Do you have a habit of lying down immediately after meals? According to health and lifestyle magazine Self, it’s not recommended to lie down right after eating. Our bodies are made to digest food in an upright position, and lying down while your body is trying to digest food can lead to indigestion.

Aside from it slowing your digestion down, this habit could also cause an acid reflux, or in other words, heartburn. Meanwhile, Nutritionist Kimberly Snyder says that sleeping after a heavy meal can also “make you feel bloated, uncomfortable, and full even the next morning.”

So how long should you wait before you hitting the sack? The American Academy of Otolaryngology suggests that you eat three hours before going to bed to give your body time to digest the food before lying down.

PHOTO: Flickr Creative Commons/Marcus