Did That Thanksgiving Turkey Make You Sleepy?

Did that Thanksgiving turkey you ate last month make you sleepy?  The answer is a definite 'NO'.  I previously discussed this three years ago on this blog, but it's a misconception that continues to live on, so let me discuss it again, this time adding a personal story.  Let's start by looking at why this misconception exists.

Are you sleepy yet?  :-)

Turkey contains an amino acid, tryptophan, that can have a sedative effect if consumed in large enough quantity.  The key words here are "in large enough quantity".  There is some truth hidden in this misconception, in that there is the amino acid in turkey that can lead to a sedative effect, but you will never consume enough to actually become sleepy due to the tryptophan.  You'd have to eat a large amount of turkey for this effect to be real.  Far more than you'd eat even when gorging yourself at Thanksgiving. 

Turkey is not the only food item containing tryptophan.  Chicken, beef, and pork are other meats that contain similar quantities of tryptophan, yet are not associated with sleepiness.  Turkey is associated with sleepiness because adults often do feel sleepy after the Thanksgiving meal and turkey is not consumed nearly as much as other meats throughout the year.  It's a great example of correlation but not causation.  Sleepiness can be caused by many factors.  Many people gorge themselves at Thanksgiving and often eat more than they normally eat.  This can be caused by eating too many carbohydrates, drinking too much alcohol (common at Thanksgiving), getting up early to prepare the Thanksgiving meal, and plopping on the couch in a relaxed position.

Did I fall asleep after the Thanksgiving meal?  You bet I did!  We all sat on the couch around 5 PM and turned on one of those sappy Hallmark Channel Christmas movies that all have the exact same plot!  You know the ones.  I was bored, stuffed full, and laying down on the sofa couch, very relaxed.  Five minutes into the movie I was asleep and woke up at the end of the movie feeling quite refreshed!  But it wasn't the turkey that caused me to fall asleep.  I consumed far too little tryptophan for that to happen.

If you'd like to learn more, Snopes has a great article on the turkey vs. sleepiness misconception.

The Big Sleep: Does eating turkey make people drowsy?