Don't Blame the Turkeys

Well, it's time to suck in our stomachs as we head back to work. Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful holiday? A holiday dedicated to food and football. Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to fall asleep after the big meal and miss the big game.

People have blamed the poor turkeys for their post-meal sleepiness for as long as I can remember. There was even an entire Seinfeld episode dedicated to tryptophan, an amino acid that turkeys make. Now, I have abstained from turkey eating for the past 10 years - it gives me more room for the stuffing and candied yams - but I noticed that I was just as sleepy as my turkey-eating relatives. So I looked into the myth of tryptophan to see if it really was the culprit.

Turns out, turkey has been getting a bad rap this whole time. There are a lot of reasons why Thanksgiving meals make us tired. First of all, when we eat a ton of food, some blood leaves the brain to help the small intestine absorb nutrients. Less blood flow to the brain makes us more sluggish. Also, our bodies naturally slow down after eating to conserve energy; our heart rates and blood pressures drop, making us sleepy. Finally, when consuming the typical Thanksgiving fare, many of us tend to pair beer and wine with the meal. Past the initial buzz, alcohol tends to put people to sleep.

So next Thanksgiving, don't blame the turkey. As for me, I'm still going to load up on my high-carb favorites and enjoy my post-meal nap.