Is there any objection to taking a nap after dinner or any other hearty meal?

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After Dinner Naps

Q. Is there any objection to taking a nap after dinner or any other hearty meal?

A. Sleeping immediately after eating is de­cidely objectionable and often gives rise to hyperacidity. The stomach has two distinct lines of work:·

1. It secretes a digestive fluid which dissolves food.

2. Its muscular walls contract upon the food, mixing the gastric contents and pushing the digested portion along to the intestine.

During sleep the secretion proceeds normally, but the movements of the stomach are greatly diminished in intensity so that the stomach is not emptied at the proper rate. This is partly due to the fact that the breathing movements are greatly diminished during sleep and so the assistance which the stomach receives from the diaphragm in moving food along into the intestine is lost. When the food is retained too long in the stomach the gastric contents be­come excessively acid, and the mucous membrane is injured and pain, spasm of the pylorus and other symptoms are the result. A short nap of ten or fifteen minutes after a meal is not objec­tionable, but prolonged sleeping directly after eating should be avoided.

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