A common question posed each Thanksgiving is whether or not eating all that turkey is the cause of famous post-meal nap. Well, yes and no. Turkey contains an amino acid called tryptophan (also found in pork and chicken). Now, if we ingest tryptophan, it gets metabolized and turned into seratonin – a neurotransmitter that has a calming effect on the brain and plays a role in falling asleep. The problem is that there isn’t enough tryptophan being ingested fast enough through turkey meat to have such an extreme effect.

So why do we get our naps on? It has more to do with the meal as a whole. On top of the turkey, we have all sorts of other goodies – mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, rolls, corn-on-the-cob, and, of course, pie…mmmmm, pie. All of this is full of carbohydrates and fats. A LOT of carbs on fats. It is estimated that the average big-old plate of yumminess at Thanksgiving has about 3,000 calories and 200g of fats. Yeah, wow. Anywho, it takes a whole lot of energy for your body to digest fats as well as huge amounts of food. So, you body routes a majority of energy and bloodflow to your digestive system to break down all that food, enough to make most anyone more than a smidge sleepy.

Have a Happy Turkey Day!