Why does eating turkey make you feel sleepy?

Question

Aside from eating A LOT of Turkey and A LOT of food on Thanksgiving, it always makes me VERY tired!

Answer 1

Interesting that you should ask. I was watching the Today Show yesterday and they were speaking on how eating turkey releases serotonin in the brain that is why so many people get sleepy after eating it.

Hope that helps. Now I have to go take a nap.

Answer 2

Tired Turkey Syndrome
Chemistry of Thanksgiving Dinner

Unless a microwave dinner is your idea of a Thanksgiving feast, you probably have had firsthand experience with the after-dinner fatigue that sets in after the meal. Why do you want a nap? To escape the dishes? Perhaps, but the meal itself plays a big part in the way you feel. Some people blame the turkey for the effect, but there's more to the story:
L-Tryptophan and the Turkey
The turkey is often blamed for afterdinner lethargy, but you could omit the bird altogether and still feel the effects of the feast. Turkey does contain L-tryptophan, an essential amino acid with a documented sleep inducing effect. L-tryptophan is used in the body to produce the B-vitamin, niacin. Niacin, in turn, is used to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that exerts a calming effect and regulates sleep. However, L-tryptophan needs to be taken on an empty stomach and without any other amino acids or protein in order to make you drowsy. There's lots of protein in a serving of turkey and it's probably not the only food on the table.

It's worth noting that other foods contain as much or more tryptophan than turkey (0.333 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), including chicken (0.292 g of tryptophan per 100 gram edible portion), pork, and cheese. As with turkey, other amino acids are present in these foods besides tryptophan, so they don't make you sleepy.


L-Tryptophan and Carbohydrates
L-tryptophan may be found in turkey and other dietary proteins, but it's actually a carbohydrate-rich (as opposed to protein-rich) meal that increases the level of this amino acid in the brain and leads to serotonin synthesis. Carbohydrates stimulate the pancreas to secrete insulin. When this occurs, some amino acids that compete with tryptophan leave the bloodstream and enter muscle cells. This causes an increase in the relative concentration of tryptophan in the bloodstream. Serotonin is synthesized and you feel that familiar sleepy feeling.


Fats
Fats slow down the digestive system, giving Thanksgiving dinner plenty of time to take effect. Fats also take a lot of energy to digest, so the body will redirect blood to your digestive system to tackle the job. This means there is less blood and chemical energy available elsewhere in the body, so you will feel less energetic after eating a meal rich in fats.


Alcohol
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. A glass of holiday cheer may take the edge off of a potentially stressful celebration and can add to the nap-factor.


Overeating
Your body uses a lot of energy to digest a large meal. When your stomach is full, blood is directed away from other organ systems, including your nervous system. The result? You will feel the need to snooze after any big meal, particularly if it is high in fats and carbohydrates.


Relaxation
Although many people find the holidays stressful, 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 carry over after the meal.

Why are you sleepy after a big turkey dinner? It's a combination of the type of food, amount of food, and celebratory atmosphere. Happy Thanksgiving!

Answer 3

tryptophan maybe

Tryptophan and turkey

According to popular belief, tryptophan in turkey meat causes drowsiness[9]. Turkey does contain tryptophan, which does have a documented sleep-inducing effect as it is readily converted into serotonin by the body. However, tryptophan is effective only when taken on its own as a free amino acid. Tryptophan in turkey is found as part of a protein, and, in small enough amounts, this mechanism seems unlikely[10].

A more-likely hypothesis is that the ingestion of large quantities of food, such as at a Thanksgiving feast, means that large quantities of both carbohydrates and branched-chain amino acids are consumed. Like carbohydrates, branched-chain amino acids require insulin to be transduced through the myocyte membranes, which, after a large meal, creates a competition among the amino acids and glucose for insulin, while simultaneously creating tryptophan's reduced competition with other amino acids for the Large Neutral Amino Acid Transporter protein for transduction across the blood-brain barrier. Alcoholic beverage consumption at holiday feasts is likely to compound the effect.

Answer 4

A very good explanation: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/turkey_sleepy.html

The short version: Turkey contains the amino acid L-tryptophan which later turns into another chemical called serotonin. Serotinon makes people sleepy.
Although, according to that article, it could also be caused by carbohydrates.

Answer 5

Tryptophan, an amino acid in turkey, is probably what makes you tired. I don't know if it's true but I once heard a story of a man who ate to much turkey fell asleep and died because of all the tryptophan in his system.

Answer 6

well, after eating any heavy meal like turkey we generally feel sleepy because the whole blood flows into the stomach for providing the energy hence the remaining energy is very less to fulfill the need and thus to conserve the energy we felt sleepy.

Answer 7

there is a chemical in turkey that make you sleepy

Answer 8

simply because your body needs extra work to digest all that extra 0vereating... you feel tired..

nothing to do with any chemical---

Answer 9

because usually it's accompanied by listening to relatives talk about themselves

Answer 10

Beside we stuff ourselves like pigs (some of us).