Here is Why You Don't Feel Hungry in The Morning 5 Causes

Breakfast is widely considered the most important meal of the day as your body gets to consume food after a literal fast of about eight hours. It is important to try and avoid skipping breakfast to maintain a healthy body and mind. A heavy breakfast is considered the best way to start your day as it does a great job at replenishing the body’s energy stores after a long fasted state. 

Though, a lot of times you might not be able to eat a complete meal as soon as you wake up, especially when it has to be the biggest meal of the day. Many people don’t feel hungry as soon as they wake up, and it’s difficult for them to eat a heavy meal the first thing in the morning.

Reasons Why You’re Not Hungry in the Morning

However, skipping breakfast also means that you will have less control over your cravings throughout the day and are likely to overeat during other meals of the day. Skipping breakfast also results in less concentration and unnecessary weight gain. 

According to Ayurveda, when you skip breakfast, it irritates your Sadhaka Pitta, which is a sub dosha of Pitta. Sadhaka Pitta is essential for maintaining your temper and bringing you joy and contentment. When unbalanced, it will cause irritability and confused emotions.

The following are the reasons for not feeling hungry in the morning.

Reasons For Not Feeling Hungry in the Morning

1. Morning Nausea

The main culprits behind morning nausea are slow metabolism and hormonal imbalance. 

The total of the chemical processes that take place in an organism is metabolism. These chemical processes include digestion, transportation, and other such functions that are essential for life. But these processes need to be fueled regularly; otherwise, they lower your metabolism rate and make you sluggish. When you are sleeping, your metabolism slows down as your body is not using some of the functions.

But when you wake up in the morning, even though your normal bodily functions resume, it takes time for your metabolism to get back on track, and you don’t feel hungry. This makes it essential for your body to get the correct nutrients to signal your metabolism. But if your sleep schedule gets messed up for any reason, it could also result in a disturbed metabolism cycle, leading to nausea and a general feeling of unease.

2. Having Too Much for Dinner Or Late-night Snacks

If you had a huge meal for dinner or late-night snacks the night before, your digestion rate could slow down by the morning, causing your digestive process to be carried over to the next day, especially if you had a high-fat or high-protein meal the night before. These particular macronutrients in those meals can slow the process of emptying your stomach, and you might feel full for a longer time.

A high-protein meal can alter the levels of hunger and appetite-regulating hormones. It can cause significant alteration in hormones such as peptide-1, peptide YY, ghrelin, and cholecystokinin. Alteration in the levels of hormones responsible for appetite and hunger, resulting in you not feeling hungry in the morning, can also be caused by meals that are rich in fat.

3. Change in Hormonal Levels at Night

The levels of hormones in your body fluctuate overnight while you sleep. This fluctuation often results in a change in appetite. There are a lot of hormones that can cause this. Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, is higher in the morning, causing you not to feel hungry. Ghrelin, also known as the hunger hormone, is also lower in the morning than in the night. These fluctuations are entirely normal and should not be a cause for concern to you. 

However, if you suddenly don't feel hungry at all for prolonged hours, you should consider consulting with a doctor.

4. Anxiety or Depression

Anxiety and depression are both known to have a significant impact on your appetite and hunger levels. Depression can cause disturbances in your sleep cycle, loss of interest in activities, fatigue, and irregularity in appetite. Anxiety increases stress hormones that reduce your appetite and you don’t feel hungry as much as you should.

However, these disorders affect different people in different ways. Some people might also experience increased appetite and intake of food. If you feel that your appetite is affected by anxiety or depression, you should contact a medical professional to look for possible solutions.

5. Sickness

When you are sick, your appetite automatically decreases and you don’t feel hungry. 

Respiratory infections are known to reduce your hunger and appetite that cause you to eat less. Infections can alter or limit the sense of your smell and taste and flu can cause symptoms of nausea and vomiting, which may result in a reduced appetite and hunger.

In such a situation, you should keep yourself hydrated and keep fueling your body with light meals, like soup, bananas, and tea, even if you don’t feel hungry. 

5 Things That Can Help in Increasing Your Hunger in the Morning

1. Give Some Time to Your Body to Adjust in the Morning

You need to let your body and metabolism get enough rest. After waking up, allow the required time for your metabolism to wake up too. Allowing approximately two hours is recommended after waking up to warm up and build an appetite, and then gorge on a nutritious breakfast to start the rest of your day.

2. Drink Water 

The first thing you consume in the morning doesn’t necessarily have to be a part of a traditional breakfast. Ayurveda suggests that you should start your day by drinking a glass of warm water to flush out all the toxins built up in your body overnight due to your slowed metabolism. Drinking water will also help signal your metabolism to get started. You can also add some honey or lime to the water. Liver Detox Effervescent Tablet - Drop, Fizz & Drink 

You can have any food or water to help you start your system and get the digestive juices to start flowing. This technique will be helpful for you if you don’t feel hungry for breakfast as it will increase your hunger and allow you to have a nutritious meal in the morning. These foods could include chia seeds, dry fruits, nuts, papaya, amla juice, and more. However, you need to make sure that the food or drink you’re taking to kick-start your metabolism is safe to be consumed on an empty stomach.

3. Have a Snack

Like all the other meals, try having breakfast in several courses. Start with a small snack so that even if you don’t feel hungry, you can eat something that will not make you nauseous. Have this morning snack at least half an hour before your main course for breakfast. This way, your metabolism and your body would have already found something to work on, increasing your hunger.

4. Start With Drinks

In summer, your metabolism becomes sluggish, resulting in loss of appetite. Make sure you keep taking ample amounts of liquid and keep yourself hydrated. You can start your day by having a fruit smoothie and adding nuts to it. A lassi made with mango or banana and yoghurt can also help you keep hydrated, especially when you don't feel hungry enough to have a full meal. 

5. Have a Light Dinner

A heavy dinner can cause you to not feel hungry in the morning. You should have a light dinner and eat at least two to three hours before bedtime so that the following day you can have a heavy breakfast. Eating late may result in your body having some left-over acid from the night before, which could be the reason for you to not feel hungry in the morning.

Numerous reasons may cause you to not feel hungry in the morning right after you wake up. Upon following the aforementioned tips, you would be able to create a slow and steady pace towards maintaining a good diet and having a decent breakfast. Avoid sugary foods to reduce morning sickness. In case the issue becomes intense and you do not feel hungry for prolonged hours even after following the aforementioned tips, consider consulting a doctor.

We wish you a hearty breakfast for life.