Last Updated on August 18, 2025 by Krista Linares, MPH, RD
If you’re Latino, chances are you know a “quick” family meal lasts 2 hours minimum (and that’s before the 30 minute “Latino goodbye”). If this sounds familiar, you may just be familiar with the sobremesa.
What is a sobremesa? It’s the practice of sitting and talking around the table after the meal has finished.
While this practice isn’t unique to Latin American culture, for us Latinos living in the United States, it can definitely feel like it’s an us thing. But as a dietitian I wish this practice was more widespread in the United States.
I talk a lot in my work about the health benefits of Latin American food culture, it’s kind of my thing. I spend a lot of that time breaking down the benefits of corn tortillas, or explaining why salsa is a vegetable.
But the benefits of our food culture go beyond the actual foods we eat. They also include how we eat and with whom. This means things like making lunch the biggest meal of the day and yes, the sobremesa, are just as beneficial as our fruits and vegetables.
Today we’re diving deep into the practice of sobremesa, its benefits, and how you can tap into the benefits while living in a culture that tells us to rush.
This article is featured in the “hay comida en la casa” issue of our zine! Read the whole issue here.
What is a sobremesa?
The term sobremesa literally means “over the table” in Spanish. It’s the practice of lingering after a meal ends to catch up. If you’ve ever sat chatting and laughing or swapping wild stories over empty plates, you’ve participated in a sobremesa.
There’s no set time limit for a sobremesa, it could be 10 minutes, it could be 2 hours.
Most Latino families don’t knowingly decide to do a sobremesa, it’s just baked into the way we eat. And of course, other cultures may have similar customs without using the term sobremesa.
(Quick note: In Portuguese, sobremesa means “dessert”. So this term may mean something different in Portuguese-speaking parts of Latin America, like Brazil)
Benefits
The benefits of the sobremesa may sound purely social/emotional, but you’d be surprised how that translates into physical health as well.
Not only does caring for your stress levels and social well-being improve your physical health, but there may be genuine nutrition benefits to this practice as well.
While there isn’t a lot of direct research specifically looking at the sobremesa practice, there is good evidence on the benefits of eating with other people and eating more slowly, two important components of the sobremesa practice.
Here are my favorite benefits of the sobremesa:
Better digestion:
Sitting down and enjoying a meal over a longer period of time usually means eating more slowly and chewing our food more completely.
Chewing our food completely breaks it into smaller pieces, which makes it easier for our stomach and intestines to break down (1).
It may sound silly, but chewing food thoroughly can have a big impact on our digestive comfort, and taking our time to eat is one of the simplest ways to do this!
More mindful eating:
If you’ve ever rushed through a meal only to realize you were actually full half a plate ago, you’ll understand the role of mindful eating in nutrition.
Slowing down, and especially taking your time after eating, can help improve our ability to sense when we are full. This can have long term benefits of maintaining a healthy body weight and improving blood sugar control, all without restrictions (2, 3).
Social connection:
While social connection has benefits for the mental and emotional well-being of most people, social connection at meal time has particular nutrition benefits for children and older adults in particular.
Children who eat family meals more frequently, had higher intake of fruits and vegetables, as well as lower consumption of sweets, according to a 2022 study (4).
For older adults, where we are worried about under eating, one study showed that older adults who eat with other people consume more calories, which can help prevent muscle loss and malnutrition (5).
How to start incorporating the sobremesa into your life
As great as the sobremesa sounds, it can be hard to do it in a culture where restaurants expect us to be in and out in 30 minutes. Or when the kids have competing after school sports and no one’s home at the same time for dinner.
Even if you can’t do sobremesa at every meal, here are some tips to start:
- Invite others to eat with you. This is probably the most important one! You can’t have sobremesa by yourself. For regular weeknight dinners, if you live with family, try to sit down and eat together. If you live alone, try to visit a friend or loved one for a meal on the weekends.
- Schedule enough time to eat: The next biggest barrier is not having the time. Most of us are scarfing our lunches down at our desks, or eating dinner between chores or activities. If you’re really not used to taking time to eat, start with planning a 30 minute meal once or twice a week.
- Eat meals at your table: Something about sitting down at the same table really invites conversation and encourages us to slow down. If you’re used to eating on the couch or at your desk, try moving to the table and see what happens.
- Put away screens: While I’m not of the opinion that you should never eat with a screen (I love to watch youtube on my lunch break), putting the screens away when you’re eating with others can put the focus back on your meal and your conversation, perfectly paving the path for the sobremesa.
Conclusion
When we’re talking about the health benefits of our food culture, it’s important to consider not just the nutrients but also our eating practices. When do we eat, how, and with whom?
The Latino practice of the sobremesa is a great example of how slowing down and connecting with others during a meal is not only good for our emotional and mental well-being, but extends into our physical well-being as well. It’s all connected!
Here at Nutrition con Sabor, we celebrate how our culture nourishes us. Want more nutrition and culture deep dives? Sign up for email list to get our articles straight to your inbox.
This article is featured in an issue of our digital zine, titled “Hay Comida en la Casa”! Read the whole issue for more insights into Latin American home cooking and nutrition.