{"id":13895,"date":"2025-11-10T09:50:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T14:50:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/?p=13895"},"modified":"2026-07-01T13:15:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:15:31","slug":"the-truth-about-thanksgiving-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/the-truth-about-thanksgiving-turkey\/13895\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Thanksgiving dinner makes you sleepy and it’s not really the turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

What happens to your body<\/a> when you sit down to eat? Do you ever get that tired feeling after enjoying Thanksgiving turkey, and all you want to do is sleep? It happens. There is no knockout gas in Thanksgiving turkey<\/strong>, so why does it make you feel that way?<\/p>\n

The truth about Thanksgiving turkey and what happens to your body when you eat<\/h2>\n

Thanksgiving is around the corner. People will enjoy Thanksgiving turkey and all the lovely things that come with that meal. Truth be told, fatty meals slow your body down. Gravy, butter, and pie all hang around in your stomach. This means the body has to use more energy to break that kind of food down.<\/p>\n

This makes the digestive system work for longer<\/strong>. This will then make you feel tired and warm. All you want to do is take a nap after some Thanksgiving turkey. You have probably felt this way many times after Thanksgiving. But how much of the blame should be placed on the Turkey?<\/p>\n

Is Thanksgiving turkey to blame for your body feeling tired?<\/h2>\n

The real reason you feel tired after a Thanksgiving meal has to do with all the other things on your plate. The mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, sweet side dishes, and scrumptious desserts. They all play a part. High fat and high sugar mean lots of calories.<\/p>\n

Your body has to process all of that<\/strong>. Blood rushes to the stomach, and insulin rises. Next thing you know, your energy drops. The size of the meal is the reason, not just the Thanksgiving turkey. The carbs make your blood take on lots of sugar. This makes your body pump insulin really fast. This sees energy pulled away from the brain and muscles. It goes to the stomach instead.<\/a> Then you feel tired.<\/p>\n

Turkey does contain an amino acid called tryptophan, which the body uses to produce serotonin, a hormone linked to sleep. However, when tryptophan is consumed alongside other proteins and amino acids \u2014 as it is in a full Thanksgiving meal \u2014 it has to compete with those other amino acids for access to the brain, reducing its sleep-inducing effect.<\/p>\n

Thanksgiving turkey has tasty accomplices that make you feel tired after eating<\/h2>\n

Let’s not forget the drinks that go along with Thanksgiving turkey. Alcohol acts as a depressant for the central nervous system, slowing the firing of neurons and contributing to fatigue. You add that to the large meal, and it is easy to see why you might want to nap after eating. Thanksgiving turkey gets the blame, but if we’re being honest, it’s the whole meal. That second helping plays a role as well.<\/p>\n

A large Thanksgiving meal won’t harm your body<\/strong>, but it does make it work hard. Overeating can stress your heart and gut. The stomach expands, and this can press on other organs. That bloated feeling and heartburn all stem from that. All that salty and fatty food can push your blood pressure up. This sees the heart work a bit more. This is fine if you’re healthy, but if you have heart problems, it can be a worry.<\/p>\n

How to beat the Thanksgiving turkey slump after eating?<\/h3>\n

Thanksgiving involves a large meal. More than what you might eat on any other day. The liver has to deal with the extra sugar as much as the pancreas does, as it pumps out more insulin to keep up with the glucose. The sugar can even weaken the immune system for a short while after a Thanksgiving meal.<\/p>\n

You get a spike from the sugar, and then you crash. If you go back to normal portions after Thanksgiving, you should be fine. Drink lots of water during that meal and during the days after. After the Thanksgiving meal, take a short walk. Don’t rush into your next meal. Movement helps keep the sugar flow in your blood steady, and it helps your body digest.<\/p>\n

Don’t worry, Thanksgiving turkey and the rest won’t put you in peril. The carbs, sugar, and fatty foods all play a role in making you feel tired.<\/a> At least now you know why and how best to beat the Thanksgiving meal slump. Turkey only gets a portion of the blame.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Disclaimer: Our articles on food and nutrition are purely informative and do not constitute medical or dietary advice. We respect the guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration and follow a responsible editorial policy. Consult a healthcare professional or dietitian and remember that no superfood is a substitute for a varied and well-balanced diet. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What happens to your body when you sit down to eat? Do you ever get that tired feeling after enjoying Thanksgiving turkey, and all you want to do is sleep? It happens. There is no knockout gas in Thanksgiving turkey, so why does it make you feel that way? The truth about Thanksgiving turkey and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":13903,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_focus_keyword":"thanksgiving,turkey","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"You ever eaten Thanksgiving turkey and gotten tired after? It happens to the best of us. Experts say turkey might not be to blame for that slump.","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13895\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ecoportal.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}