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Food Coma is Real: The Effect of Digestive Fatigue on Adolescents’ Cognitive Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Justine Hervé

    (Stevens Institute of Technology)

  • Subha Mani

    (Fordham University, the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania,IZA and GLO)

  • Jere Behrman

    (University of Pennsylvania)

  • Ramanan Laxminarayan

    (One Health Trust and Princeton University)

Abstract

Food coma, also known as postprandial somnolence, is a commonly cited reason for experiencing reduced alertness during mid-afternoon worldwide. By using exogenous variation in the timing of tests and, hence, by extension, plausibly exogenous variation in the temporal distance between an individual’s last meal and the time of test, we examine the causal impact of postprandial somnolence on cognitive capacities. Analyzing novel time use data on ~ 4,600 Indian adolescents and young adults, we find that testing within an hour after a meal reduces test-takers’ scores on English, native language, math, and Raven’s tests by 8, 8, 8, and 16 percent, respectively, compared to test-takers who took the tests more than an hour after their meal. We further find that the negative effect of postprandial somnolence on cognition operates through increased feelings of fatigue and depletion of cognitive resources that become more pronounced while dealing with more challenging test questions.

Suggested Citation

  • Justine Hervé & Subha Mani & Jere Behrman & Ramanan Laxminarayan, 2024. "Food Coma is Real: The Effect of Digestive Fatigue on Adolescents’ Cognitive Performance," PIER Working Paper Archive 24-011, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania.
    • Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:24-011
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Post-meal fatigue; Cognitive skills; Low-stakes tests; India; Adolescents;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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