bubble_chart Concept

Drowsiness after meals, or the difficulty to continue eating and falling asleep during a meal, is referred to as postprandial lethargy.

Postprandial lethargy, known as "grain fatigue" in both Zhouhou Beiji Fang and Zhubing Yuanhou Lun . Zabing Yuanliu Xizhu refers to it as "meal drunkenness".

This condition should be distinguished from somnolence (also known as somnolence). The characteristics of somnolence are: a desire to sleep at any time, day or night, waking up when called, and then falling back asleep, without self-control. Postprandial lethargy only occurs after meals or during meals, with a desire to sleep.

bubble_chart Pattern Analysis

1. Spleen Qi Deficiency︰Postprandial drowsiness (somnolence), or even falling asleep after eating, fatigue (lack of strength), dizziness, profuse sweating, complexion shallow yellow, poor appetite, postprandial abdominal distension and fullness, loose stools, tongue texture pale and swollen, weak and feeble pulse. Due to dietary irregularities, spleen-stomach weakness, impaired transportation and transformation, undigested food after meals, spleen yang further constrained, clear yang failing to ascend, and mental dullness, leading to drowsiness and sleepiness, accompanied by fatigue (lack of strength) due to spleen deficiency and timidity of qi, as well as symptoms such as reduced food intake and loose stools. Zhubing Yuanhou Lun states: "Spleen-stomach weakness, inability to digest and transport food, causing qi fullness and obstruction in the viscera, manifests as a tendency to lie down after eating, with bodily heaviness and a propensity for sleep." Treatment should focus on tonifying the spleen and replenishing qi to promote digestion, using a modified Xiangsha Liujunzi Decoction.
2. Spleen Deficiency with Dampness Retention︰After eating, there is a desire to sleep, heaviness of the head, bodily fatigue, gastric stuffiness, mental fatigue, reduced appetite, loose stools, sticky and uncomfortable mouth, obesity, white and greasy tongue coating, and a soggy, slow pulse. This is often due to prolonged exposure to damp environments or the pervasive invasion of dampness during the summer months, which affects the spleen-earth. Alternatively, it may result from pre-existing phlegm-dampness, where dampness lingers in the middle energizer, and spleen yang is obstructed by phlegm-dampness, unable to ascend and clear the qi aspect to nourish the spirit. Phlegm-fluid retention and damp turbidity cloud the mind, leading to overwhelming drowsiness after eating, accompanied by symptoms such as heavy limbs, epigastric discomfort, sticky mouth, greasy tongue coating, and a soggy pulse. Treatment should focus on invigorating the spleen and drying dampness, resolving phlegm, with the prescription of Priceless Qi-Righting Powder supplemented with Villous Amomum Fruit and grass cardamom.

Postprandial lethargy, the location of the disease is in the spleen, and the causative factors are nothing more than spleen deficiency and dampness obstruction. Spleen deficiency is due to insufficient healthy qi and should be treated with tonification; dampness obstruction is caused by dampness turbidity and should be treated by draining dampness and promoting yang.

bubble_chart Documentation

1. Piwei Lun: "If one does not regulate their diet, it will damage their stomach qi, making it unable to digest properly. The qi will disperse to the liver, return to the heart, and overflow to the lungs. When one eats, they will feel dizzy and sleepy."