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 episode of BrainStuff.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. 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,
and amino acid called tripped de fin. Tripped de fin
is an essential amino acid, meaning that you need it,

(00:22):
but your body can't manufacture it. The body has to
get tripped a fin and other essential amino acids from food.
A trip defin helps the body produce the B vitamin nisin,
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 role in sleep,
and tripped de fin is also a precursor to another

(00:44):
common compound, melatonin. So you might think that if you
eat a lot of turkey, your body would produce more
serotonin and melatonin, and you would feel calm and maybe
more likely to fall asleep. But nutritionists and other experts
say that the trip defin in turkey probably won't trigger
the body to produce more serotonin because trip defin works
best on an empty stomach. The trip defin in Thanksgiving

(01:06):
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. Only part of
the trip to fin 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

(01:28):
even get to the real desserts. The insulin our bodies
releases to process all of that also serves as sort
of rideshare vehicles for a lot of amino acids, but
not for tripped a fin, 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 tripped de fin to get into our

(01:48):
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 to worry about that competition at
the blood brain barrier. 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 trip to Fin that leads

(02:11):
to rampant late afternoon napping on Thanksgiving. Most likely, it's
the whole traditional meal together producing lethargy. 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

(02:31):
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, 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,

(02:53):
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 to take advantage
of the tripp to fin in Turkey if you have
trouble getting to sleep one night while they're still leftover
turkey in the fridge, you could have a late turkey
snack and that nutritionists say might be the right amount

(03:13):
of tripp to fin on an empty stomach to help
produce sin serotonin. Today's episode was mostly written by a
How Stuff Works contributor, the name of whom has been
lost to time. If it was you right in. It
was produced by Tyler Clang with the kind assistance of
Paul Decan. For more on this and lots of other

(03:35):
fulfilling topics, visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com.