Why Does Thanksgiving Turkey Make You Sleepy?
What is it about Thanksgiving dinner that makes you fall asleep in front of the TV, no matter how exciting the football game is? Most people blame the turkey...
For most of us, Thanksgiving usually involves a huge turkey and dressing dinner, football on TV and lovely nap somewhere in between. Some of us look forward to the traditional Thanksgiving nap just as much as we do to the pumpkin pie, but what about the feast makes us so sleepy? Are we just trying to escape from doing dishes or is there something in the food that actually makes us fatigued?
It’s been said for many years that it’s the amino acid tryptophan in turkey that makes us so tired. Although tryptophan can induce sleepiness in its pure form, we eat lots of other foods with tryptophan in them and don’t feel nearly as fatigued. In fact, turkey isn't even unusually high in tryptophan – beef and soy beans have a much higher concentration.
So what is it about Thanksgiving dinner that makes us want to catch some z’s? Most scientists believe what makes us so sleepy is a combination of the stressful hustle and bustle of the holidays, alcohol consumption and the massive caloric intake of Thanksgiving. Two of the best ways to combat your Thanksgiving drowsiness is to drink plenty of water and to take a walk after your meal. (Just make sure you’re back in time for pie!)
From all of us at the Anderson Law Firm, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.
