After enjoying a good meal during the lunch break, it is difficult to get back to work. Our eyes close, our head is heavy, our yawns multiply and we would give anything to take a nap... This phenomenon has a name:post-prandial drowsiness, that is to say the sudden desire to sleep shortly after eating. Researchers from Bowling Green State University in Ohio and the Scripps Research Institute in Florida investigated this mechanism. To understand the neurobiological link between eating and sleeping, they conducted an experiment on Drosophila melanogaster, also known as “vinegar flies”. And what they found was amazing!
Until then, it was thought that postprandial sleepiness was linked to excessive carbohydrate consumption. In other words, sugar was believed to cause those nasty highs that often follow our meals. But it is nothing! According to this new research, proteins and salt are at the origin of this apathetic state, because the body would spend a lot of energy to digest them. To fully enjoy our afternoons, we will now have to opt for the salad of raw vegetables, to the detriment of the large slice of pizza that makes us look… Bon appétit!
