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Stories of the legendary food coma you experience after consuming turkey and other dishes during Thanksgiving have come to the fore once again. They have sparked a pertinent question: Does turkey actually make you sleepy?
You may have experienced a post-meal drowsiness at Thanksgiving, but don’t go blaming the poor bird for it.
However, the holiday myth that turkey makes you sleepy is indeed just a myth. The fact is that eating turkey won't make you sleepier than after you've consumed chicken or eggs.
Turkey meat contains an enzyme called Tryptophan that allegedly puts you to sleep
The rumor stems from the fact that the holiday bird contains Tryptophan, an amino acid that promotes good sleep.
According to Dr. Raj Dasgupta, Tryptophan is essential in producing serotonin and the result of this process enables sleep hormones. Dr. Dasgupta, who is a sleep specialist and associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, added:
“The byproduct of the tryptophan-to-serotonin process is melatonin, another hormone that regulates our sleep cycle. Our bodies do not naturally produce tryptophan, so we have to get it through the foods we eat.”
Apart from turkey, several other foods contain Tryptophan including cheese, chicken, egg whites, fish, milk, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, soy beans, and sunflower seeds. Many of the listed foods are included in a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
However, it is impossible to consume enough of the holiday bird to produce enough serotonin. They say that one needs to eat at least 8 pounds of meat in order to get the Tryptophan needed to produce that food coma.
What truly causes drowsiness is overeating in general. The sides that are usually served in a Thanksgiving dinner like sweet potato pie, casseroles and desserts contain high amounts of carbohydrates which contribute to the post meal drowsiness.
Another contributing factor is the lack of blood flow to the brain. Following a big meal, your body sends more blood into your stomach to help digest the food, which results in lesser blood flow into the brain, signaling fatigue.
Tryptophan myth has resulted in an online memefest about food drowsiness
Every year on Thanksgiving, people take to the internet to talk about their post-meal drowsiness, blaming the poor bird on their table. The Tryptophan myth has been around for many years, yet netizens can't help but joke about it in the language they know best - memes.
Alcohol consumption is usually on the rise during the holiday season and so are the stress levels. Along with high volumes of food and alcohol, stress and travel fatigue contribute to the groggy feeling, so don't resort to blaming the turkey for it.
