CultureEssayFoodJapanese traditionProverbScienceUncorrected

You will become a cow if you lie down soon after eating.

  • There is a famous superstition in Japan as the following:

    食べた後すぐ寝ると牛になる


    “You will become a cow if you lie down soon after eating.”
    日本には、次のような有名な迷信があります。

    In fact, I was also taught like that.
    「食べた後すぐ寝ると牛になる」

    I have no idea why it is a cow, but I think that it says “you will get fat like a cow.”
    実際、私もそのように教わりました。

    Lying down soon after eating is regarded as a bad manner in Japan.
    何故「牛」かはよくわかりませんが、「牛のように太るぞ」ということを言っているのだと思われます。

    Therefore, in order to admonish such behavior, this superstition was born.
    食べてすぐ寝るのは行儀が悪いとされているため、そのような行為を戒めるためにこの迷信が作られました。

    However, according to a medical study, lying down for about 30 minutes soon after eating is good for your health — it will play a role in the digestive process.
    しかし、医学的な観点からすると、食後は30分ほど横になって寝たほうが、消化に良いそうです。

    Original sentence