Turkey-Induced Sleep?
posted on November 26, 2010
By Dave Carro, Marketing Manager
For millions of Americans, a nap following Thanksgiving dinner is almost as traditional as serving turkey and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. With a full belly, a warm house, and an empty recliner, how can anyone say no? Well, you may not be able to say no, even if you wanted to, thanks to an amazing amino acid in turkey called tryptophan.
Every year, we hear about tryptophan, especially around the holidays. It is a favorite subject among journalists looking for a topic to share with their readers other than the craziness around Black Friday shopping. But I wanted to know more about this amino acid so I did a little digging. According to HowStuffWorks.com, tryptophan is an ‘essential’ amino acid. Not knowing what that meant, I poked around enotes.com and found out that there are 20 different amino acids (organic compounds) which make up all proteins in the human body. These amino acids replenish tissue, red blood cells, enzymes, and other substances. Of these 20 amino acids, about half can be manufactured by the body. They are called ‘nonessential’ amino acids because they don’t have to be obtained from the diet. The remaining half, called the ‘essential’ amino acids, cannot be produced by the body and must be obtained from the diet.
So, tryptophan is an essential amino acid. This little guy helps the body produce the B-vitamin niacin, which, in turn, helps the body produce serotonin, a remarkable chemical that acts as a calming agent in the brain and plays a key role in sleep. So you might think if you eat a lot of turkey, your body would produce more serotonin and you would feel calm and want a nap. But nutritionists and other experts say the tryptophan in turkey probably won’t trigger the body to produce more serotonin because tryptophan works best on an empty stomach. The problem is, we don't have empty stomachs after Thanksgiving dinner! The tryptophan in a Thanksgiving turkey has to compete with all the other amino acids the body is trying to use. So only part of the tryptophan makes it to the brain to help produce serotonin to trigger sleepiness.
So, if this is the case, why do so many of us make a beeline to the Laz-y-Boy recliner or couch to grab some Zs following a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner? It’s simple... just take a look at the mess in the kitchen. Sleep is a much better alternative than cleaning the bottom of the turkey roaster.
Acknowledgments
- ‘Is there something in turkey that makes you sleepy?’ 07 November 2007. HowStuffWorks.com. 26 November 2010.
- ‘Food And Nutrition - What Is The Difference Between Essential And Nonessential Amino Acids?.’ Science Fact Finder. Ed. Phillis Engelbert. UXL-Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. 2006. 26 Nov, 2010
