Debaser

Tryptophan: Succulent Sleep inducer, or Innocent Amino Acid??

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and the discussion of tryptophan that I've overheard recently I did some reading to give me enough of a picture of the situation that I feel the need to enlighten my family and kin, and any meandering soul who stops in from the big city of the internet.

Tryptophan (also known as Trp, or W as in Elmer Fudd's "twyptofan") is an amino acid. There are about 20 amino acids that make up the vast bulk of all the protein in your body. Proteins do everything from carry oxygen in your blood (hemoglobin), break down food (enzymes), signal various systems (hormones), and move yourself around town (muscle). Protein is the major machinery of all living systems and makes up nearly all of the work and structure of living things. Tryptophan is a small part of protein and is freed when you digest protein in your stomach down to it's amino acids.

Tryptophan is found in higher amounts in turkey (0.24% by weight), but about the same amounts as beef (0.23%), chicken (0.24%) and pork (0.25%). Cheese has higher amounts of tryptophan than all these (0.32%). It's also found in reasonable amounts in a lot of plants (especially those with higher amounts of protein, makes sense).

Tryptophan can be converted to seratonin which regulates sleep, anger, and lots of other stuff (seratonin is even a component of some natural venoms and poisons, go figure). Any drowsiness associated with tryptophan is due to the increase of seratonin in the brain. This is most effective when taken on an empty stomach. Tryptophan can also be converted into Niacin which is converted into the stuff that allows metabolism.

So, is the after-dinner nap a turkey-induced nap? Some say no, and for good reason. The large amounts of carbohydrates and sugars eaten (stuffing, bread, pie, etc) during the feast are more likely to be the direct cause. It's most likely the blood sugar crash after eating such a sugar-rich meal. Indirectly tied to tryptophan/seratonin: eating lots of carbohydrates triggers insulin, which triggers the muscles to take in other amino acids and increase the concentration of tryptophan (if 1 in 20 people at a party are named Steve and then all Johns, Scotts, and Ryans are pulled away, now it's 1 in 10 people named Steve). In my opinion, this would be a very minor contribution to the Turkey-Day napping, since most of it is still bound up in food in your belly (sugars and carbohydrates dissolve and are absorbed easily; proteins-not as much)

So, turkey is not a sleeping drug (at least, not a very good one). But lots of carbs with some meat helping out should do the trick. Next year, make it a roast beef Thanksgiving and give it a shot. Or chicken wings. mmmmm, thanksgiving chicken winnnngggsmmmmm.

Sources: Science classes and textbooks, Wikipedia (when entries are heavily cited), howstuffworks.com, Medline Plus (online medical encyclopedia)