Sleepy After Eating Thanksgiving Dinner Here's Why...
(Undated) -- Lots of people feel like taking a nap after their Thanksgiving meal, and point fingers at the turkey for being sleepy.
Cleveland Clinic registered dietitian Liz DeJulius says tryptophan, an amino acid found in turkey, takes most of the blame but it's also found in other proteins in all that food we're eating. DeJulius says your body is breaking down the protein that's in turkey into amino acids. And the tryptophan is eventually converted into melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates your sleep. She says a more likely source of sleepiness after a Thanksgiving meal are carbs.
Simple carbohydrates found in stuffing, potatoes and even alcohol will all head straight to your blood sugar, and make you crash later in the day.
