The Truth About Thanksgiving & Sleep

Every year, our family engages in a hot Thanksgiving debate…about sleep.

We gather 'round, sharing laughter, love, patience, and some unforgettable culinary experiences. We try to avoid politics and prickly topics. We overeat, use every dish in the house, and eventually crash for the night. And the next day, we debate the soundness of that sleep and what induced it.

So, what is the truth about how Thanksgiving impacts sleep?

1. The Tryptophan Tease:

• Myth: "Turkey makes you conk out faster than a narcoleptic sloth."
• Reality: Tryptophan, found in turkey, gets the blame for post-feast siestas, but it's more of a team effort: full belly of carbo-loaded side dishes coupled with turkey's gentle nudge towards drowsiness.
• Explanation: Roast turkey is often associated with the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, hormones that regulate sleep. While it's true that tryptophan can promote sleep, the amount of this amino acid in turkey is not sufficient to induce significant drowsiness. Rather, it's the combination of carbohydrates from all that corn bread, mashed potato, etc that can lead to post-feast fatigue.

2. The Carbohydrate Coma:

• Myth: "Potatoes, stuffing, and pie orchestrate a symphony of snoring."
• Reality: A turkey-potato-stuffing-pie quartet is the ultimate food coma ensemble.
• Explanation: When carbohydrates meet, insulin gets excited, and your energy crashes faster than your grandpa making a move for the last piece of pie. Dishes like mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pies taking center stage. Carbohydrates cause a release of insulin, which in turn helps tryptophan enter the brain more effectively. This, paired with a large, carbohydrate-heavy meal, can lead to what is colloquially known as a "food coma" or post-meal drowsiness.

3. The Pie Predicament:

• Myth: "One more slice of pie, and I'll be off to dreamland!"
• Reality: Sugar overload from those sweet pies will jolt you awake like a caffeinated squirrel rather than lull you into slumber.
• Explanation: Thanksgiving desserts, such as pumpkin pie and pecan pie, are often high in sugar. (And we often pile on the whipped cream and/or ice cream on top, right?) Consuming large amounts of sugar, especially later in the day, can disrupt sleep patterns.

4. The Lullaby Liquor:

• Myth: "A glass or two of wine helps me sleep like a baby."
• Reality: Those "holiday spirits" may help you doze off initially, but they might also turn your dreams into a comedy show starring you as the sleepwalker.?
• Explanation: Thanksgiving gatherings often include alcoholic beverages. While alcohol can initially make you feel drowsy, it can lead to disrupted, low-quality sleep as the body processes it. Excessive alcohol intake should be avoided, especially close to bedtime.

5. The Midnight March:

• Myth: "Late-night turkey sandwiches are a sleep secret."
• Reality: This is a cute (and inaccurate) way of trying to justify late night snacking.
• Explanation: After-hours turkey snacking, while fun, might lead to a midnight rendezvous with indigestion, not sleep. Plus, nothing like a fridge light in the face to ruin a good night's sleep. Worse? If you share a bed with a partner, your not-so-sweet farting serenade might keep them awake too!?

6. The Family Funk:

• Myth: "Thanksgiving family drama can be sleep-inducing."
• Reality: The awkward family conversations, holiday debates, and political discussions can certainly make you toss and turn all night. Sweet dreams turn into "Oy, did I really say that?!" nightmares.
• Explanation: Family drama, hard conversations, and even just quietly witnessing it unfold? Ugh. Stress triggers the release of cortisol, a stress hormone, which can increase alertness and disrupt the natural sleep-wake cycle. Racing thoughts, anxiety, and muscle tension make it difficult to relax, making falling asleep and staying asleep challenging, inhibiting restful sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving and sweet, or not so sweet, dreams!