Does Eating Turkey Make You Sleepy?

alcohol animal protein carbohydrates holidays melatonin serotonin sleep thanksgiving tryptophan turkey Nov 11, 2023

A Thanksgiving feast with roast turkey in the middle

On the fourth Thursday of November, people all over the United States gather with family and friends for Thanksgiving. Together, they feast on a wide array of classic dishes. Once they’ve filled themselves to the brim, they lie down on the couch — only to fall asleep before they know it!

Post-dinner sleepiness has long been blamed on tryptophan-containing turkey, the star of the traditional Thanksgiving spread. But how true is this long-standing idea? We’ll find out in this article as we answer:

What is tryptophan?
How much tryptophan does turkey contain?
How do other Thanksgiving staples affect sleepiness?
What other factors make people sleepy on Thanksgiving?

Let’s begin by describing what tryptophan does to the body.

What is tryptophan?

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. This means it is used to make proteins. But the body can’t make tryptophan by itself. So, people need to get it from their diet. The top sources of tryptophan are foods with protein. Examples are meats, eggs, dairy, seeds, and fruits.¹

Tryptophan is needed to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter known as one of the body’s “feel good” chemicals. Serotonin is also the precursor to melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Thus, tryptophan and the molecules made from it affect mood, behavior, and sleep.²

How much tryptophan does turkey contain?

A serving of turkey consists of two to three ounces of cooked portions. Two servings, in turn, contain around 410 milligrams of tryptophan.^3,4

Usually, adults take 5 grams of a tryptophan supplement before bed for good sleep. In effect, they’d have to eat 20 servings of turkey to get the same amount of tryptophan provided by a five-gram pill.⁴

How do other Thanksgiving staples affect sleepiness?

For many Americans, Thanksgiving dinner is incomplete without stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. They’d also have other vegetable sides like mashed or roasted squash, turnips, carrots, and yams. Typically, these veggies are sweetened with brown sugar, molasses, or marshmallows. Another common Thanksgiving side is green bean casserole.⁵

For dessert, a lot of people traditionally have pumpkin pie. Apple, pecan, sweet potato, mince, cherry, and chocolate pie are popular options too.⁵

The problem is, the Thanksgiving staples above are high in carbohydrates. They make blood sugar levels rise fast and crash later. People feel this fluctuation as fatigue and decreased alertness within the first hour of eating.^6,7

What’s more, the big Thanksgiving meal impacts circulation. More blood has to go to the stomach to digest all that food. Thus, less blood is left to flow to the brain to keep people awake.⁴

Drinks are partly to blame as well. It’s common to have spirits or cocktails before the main meal, then apple cider or wine on the dinner table. All these alcoholic beverages have sedating effects.^5,9,10

What other factors make people sleepy on Thanksgiving?

It’s not just the big high-carb meal and alcohol that knock people out after Thanksgiving dinner. Typical holiday behavior and a change of seasons contribute to sleepiness too.

Like any festive holiday, Thanksgiving is often a time of overindulgence. People are hungry as they sit down for dinner, and they eat lots of food quickly. That short dining period is likely not enough for their brains to tell them that they’re full. As a result, their bodies go into “rest and digest” mode, making them relax.⁶

Plus, Thanksgiving is celebrated in autumn, when it tends to get dark early. Melatonin induces a sleepy feeling as soon as it turns dark. That means the body is signaling for some shut eye in the late afternoon or early evening — the time when most Americans have their Thanksgiving dinner.⁴

Conclusion

Eating turkey by itself does not make you sleepy on Thanksgiving. Rather, the heavy carb-rich meal and alcohol are the main contributors to post-dinner drowsiness. The tendency towards excessive dining during holidays combined with seasonal changes also plays a role.

But if dozing off after a binge isn’t your idea of a worthwhile celebration, read on. With the right mindset and tools, you CAN enjoy the holidays full of vitality and health. You can have the energy for making those wonderful once-a-year memories with your loved ones. And you can stay on track with your health goals that you've been working so hard to achieve for months (or years). Discover the way to more meaningful holidays by clicking here.

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