Does turkey actually make you sleepy?

• Turkey contains tryptophan, an amino acid used to make serotonin and melatonin, which are linked to sleep and relaxation, so in principle it can promote sleepiness.
• Some coverage of Thanksgiving "food comas" concedes that tryptophan in turkey contributes to feeling tired, especially in combination with carbohydrate-heavy side dishes.
• Tryptophan-enriched diets and supplements have been shown in research to improve aspects of sleep, suggesting that sufficient tryptophan intake can be sleep-promoting.

• Analyses show turkey does not have more tryptophan than other common meats and even less than some cheeses, nuts, and fish, so it is not uniquely sleep-inducing.
• Medical and scientific sources state that the amount of tryptophan consumed in a typical turkey meal is too low, and too mixed with other amino acids, to significantly boost brain serotonin or melatonin.
• Experts from institutions like Mayo Clinic and university scientists attribute post‑Thanksgiving drowsiness mainly to overeating, high-carbohydrate foods, and alcohol, rather than to turkey’s tryptophan.
• Consumer health sources quantify that standard turkey portions provide far less tryptophan than the gram-level doses used in sleep studies, indicating normal intake is insufficient to cause marked sleepiness.

Turkey does contain tryptophan, and in theory tryptophan can promote sleep, but the evidence indicates that the specific claim that turkey makes you sleepy because of its tryptophan is a myth. Typical turkey servings and the way tryptophan is delivered in a protein-rich meal do not provide enough brain-available tryptophan to be the main cause of post‑meal drowsiness, which is better explained by…