After meal

Experts of the University of Manchester found that the brain cells that are responsible for the waking state, abruptly "switched off" after a meal. According to scientists, this finding may be useful in developing treatments for obesity, eating disorders. As a result, the researchers concluded that people, like animals, have become sleepy and less active after a meal, which, in general, and there was no secret to anyone, since many of us like to take a nap for an hour the other on a comfortable couch. "Blackout" of the brain is because the level of glucose in the blood, and certain cells of the brain send signals to stop, resulting in our body in a cheerful state. It turns out that glucose affects the cells that synthesize orexin - a hormone that affects sleep and wakefulness. Violation of these cells results in narcolepsy - uncontrollable sleepiness and obesity. Also, these cells play an important role in the learning process in the formation of dependency, influence the behavior aimed at having fun. The fact is that in the membrane of neurons that secrete orexin, a channel that is sensitive to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. Through this mechanism, scientists can now explain the desire to sleep after meals or, on the contrary, insomnia on an empty stomach.

Source: www.scienceblog.ru