Every celebration of Thanksgiving Day, Turkey is one of the favorite dishes that can be seen in the table. However, many Americans claim that eating turkey makes them sleepy. Is there something in turkeys that makes you sleepy?

Research shows that turkey contains the L-Tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect. Tryptophan is used in the body to produce the B-vitamin, Niacin. Tryptophan can also be metabolized by the body into seratonin and melatonin, both are neurotransmitters that exert a calming effect and plays a key role in sleep.

Further research shows that Tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acid or protein in order to make you drowsy and sleepy.

During Thanksgiving Day, Americans eat a lot of other foods that have proteins and other amino acids aside from turkey poultry products. The tryptophan in a Thanksgiving turkey has to vie with all the other amino acids that the body is trying to use. So only part of the tryptophan makes it to the brain to help produce serotonin.

Here are some of the reasons that makes you sleepy on thanksgiving day other than eating  turkeys with tryptophan:

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrate-rich (as opposed to protein-rich) meal that increases the level of this amino acid in the brain and leads to serotonin synthesis and would make you sleepy.

Alcohol: Alcohol is a well known central nervous system depressant. If alcoholic beverages are part of the thanksgiving celebration, then they will definitely make you feel sleepy.

Relaxation: Although many people find the thanskgiving days stressful because of the various preparations, the most relaxing part of the festivities is likely to be the meal. No matter what you may have been doing throughout the day, Thanksgiving dinner provides an opportunity to sit back and relax — a feeling that can contribute to make you sleepy.

So next time you ask, “Does tryptophan makes you sleepy when eating turkeys?”, the answer is not an absolute yes. Tryptophan makes you sleepy if and only if turkey is the ONLY MEAL you ate during Thanksgiving Days.