Happy Thanksgiving : )
We spent Thanksgiving day at my sister and brother-in-law's house, and we stuffed ourselves full of all the usual Thanksgiving food. As I sat in my turkey-induced-near-coma, I watched my oldest child nap in a chair for more than an hour. She was just fine, happy, and full of energy when we arrived. So what would drive my healthy 16-year-old daughter to snuggle up under a blanket and pass out? I'd always heard that turkey made people sleepy, so I went searching for the reason why, and here it is, from howstuffworks.com:
Turkey does have the makings of a natural sedative in it, an amino acid called tryptophan. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning that the body cannot manufacture it. The body has to get tryptophan and other essential amino acids from food. Tryptophan helps the body produce the B-vitamin niacin, which, in turn, helps the body produce serotonin, a remarkable chemical that acts as a calming agent in the brain and plays a role in sleep. So you might think that if you eat a lot of turkey, your body would produce more serotonin and you would feel calm and want a nap.
So there you have it folks. The answer to the age-old question. I hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous!
