Feel like napping after Thanksgiving dinner?

Don't blame the turkey

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 11.20.18
Word Count 507
Level 730L

Many people believe that turkey makes them sleepy. But does it? Photo from Getty Images

Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means it is time to eat. It is also time to take a nap. You
might have heard that turkey is to blame when we feel sleepy after the Thanksgiving meal.

Turkey does contain a chemical that makes people want to curl up in bed. However, you can't
blame feeling tired on the bird. Stuffing or something else is probably causing it.

Many people assume turkey makes them tired. They have good reasons to think that. The meat
contains a building block of protein called tryptophan. It helps the body make important
chemicals called hormones.

Hormones are like chemical messengers. They tell your body to do certain things. Tryptophan
helps to make a hormone called melatonin. High levels of melatonin tell your brain it is time to go
to sleep.

Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes All Gang Up On Us

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Kimberley Chien is a doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital in
New York City. She works with children on how their bodies use, or digest, food. She
says, "Melatonin is well-known as being the hormone that lulls everyone to sleep." So people think
that this must be why turkey makes everyone sleepy, she says.

However, many other foods have tryptophan. Even chocolate has it. Some other meats contain
more tryptophan than turkey. So why does turkey get the blame for making us sleepy?

Chien thinks that other Thanksgiving foods give turkey a boost. Together they make you sleepy.

The stuffing, mashed potatoes and pies you eat are full of sugars. Your body uses chemicals to
digest them. Those chemicals make it easier for other chemicals to get to your brain. A type of wall
usually exists between the blood in your body and the blood in your brain. However, the work of
digesting a tummy full of sugar makes it easier for things to slip through. This means tryptophan
can bring a sleepy feeling more quickly.

Stomach-To-Brain Message

Eating a large meal full of fats and sugars will make you tired, Chien says. That is even without
tryptophan, she says.

When your stomach is really full, your brain gets a message from it. The message tells the brain to
send plenty of blood and energy to help you digest. That means less blood and energy for the rest
of you.

Other things also can make you tired. There is the fact that the holiday is busy. You might spend
the morning helping to clean the house and setting the table, or bundled up on a long car ride to
have dinner at someone else's house. Who would not be tired?

If you want to avoid feeling as stuffed as your turkey, eat slowly. Start off with small amounts. You
can always have more food later. Eating slowly will to keep you from eating so much that you feel
sick. Also, eat plenty of vegetables and drink plenty of water.

After all, it is easier to enjoy your pumpkin pie when you are not falling asleep in it!

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Quiz

1 What is the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) High levels of melatonin tell your brain it is time to go to sleep.

(B) Eating vegetables and drinking water are healthy food choices.

(C) Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and pies are full of sugars that provide energy.

(D) Eating large amounts of Thanksgiving foods is what causes you to feel sleepy.

2 Read the paragraph from the section "Stomach-To-Brain Message."

When your stomach is really full, your brain gets a message from it. The message tells the brain
to send plenty of blood and energy to help you digest. That means less blood and energy for the
rest of you.

How does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It introduces the way that tryptophan works in the brain.

(B) It shows how you can avoid feeling stuffed on Thanksgiving.

(C) It explains why eating a large meal will make you feel tired.

(D) It demonstrates that your brain and stomach need energy.

3 Why do people think tryptophan is to blame for making them tired?

(A) because it helps people eat more slowly

(B) because it is a building block of good protein

(C) because it helps make a hormone called melatonin

(D) because it is in other meat and foods such as chocolate

4 How do sugars make it easier for tryptophan to make you sleepy?

(A) They keep your body busy digesting so other chemicals can get to your brain.

(B) They create a wall between the blood in your body and the blood in your brain.

(C) They give you energy for cooking and cleaning early so that you are tired later.

(D) They keep you from feeling full so that you can eat more turkey and pumpkin pie.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

Answer Key

1 What is the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) High levels of melatonin tell your brain it is time to go to sleep.

(B) Eating vegetables and drinking water are healthy food choices.

(C) Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and pies are full of sugars that provide energy.

(D) Eating large amounts of Thanksgiving foods is what causes you to feel sleepy.

2 Read the paragraph from the section "Stomach-To-Brain Message."

When your stomach is really full, your brain gets a message from it. The message tells the brain
to send plenty of blood and energy to help you digest. That means less blood and energy for the
rest of you.

How does this paragraph support the MAIN idea of the article?

(A) It introduces the way that tryptophan works in the brain.

(B) It shows how you can avoid feeling stuffed on Thanksgiving.

(C) It explains why eating a large meal will make you feel tired.

(D) It demonstrates that your brain and stomach need energy.

3 Why do people think tryptophan is to blame for making them tired?

(A) because it helps people eat more slowly

(B) because it is a building block of good protein

(C) because it helps make a hormone called melatonin

(D) because it is in other meat and foods such as chocolate

4 How do sugars make it easier for tryptophan to make you sleepy?

(A) They keep your body busy digesting so other chemicals can get to your brain.

(B) They create a wall between the blood in your body and the blood in your brain.

(C) They give you energy for cooking and cleaning early so that you are tired later.

(D) They keep you from feeling full so that you can eat more turkey and pumpkin pie.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.