# Sleepy after eating sweets **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500 "2009-09-01T15:54:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/1 "2009-09-01T15:54:52Z")
YANAD (or maybe yes), YA definitely NMD, but my google-fu is weak. Maybe I’m imagining things, but it seems to me like eating carbs leads to me being sleepy; the simpler the carbs, the worse the low. So, like the opposite of a little kid. Whole-grain pasta or bread affects me little to nothing, a white bread sandwich or normal pasta make me sleepy, a bowl of blackberries is a straight ticket to a meeting with my pillow. It’s kind of a bother, as I’m trying to eat more veggies and fruits but I can’t do it if it’s going to knock me out (or at least, not unless I can afford a nap). Is this normal? Is it something I should talk with my doctor about? Am I just inventing correlations? ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/2 "2009-09-01T16:08:39Z")
I was having similar things happen a while back; eating anything even slightly sweet, carb-laden or having even a small amount of alcohol made me sleepy. Finally had the doc check me out, only to discover that I’m type 2 diabetic. I have none of the established risk factors (not obese, little-to-no family history, etc.), but was on Prednisone for a lung problem for almost a year and it caused the diabetes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/3 "2009-09-01T16:19:27Z")
I believe it’s normal to some degree ([here’s one cite](http://www.drmirkin.com/nutrition/9797.html)), but it could also be a symptom of diabetes or something similar. I’ve also heard that eating protein with the carbs helps to regulate it and avoid the crash, and that some substances, such as [cinnamon](http://www.bodyformind.com/ezines/21ezine.html#Melt_Your_Body_Fat_with%3FCinnamon) can help with blood-sugar regulation. But I am definitely not an expert. (But I’ve learned from personal experience that sugary, low-fiber cereals are not a good way to start an energetic day.) ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/4 "2009-09-01T16:31:00Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > YANAD (or maybe yes), YA definitely NMD, but my google-fu is weak. > > Maybe I’m imagining things, but it seems to me like eating carbs leads to me being sleepy; the simpler the carbs, the worse the low. So, like the opposite of a little kid. Sugar does not make kids hyperactive. Referred to as a “suburban myth” by the Skeptics’ Dictionary: > **[BU Bridge Health Matters - Week of 29 January 1999](https://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/01-29/health.html)** ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/5 "2009-09-01T17:47:43Z")
Definitely ask your doctor to check you for diabetes. If I make the double mistake of forgetting my meds and eating too many carbs, it can be near impossible for me to stay awake. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/6 "2009-09-01T18:12:05Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > Sugar does not make kids hyperactive. Referred to as a “suburban myth” by the Skeptics’ Dictionary: > > [BU Bridge Health Matters - Week of 29 January 1999](http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/1999/01-29/health.html) Yeah, the effect of giving candy to the kids right before bed is purely psychological (if I’m awake I get candy, if I’m asleep I don’t… I’ll stay awake!), but it works well as an image. Sorry. Thanks people. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/7 "2009-09-01T18:33:01Z")
Just to add another tiny data point: I too have found this, though it probably took a year to recognize the pattern. FWIW, my HbA1C is around 6.5 (“pre-diabetic”, according to my MD). I’ve also noticed that sweets before bed correlates to a half-hour of restless-leg syndrome in me, about 75% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Philosopher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Philosopher)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/8 "2009-09-01T18:59:34Z")
I find that if I eat a lot of sweets (I mean real sweets - you know, those horrid sugar-coated strips of candy kind of thing :)) I get the most crippling low afterwards and usually end up having to take a nap. I don’t tend to get it for any other more complex carbs though. I guess it has something to do with the energy from simple carbs getting burned away quickly? ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/9 "2009-09-01T18:59:42Z")
If your blood sugar goes up too high, you get drowsy. You might also notice that you are more thirsty than usual. These symptoms indicate diabetes. I am a type II diabetic. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/10 "2009-09-02T00:06:27Z")
Another diabetic … yup, sugar = naptime … mrAru jokes that I am the only person he knows that can go to a donut shop for sedation:smack: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/11 "2009-09-02T04:25:36Z")
Another data point here. Yup, get thee to a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-after-eating-sweets/508500/12 "2009-09-02T05:18:00Z")
I never get tired after eating anything sweets, carbs or otherwise, but I _do_ get so exhausted I can barely function when I’m really hungry before dinner.