BrainStuff Classics: Does Turkey Really Make You Sleepy?

You may have heard that the tryptophan in turkey causes holiday naps, but it might not be the real culprit. Learn some turkey science in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/question519.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren vogel Bomb here with another classic episode of the podcast.
In this one, we're talking turkey. Specifically, we're talking about
its purported property of inducing sleepiness. It turns out that
it's far from the first culprit in post holiday feast naps.

(00:26):
Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren vogel Bomb, and our question
of the day is, does turkey really make you sleepy?
America's favorite holiday bird does have the makings of a
natural sedative in it an amino acid called tryptofin. Tryptofin
is an essential amino acid, meaning that you need it,
but your body can't manufacture it. The body has to
get tryp to fin and other essential amino acids from food.

(00:48):
A triptfin helps the body produce the B vitamin nysin,
which in turn helps you produce serotonin. Serotonin is a
remarkable chemical that acts as a sort of calming agent
in the brain and plays a key roll in sleep
and Tryptofin is also a precursor to another common compound, melatonin.
So you might think that if you eat a lot
of turkey, your body would produce more serotonin and melatonin,

(01:11):
and you would feel calm and maybe more likely to
fall asleep. But nutritionists and other experts say that the
tryptofin in Turkey probably won't trigger the body to produce
more serotonin. Because tryptofin works best on an empty stomach.
The triyptfin in Thanksgiving Turkey has to vie with all
of the other amino acids the body takes in in
order to pass the blood brain barrier and get to work.

(01:34):
Only part of the tryptofin in a Turkey dinner will
make it to the brain to help produce serotonin. The
fact that Thanksgiving meals are often carbohydrate heavy actually does help.
I think of all the bread stuffings, potatoes, corn, and
candied tubers covered in marshmallows that we eat before we
even get to the real desserts. The insulin our bodies
releases to process all of that also serves as sort

(01:55):
of ride share vehicles for a lot of amino acids,
but not for tryptofin, which hitches a ride to the
brain on a protein called albumin. So with most of
the competition out of the way, it is in fact
easier for triptofin to get into our brain and start
the process that leads to the production of more serotonin. Melatonin, meanwhile,
is produced outside of the brain, so you don't have

(02:16):
to worry about that competition at the blood brain barrier,
but you do have to worry that you have all
the other compounds necessary for your body to create it. Overall,
researchers think it's neither the melatonin nor the serotonin produced
from tryptofin that leads to rampant late afternoon napping on Thanksgiving.
Most likely it's the whole traditional meal together producing lethargy.

(02:38):
The average Thanksgiving meal contains three thousand calories, more than
most of us usually eat in a whole day, and
your body works hard to digest all that food. After all,
your nervous system is set up to prime your body
for maximum nutrient absorption every single time you eat. A
part of this is called our rest and digest response.
When we eat, we excrete more saliva and gastric juices,

(03:01):
and our heart rate and blood pressure lower. Also, our
bodies are sending more blood to our guts in order
to help out, meaning that less is available for the
brain and the skeletal system. All of this can make
you feel lethargic, limb, heavy and relaxed. Also, if you
drink alcohol with your dinner, you'll likely feel the sedative
effect of that as well. But there is a way

(03:22):
to take advantage of the tryptofin in turkey. If you
have trouble getting to sleep one night while there's still
leftover turkey in the fridge, you could have a late
turkey snack and that nutritionists say might be the right
amount of tryptofin on an empty stomach to help produce
some serotonin. Today's episode is based on the article does

(03:45):
Turkey make You Sleepy? Written partially by me and partially
by contributors to how stuffworks dot com whose names have
been lost to the sands of time. If it was
you right in a brain? Stuff is a production of
iHeartRadio in partnership with hou stuffworks dot Com, misproduced by
tail are Clang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio.
Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

(04:06):
to your favorite shows.