Have you been wondering why everyone ends up feeling so sleepy after eating a large Thanksgiving dinner? Well, there is a pretty simple scientific explanation, and you can learn all about it below.
The Tryptophan
One of the reasons why you want to sleep after Thanksgiving dinner is because you ate a good amount of tryptophan, which is an amino acid that is found in turkey and in other meats and causes your brain to feel drowsy. Even if you have a plant-based Thanksgiving meal that contains tofu, you will be ingesting tryptophan, so it can be really hard to escape it. But, again, this is just one reason why you want to take a nap after your holiday feast.
The Carbohydrates
A bigger reason why you wish to sleep after Thanksgiving dinner is all of the carbohydrates that you eat as a part of your meal. Everything from the buttered rolls to the mashed potatoes and vegetables will cause your body to make a high amount of glucose. When this happens, the body responds by releasing insulin.
Regulating Blood Sugar
All that tryptophan you ate won’t really do much to balance the glucose in your blood, but other amino acids will end up leaving your brain to help with regulating your blood sugar. This gives tryptophan, which normally doesn’t enter the brain because of the competition it faces from other amino acids, the ability to get in more easily. Once in your brain, the tryptophan will turn into melatonin, and that will cause your feeling of sleepiness.
It Isn’t Just About the Food You Eat
Even though your Thanksgiving drowsiness is caused by the foods that you eat to celebrate, there are other factors that contribute to your need to sleep after Thanksgiving dinner. For example, if you had to travel a long distance and for a long period of time to get to your destination, you are likely going to feel tired later on. And if you are busy hosting Thanksgiving dinner, entertaining your guests, and cooking all day, your body will be quite tired by the time you even sit down to eat.
As you can see, there are several reasons why you feel so sleepy after you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner. Between the foods that you eat affecting your body in various ways, and it being such a busy day that can drain your energy, it is no surprise that all you want to do is rest.