indicates that your AGNI is too weak to digest the food properly. Instead of being energized and
revitalized from eating your meal, the body has to tap into its energy reserves to process the food.
Consequently, there remains only a little energy for other forms of physical or mental activity. Overall,
sleepiness after a meal may be due to one or more of the following reasons:
- Your meal is too heavy or consists of ill-combined food items, such as fruits with cereals, animal
proteins with starches (see chapter 6 for details). - You are not getting enough sleep during the night.
- You are eating your lunch meal much later than one o’clock.
- You are not secreting enough bile (Pitta) to keep your digestion strong (due to gallstones).
The First Vata Cycle
Vata or “movement” controls the hours between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.. Vata conducts the physical
transport of food through the intestinal tract and is responsible for absorbing the nutrients as well as
taking them to the trillions of cells in the body. Vata can only perform well and on time if Pitta (bile and
other digestive juices) is allowed to act on the food early enough. If you eat your lunch, for example, as
late as 2:00 or 3:00 p.m., Pitta becomes disturbed. Poor secretions of bile and other digestive juices lead
to poor absorption—one of the main causes for nutritional deficiencies.
The Vata period in the afternoon is conducive to more efficient mental performance and study than
during other times. This is due to increased nerve and nerve cell activity. Thus, the Vata period works
well for absorbing and retaining information. Studies conducted at the University of Wales showed that
students who attended afternoon or early-evening classes performed better on exams than those who
attended morning classes.
It may also be useful to know that going to the dentist in the afternoon is less painful than in the
morning because of better neural performance and less sensitivity. Existing problems of poor intestinal
absorption and unbalanced metabolism, on the other hand, become more pronounced at this time. The
Vata imbalance may show up as increased irritability, nervousness, flatulence, gas, and cravings for
sugary foods or other stimulants such as tea, coffee, caffeinated soft drinks, chocolate or cigarettes. Most
alcoholics will start looking for their first drink of the day during the end of the Vata period. Cravings,
especially during the afternoon, indicate that the body suffers from digestive problems and
malnourishment, possibly caused by not eating the main meal of the day around noontime.
The Second Kapha Cycle
Sunlight energy drops considerably after 6:00 p.m., and so does Vata activity. This also marks the
beginning of the evening Kapha phase, which slows down digestion, metabolism and other physiological
activities. Those who are in tune with their body’s cycles feel inclined to take it easy when Kapha
qualities begin to dominate.
The digestive fire AGNI, which closely follows the moving positions of the sun, sharply declines with
the onset of darkness. For this reason, Ayurveda recommends that you eat only a light evening meal,
preferably around 6:00 p.m.. This still gives you enough time to digest your food before bedtime.
Research has found that the most important digestive enzymes are no longer produced after 8:00 p.m.. A
late evening meal (after 7:00 p.m.) will, therefore, not be digested properly and will decompose while it is
still in the stomach. Everyone knows the feeling of having a “rock” in the stomach or the pain of acid
shooting up into the throat—both of these unpleasant sensations are signs of indigestion.
During the Kapha period (6:00-10:00 p.m.) the body and mind adopt more heavy and slow qualities.
This is conducive to falling asleep. In fact, is highly beneficial to go to bed and sleep before Kapha’s
influence actually stops (at 10:00 p.m.). Most people feel sleepy or drowsy between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m..