My history teacher always complains that, ever since our school stopped rotating the last 2 periods of the day, he has my class every day after lunch. He complains that we cannot pay attention as well because our blood goes to our stomachs to digest our food. So my questions are:
Does blood really go to the stomach during digestion?
Does this impair cognitive abilities?
...or is my history teacher just pulling our legs?
2007-11-13 07:13:01 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
It's not that simple... nothing in your body really is.
It is true that your body does alter blood flow to different organ systems based on its primitive assessment of need. If you are relaxed and have eaten a bunch of food, it will send more to your digestive system to process that food. On the other hand, if you are doing a lot of exercise, your digestive system is one of the first that gets shut down. This latter fact is why you can get cramps if you work out just after eating (link 1).
But those aren't the only factors involved. If you eat a lot of food at once or if your blood sugar is low, digestion seems like more of a priority. If your food has a lot of fat it is harder to digest as well. On the other hand, a lot of rapidly-absorbable carbohydrates causes the production of insulin and serotonin which makes you feel warm and sleepy. If you skip lunch entirely, then having a low blood sugar level itself can make you feel exhausted and inattentive. Link 2 for reference on these kinds of things.
In other words, if you ate a good breakfast and maybe had a snack, and ate a modestly sized meal that was well-balanced nutritionally you should probably not only NOT be tired after lunch, but feel energized instead. After all, you just put a bunch of calories in your system! I have noticed that often after my meals I want to run around while many of my friends want to doze off.
So your teacher is incorrect in the most correct way. There is no reason why you MUST be tired after lunch. What he should be criticizing is poor nutritional choices, not the hour of the day!
2007-11-13 08:08:40 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's probably a bit of both. It's not that you lose your ability, it just diminishes. It's the same with different kinds of vegetables as well. And some people can't take spices. However, a psychological reason is much more likely if you threw up right after you ate it. Your stomach probably wouldn't have reacted until a few hours had passed if it was just the beef.
2016-05-23 00:00:10 · answer #2 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Indirectly. According to the site below, it's partially digested food products from highly processed foods that causes this sluggishness.
2007-11-13 07:26:59 · answer #3 · answered by Wally M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So history teacher appears to know some science, too.
He/she is correct. That is why I advise students to eat only a light lunch if they have an exam in the afternoon, in order to promote better academic performance.
ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
2007-11-13 07:37:04 · answer #4 · answered by Mike Joy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋