Written by Bhakti Paun Sharma | Updated : July 13, 2016 11:07 AM IST
The first thing you want to do after a good meal is hit the sack. But is it the right thing to do? Your elders may have told you several things you must avoid doing after meals. Are they just myths or facts? Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine at Paras Hospitals Gurgaon tells you the facts.
Bathing- Granny always scolded me for taking a bath immediately after meals to prevent indigestion or stomach aches. Bathing cools the body and hence there is more blood flow to the skin. Thus the blood required by the stomach for digestion decreases and digestion suffers.
Cycling- As cycling leads to increased blood supply to muscles, if one does exercise, blood supply to the stomach decreases and digestion will be hampered.
Drinking cold water- Cold water causes the fats from oily foods to condense. It is also thought to decrease the enzymatic reactions involved in digestion and hence a glass of regular water or lukewarm water is recommended.
Sleeping- Sleeping directly after meals has been linked to obesity as extra calories are conserved. Sleeping being a resting state, our metabolic state is slowed. Avoid lying down immediately after meals.
Driving- After meals, the blood supply to intestines increases which results in a mildly decreased flow to the brain. This leads to post prandial sleepiness (sleepy state after meals). It is not good to drive in this sleepy state since it increases the risk of accidents as you are alert enough after a heavy meal.
Smoking- The absorption rate in our body is increased after meals. This makes it easy for the body to absorb the chemicals more easily and causes more harm. Smoking is bad at any time and especially after meals.
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