Turkey Doesn’t Make You Sleepy
The Claim
Eating turkey makes you sleepy.
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The claim that turkey makes you sleepy has been around for years. It went viral once again on Thanksgiving day.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that turkey does not make you particularly sleepy. Turkey contains a good amount of tryptophan, a naturally occurring amino acid. Tryptophan is converted into serotonin in the body, and serotonin is believed to help slow-wave sleep.
However, eating turkey does not lead to increased serotonin production in the human brain. If you were to take tryptophan by itself, it would lead to increased serotonin; but when consumed as a food source with other amino acids, it does not cross the blood-brain barrier.
Tryptophan also leads to increased melatonin production, and melatonin is known to make you sleepy. Once again, however, consuming tryptophan as a food source (like turkey) does not lead to increased melatonin production.
Further, turkey does not contain that much tryptophan comparatively. Chicken actually contains more tryptophan than turkey.
Scientists say that the reason you get sleepy on Thanksgiving is actually just a result of eating a lot of food.
