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That will slow down digestion and
blunt those blood sugar spikes.

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So basically swap the white bread
for whole grain, add some protein

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and vegetables, and that alone
can make a noticeable difference

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to how alert you feel afterwards.

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Jamie Eynon: Um, and portion
size is a big one too.

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I know people who eat a huge lunch
because they've skipped breakfast and

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then wonder why they've completely
wiped, are completely wiped up

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by two o'clock, spreading your
intake more evenly through the day.

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Means you are not triggering
that massive insulin and

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hormone response all in one go.

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Jen Oliver: Mm-hmm.

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Chris Smith: And that's a
really practical point actually.

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So those smaller balanced meals produce a
gentle hormone response overall and place

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less demand on your digestive system.

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Jen Oliver: And here's one
that's really well supported,

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going for a post-meal walk.

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Even a short, gentle walk after
eating, it can improve your blood

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circulation, stimulate glucose uptake
by your muscles, and counteract

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that parasympathetic drowsiness.

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And you don't need to go for a run
just 10 to 15 minutes of moving around.

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It can make a big difference.

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Jamie Eynon: Loads of cultures build
this into their daily routine already.

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Think of the Italian Pajata and
the Post did a walk in Mary Many.

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Asian countries.

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Um, we've somehow in the UK and in
Europe, well in, in Northern Europe,

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somehow engineered this out of our
day by eating at our desks and going

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straight back to our computer screens.

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Jen Oliver: Mm.

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Chris Smith: I love the way you pronounced
that Italian word, which I won't try

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to do myself, but that was great.

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Um, bright light exposure is
another one backed by research.

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So bright white light in the afternoon
has been shown to reduce that

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post-lunch dip and improve alertness.

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So if you can get outside or
sit near a window after lunch.

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Natural light helps
counteract that circadian dip.

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Jen Oliver: And as always,
hydration plays a role as well.

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If you're dehydrated,
that can compound fatigue.

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So staying hydrated throughout the
day, it supports the whole picture too.

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Jamie Eynon: And probably worth saying if
you are relying on a big coffee straight

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after lunch to get through the afternoon,
that might work short term, but it can

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interfere with your sleep later, um,
which just makes the next day dip worse.

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It's a cycle that feeds
itself if you're not careful.

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Jen Oliver: So what strikes me is
how this connects to everything

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else we've covered on this podcast.

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Sleep quality, energy levels, even mood.

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They're all intertwined
with how and what we eat.

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Chris Smith: Absolutely.

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And if you're not sleeping well, which
of course we've explored in detail

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in the sleep episode, you are more
susceptible to that afternoon dip.

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So poor sleep amplifies the
natural circadian low point so

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that food coma hits even harder.

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Jamie Eynon: And if your diet isn't
giving you the right nutrients

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overall, your energy regulation is
compromised before you even go to lunch.

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The post-meal dip is really just one
piece of a much bigger picture when it

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comes to how you feel throughout the day.

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Jen Oliver: It's a good reminder,
isn't it, that these health topics,

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they're not isolated chapters.

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How you eat at lunch connects to how
you sleep last, slept last night,

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which connects to your energy levels
for exercise, which connects back

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to sleep quality and understanding.

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One piece helps us
manage the whole picture.

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Jamie Eynon: So why do we
actually feel tired after eating?

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Chris Smith: It's because
eating particularly carbohydrate

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rich meals triggers a cascade
of biological responses.

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Insulin drives tryptophan into
your brain where it's converted

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to serotonin and melatonin.

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Rising blood glucose silences your
brain's wakefulness, neurons, your

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nervous system shift into rest and digest
mode, and gut hormones and inflammatory

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signals all add to that drowsy feeling.

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Layer on top of that, your body's
natural afternoon dip and you've got the

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perfect recipe for a full on food coma.

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Jen Oliver: So that's why that
2:00 PM meeting feels like such a

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struggle and why a balanced lunch
and a short walk afterwards can

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genuinely change your afternoon.

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Your body's doing exactly
what it's designed to do.

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The trick is working
with it, not against it.

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That's it for this week.

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Make sure you hit that subscribe button.

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We're unpacking the science
behind everyday questions each

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week, and tell us in the comments
what you'd like us to explore.

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Thanks for geeking out with us,
but for now, that's it from me.

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Chris Smith: That's it from
me, and that's it from me.

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Jen Oliver: Bye for now.