Can I sleep 1 hour after eating? Sleeping one hour after eating doesn't give your body enough time to digest the food, inciting digestive problems like heartburn and acid reflux. It's recommended to wait at least 2-3 hours before you go to bed after a meal.
Nope, you should allow more time. Experts recommend waiting at least three hours after you've eaten to go to bed. This allows your body time to digest your food so you're not up at night with an upset stomach, indigestion, or acid reflux.
As a general rule of thumb, nutritionists will tell you to wait about three hours to sleep after eating. This allows some digestion to occur and gives time for the contents of your stomach to move into your small intestine.
Avoid laying down after eating: Keep upright for two to three hours after meals to reduce gastrointestinal discomfort and aid digestion. Eat a well-balanced diet: Plan meals that include fruits and vegetables, lean protein and whole grains. Avoid fatty, fried foods and sugary drinks.
A quick rest session in the afternoon after lunch can help to improve digestion. Sleeping relaxes your body and all the energy is focused on breaking the food and absorbing the nutrients that are to be circulated throughout the body.
People who ate 30 grams of protein roughly 30 minutes before bed boosted their metabolism and were less hungry the next morning, according to a 2018 study conducted by Ormsbee and published in the British Journal of Nutrition. He recommends sticking to a 150 calorie, protein-rich food like cottage cheese.
Blood flow to the small intestine “dramatically increases” after a person eats, says Dr. Tomonori Kishino, a professor of health science at Japan's Kyorin University. And as blood is pumped into the gut to fuel digestion, a corresponding drop in blood flow to the brain could trigger feelings of sleepiness, he says.
Don't Go to Bed Hungry
While we encourage you to avoid late-night snacking, we also discourage you from going to bed while hungry. Your body constantly needs energy to function, even during sleep. Going to bed without a last meal means your body has less energy to rejuvenate and repair itself.
Usually, it is advised that you wait for about 2-3 hours before going to bed once you have had your dinner. This provides ample time for digestion and the contents in your stomach to move into the small intestine – and reduces the likelihood of various digestive problem symptoms.
Lying down after having a meal can slow down the process of digestion. It may also make you feel bloated and can lead to heartburn. Wait for at least 2 hours before going to the bed.
Lying down (or not)
When you do lie down, though (ideally at least three hours after a meal), consider lying on your left side, since that position promotes better digestion by protecting against heartburn and allowing gravity to more efficiently pull waste down through the colon.
It is recommended that you stop eating about three hours before you plan to go to bed. This will give your body enough time to properly digest the food you have eaten without disrupting your sleep, but also allowing time to notice any symptoms of acid reflux or any other digestion related irritation.
"When it comes to weight loss, going to bed a little bit hungry can help because it keeps hormones like insulin low, and that can help facilitate weight loss," Davis says. But she reiterates that having a big dinner right before bed has the opposite effect.
Going to bed hungry doesn't just mean less sleep — it may also be bad news for those trying to build muscle. If deprived of nutrients for long enough, your body can start to break down muscle for energy (also called a catabolic state).
Most people are brought up thinking that dinner should be the biggest meal of the day, meaning they opt for a light breakfast and lunch. However, research has found that a smaller dinner and larger lunch could be the key to helping you shift those weight.
While it's important to stay hydrated throughout the day, drinking a lot of water before bed can lead to unwanted sleep interruptions that can affect your overall health.
Lying down can put pressure on the stomach and cause stomach acid to creep up into your esophagus which triggers heartburn. You can totally get comfortable though. In fact, Johnson recommends leaning back a little bit to help take some of the pressure off your stomach.
“I know ginger has some solid backing for helping with nausea and upset stomach – ginger tea, ginger ale, ginger candy or chews or freshly grated ginger,” she said. In addition to aiding the stomach, ginger also can help increase movement of the rest of the gastrointestinal system after you ate too much.
Data sources: Gastric emptying is slow during sleep but the REM sleep is associated with faster gastric emptying. During the night we have a more regular intestinal motility than during the day. During sleep, phase II of the migrating motor complex cycle is virtually absent, both during diurnal or nocturnal sleep.
Walking after a meal, conventional wisdom says, helps clear your mind and aids in digestion. Scientists have also found that going for a 15-minute walk after a meal can reduce blood sugar levels, which can help ward off complications such as Type 2 diabetes.
Digestion benefits and left-side sleeping
However, the location of the stomach is a clue. The stomach's natural position is on the left side, where it can digest food more effectively. Gravity helps the waste travel from the small intestine to the large intestine.
There's no concern that water thins down or weakens down (dilute) the digestive juices or interfere with digestion. In fact, drinking water during or after a meal helps how your body breaks down and processes food (digestion). Water is vital for good health.
If you drink water in a standing position, it can cause ulcers and heartburn. The reason is the liquid that you drink ends up splashing in the esophagus which disturbs the sphincter. As a result, the acid would start you would feel the burning sensation.