{"id":7440,"date":"2015-12-02T01:37:02","date_gmt":"2015-12-02T06:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/?p=7440"},"modified":"2015-12-02T01:37:02","modified_gmt":"2015-12-02T06:37:02","slug":"does-thanksgiving-turkey-really-make-you-tired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/2015\/12\/02\/does-thanksgiving-turkey-really-make-you-tired\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Thanksgiving Turkey Really Make You Tired?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"turkey\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanksgiving traditions tend to vary from house to house, but one thing seems to remain\u00a0constant: turkey. We stuff ourselves with turkey and (possibly) cranberry sauce, as if its our last supper.\u00a0A common desire after eating is to nap – as if eating is a strenuous activity. A well known explanation for\u00a0this is that the turkey we eat is high in tryptophan, which makes us sleepy; is this true?<\/p>\n

What is tryptophan? It is an amino acid obtained through the diet, and is found in all poultry.\u00a0This amino acid is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which plays a role in mood regulation\u00a0and relaxation. Serotonin is also a reagent in the synthesis of melatonin, a hormone which controls sleep\u00a0cycles. In theory, this would explain why eating turkey could induce a certain sense of drowsiness.<\/p>\n

However, because other types of poultry do not induce this same sensation, despite the fact\u00a0that they may house larger amounts of tryptophan, the above explanation is implausible. It turns out\u00a0that foods rich in tryptophan need be accompanied by foods high in carbohydrates to affect serotonin\u00a0levels. Carbohydrates help transport the fairly bulky tryptophan across the blood-brain barrier so that it\u00a0can regulate serotonin levels. Therefore, eating stuffing, potatoes, yams, or any other form of\u00a0carbohydrate together with turkey during Thanksgiving dinner is what increases the serotonin level.<\/p>\n

The main cause of grogginess after a hearty Thanksgiving meal is overeating. Overeating causes\u00a0the digestive system to use more energy than it usually would, resulting in a sense of light fatigue.\u00a0Between this, the alcohol (a central nervous system depressant) and family drama, of course you’d be\u00a0ready for bed! As it turns out, the turkey, and therefore the tryptophan, is not the only culprit of this\u00a0Thanksgiving feast fatigue – your third serving is too!<\/p>\n

So the lesson here is…everything in moderation (including turkey).<\/p>\n

~ Alexa Aaronson<\/p>\n

The Truth about Tryptophan:\u00a0http:\/\/www.webmd.com\/food-recipes\/the-truth-about-tryptophan?\/page=3<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving Myth Busted: Eating Turkey Won’t Make You Sleepy: http:\/\/www.livescience.come\/41542-thanksgiving-myth-busted-eating-turkey-won-t-make-you-<\/p>\n

Does Eating Turkey Make You Sleepy?\u00a0http:\/\/chemistry.about.com\/od\/holidaysseasons\/a\/tiredturkey.htm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thanksgiving traditions tend to vary from house to house, but one thing seems to remain\u00a0constant: turkey. We stuff ourselves with turkey and (possibly) cranberry sauce, as if its our last supper.\u00a0A common desire after eating is to nap – as if eating is a strenuous activity. A well known explanation for\u00a0this is that the turkey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9491,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9491"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7443,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7440\/revisions\/7443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/ombs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}