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By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Many people feel the need to take a nap after the Thanksgiving meal, and most of those meals include turkey. So it is inevitable that turkey and sleepiness would become intertwined, but that is not the case.
Turkey contains the essential amino acid tryptophan that can make a person sleepy as it is converted to sleep-inducing hormones like serotonin and melatonin, and this science-based fact seemingly gives credence to the holiday myth, but “the science of sleepiness after a Thanksgiving meal is a little more complicated,” Healthline stated.
A person who takes tryptophan supplements for better sleep typically takes a dose of five grams, which could be obtained by eating 20 servings of turkey, according to Healthline. More likely culprits of holiday sleepiness could be over consumption and eating such high carbohydrate foods as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pies, which often accompany turkey in holiday meals, St. Vincent’s Medical Center stated.
Other foods with tryptophan include chicken, eggs, cheese, milk, bananas, apples and fish.
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