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You sit down to dinner with a rumbling stomach and finish the meal in record fourth dimension — but then , half an hr after clearing your plate , you suddenly feel uncomfortably full , as if your stomach could bulge .

People say there ’s a lag between take your first bite and satisfy your hunger , and the universal belief is that this time delay lasts around 20 hour . But exactly how long does it take for your head to record that you are full ?

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The brain can take a bit to realize you’re full, meaning you might reach for that last bread roll after you’ve already satisfied your hunger.

It does , indeed , take on average 20 minutes for your consistency to charge sign to your brain to indicate that you have had enough to eat . However , the exact duration of the lag between when you eat and when you feel full look on a multitude of factors , include the type of food you are eating and your typical eating habits , Dr. Nina Nandy , a gastroenterologist based in Texas and a representative for the American Gastroenterological Association , told Live Science by email .

That ’s because the brain swear on several different mechanism to regulate if you are full , Nandy said .

interrelate : How does the mastermind regulate body weight ?

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Our feelings of hungriness and voluminousness , or satiation , are largely master by hormones , particularly ghrelin , an appetite - stimulating hormone produce in the gut , and leptin , an appetency - suppressing hormone relinquish by the consistence ’s white adipose tissue cells . Ghrelin fluctuates as we eat and fast , while leptin levels remain moderately steady . Additional hormones , such as PYY and GLP-1 from the gut and insulin from the pancreas , have also beenshown to increase feeling of mellowness after eating .

The brain also modulate hunger base on information from nerve that sentiency when the stomach gets stretched , as well as signals from taste buds and smell receptors , Nandy said . " When these sign collectively indicate that you ’ve eaten enough , the brain reduce your desire to use up further , " she said .

However , there ’s a approximately 20 - arcminute delay due to the fact that it conduct time for the body to adjust its production of hunger - concern hormones , and those hormones take more time than brass impulses to relay information to the brain . electric signaling from the GI tracttravel along nervus with lightning focal ratio , reach the head almost instantly . internal secretion , on the other hand , travel via the bloodstream .

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The clip it takes for the body to generate satiety signals and post them to your brain also depends on the character of food you ’re rust .

intellectual nourishment in high spirits in fiber , such as fruits , vegetable and whole grains , incline to boost satiety , while low-spirited - fiber , processed foods hold up the feeling of fullness , Nandy say . That ’s because character helpsswitch off the product of ghrelin , trigger secretion of appetence - suppressing gut hormones and exert pressure on the stomach ’s stretch receptors , harmonize to a 2022 revue published in the journalCritical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition .

People ’s feeding habit are another factor that mold their repletion after meals .

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Eating lento give the trunk more time to signal that you are full , while paying care to your food and savoring every bite can help you good strain into these signal . This concept is known asmindful eating , Nandy said . Thoroughly manducate your food may also boost satiety by increasing the sensory feedback to the brain , according to a 2018 meta - depth psychology published in the journalAppetite .

Certain medical conditions , such ashypothyroidismanddiabetes , can disrupt satiety signals by slow up down the passage of intellectual nourishment through the tummy . This slowing can cause people to feel fuller for long than they would otherwise . ( The diabetes drug Ozempic and weight - loss drug Wegovy partially mold byslowing down the rate that food empty from the tummy . )

— Why does hunger sometimes make nausea ?

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— How long does it take to digest food ?

— How long should you await to exercise after eating ?

Leptin impedance , a condition in which the amount or event of this satiation endocrine reduction , can make a person never find full — they end a repast as hungry as they start it . The status can lead to obesity by advance overweening food inspiration , and it often arises from rare genetic chromosomal mutation , as was the case withtwo siblings with vivid , insatiable thirstiness .

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This clause is for informational intent only and is not meant to declare oneself aesculapian advice .

Ever wonder whysome people build musculus more easy than othersorwhy freckle come out in the sun ? Send us your questions about how the human body form tocommunity@livescience.comwith the capable line " Health Desk Q , " and you may see your question answered on the website !

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