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The real reason why we feel hungry after a big meal at night

By Wendy Amarteifio
hungry
A Ghanaian Dish
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Has this ever happened to you?

You went for dinner at night, had a hearty meal, but when you woke up the next morning, you felt extremely famished.

Even after having a big meal comprising of all your favourite dishes, it felt like you did not have any food last night. Your stomach growls and the first thing you look for is food.

This feeling makes you overeat in the morning, resulting in energy crash and loss of productivity. Well, let us tell you that there is a scientific reason why most people feel ravenous in the morning after a big meal at night.

The reason you feel ravenous

The surge in appetite is mostly linked to your blood sugar level and hormones.

This makes you binge eat the other morning, making you feel sluggish throughout the day. There is a common misconception that your stomach expands after having a big meal and for the same reason you feel hungry the next day. But that is not true at all.

The truth is, when you binge eat at night, your blood sugar level spikes sharply. This goes down after some time and when you wake up you feel hungry and have some crazy cravings.

As per a study published in the journal Nutrients, while binge eating we consume fewer healthy food and mostly overeat. This causes our pancreas to produce more insulin. Too much insulin in your body makes your blood sugar level drop dramatically. This will make you feel tired the next morning and you will feel ravenous.

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Not only this, but you may also feel parched in the morning. That's because you consumed excessive sodium at night. Our body also misunderstands thirst as hunger. So gulp two glasses of water the first thing in the morning.

What to do after having a big meal

Here are a few things you can do at night to avoid this situation in the morning.

Eat your food early: If you are feasting at night then do not go to bed immediately after that. There should be a two-hour gap between your last meal and bedtime.

Walk: Walk for a while after having your meal at night. This will help you digest your food.

In the morning start your day with two glasses of water, followed by a protein and fiber-packed healthy breakfast.

This will help you easily manage your day.

Credit:indiatimes