Does eating turkey make you feel drowsy?

The idea that turkey makes you sleepy is as much of a Thanksgiving tradition as cranberry sauce and football games. There was even a Seinfeld episode about it. If only it were true!

Turkey’s snooze-inducing properties are blamed on Tryptophan, an amino acid known to cause drowsiness. So far, so good. But, Turkey contains no more Tryptophan than chicken, or beef. In fact, some foods such as pork or cheese contain a lot more.

No one ever attributes their afternoon nap to their lunchtime turkey sandwich. Really the only time this myth comes up is in connection with Thanksgiving. We’ve all felt tired after a big dinner – heavy meals lower your metabolism and force your diaphragm to work harder, hindering breathing. This is the real source of the misconception. Combine a large, fat- and carbohydrate-heavy meal with the likely inclusion of alcohol, and you’ll be snoozing on the sofa in no time.