--- title: Thanksgiving 2016: The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan description: Does turkey really make you sleepy? Here's what you should know about turkey and tryptophan this Thanksgiving. canonical: https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-22T17:26:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:24.376Z article:section: Health og:title: The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan og:description: Does turkey really make you sleepy? Here's what you should know about turkey and tryptophan this Thanksgiving. og:url: https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan twitter:description: Does turkey really make you sleepy? Here's what you should know about turkey and tryptophan this Thanksgiving. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) and [Heather Jones](https://time.com/author/heather-jones/) Nov 22, 2016 5:26 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) and [Heather Jones](https://time.com/author/heather-jones/) Nov 22, 2016 5:26 PM UTC No [Thanksgiving](http://time.com/4577425/thanksgiving-2016-true-story/) is complete without a [turkey](http://time.com/4571760/thanksgiving-sandwich-recipe-video/) at the table—and a nap right after it’s eaten. The meat has a bad reputation for making eaters sleepy, but is there really science to back that up? Here’s the lowdown: turkey contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which produces sleep-promoting serotonin and melatonin. But turkey has about the same amount of tryptophan as other meats. It may even have a built-in secret weapon against sleepiness: an abundance of [protein](http://time.com/3603689/turkey-nutrition/?iid=sr-link1), which can regulate insulin levels and actually combat fatigue. So don’t blame the turkey for your tiredness; the heavy load of carbs that made up the rest of the meal are likely the culprits. Here’s what turkey really does to your body.  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/"},"headline":"The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan","datePublished":"2016-11-22T17:26:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:24.376Z","description":"Here's the real reason Thanksgiving makes you sleepy","url":"https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Turkey","Thanksgiving"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Heather Jones","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/heather-jones/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4580001/thanksgiving-turkey-tryptophan/","name":"The Truth About Turkey and Tryptophan"}}]}] ```