![]() After you eat a big meal your body has to digest all of that food and digestion isn’t an easy task. Well it turns out the biggest culprit is digestion. So, if tryptophan isn’t the culprit when it comes to your food coma then what is? Why do we get tired after thanksgiving dinner? Serotonin helps regulate your mood and it is a key player when it comes to your sleeping, eating, and digestion. Tryptophan leads to serotonin production and serotonin is a key hormone when it comes to regulating your body. Tryptophan may not work quickly, but is an important amino acid to put into your body. Because of its low volume compared to other amino acids your body doesn’t processes it quickly. ![]() Additionally, tryptophan is not the only amino acid that can be found in your turkey and it certainly isn’t the most common. Tryptophan does boost your serotonin levels, but while awake, it takes a time for the body to build up sleep pressure (homeostatic sleep drive) to really allow serotonin to take affect on sleep. Well the answer to this question is time. So, if turkey contains tryptophan and tryptophan is turned into serotonin and serotonin is a precursor to melatonin, then why isn’t tryptophan responsible for you feeling tired right after Thanksgiving Dinner? The way serotonin affects our bodies depends on where it’s being used in the body and to which receptors it is binding. However, higher serotonin levels found in the brains dorsal raphé nucleus promotes wakefulness. Melatonin production is triggered by light & dark, so when the sun goes does and night-time sets in, our pineal glands are triggered to secrete melatonin and to make melatonin we need to have adequate levels or serotonin. Serotonin is a precursor to melatonin which we know is the key chemical that tells out body that it’s time to sleep. And as most people know serotonin is a key chemical when it comes to wakefulness and positive mood, but what you may not have known is that it plays a role in sleep too. ![]() Understanding tryptophan, serotonin, & melatonin synthesis Once the amino acid, tryptophan, has been processes it turns into the b vitamin, niacin, which is a key player in serotonin production. Tryptophan is an amino acid that can be found in foods like fish, milk, firm tofu, and meats like turkey and chicken. In this article we will discuss the relationship between tryptophan and sleep along with the real cause of your Thanksgiving fatigue. But is tryptophan really responsible for that post meal slump? But why is it that Thanksgiving dinner makes you so tired? For a long time, people have believed its due to the amino acid, tryptophan, which can be found in turkey. When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner the only thing that’s harder to resist than a second helping of turkey is a post meal nap. ![]()
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