Eating Turkey Makes you Sleepy

Transcription

1 Eating Turkey Makes you Sleepy Jacob Anderson, Carrie Adams, Jordan Bolger, Emily Carmon, Hannah Caroscio, Maya Gaines-Smith, Elizabeth Girma, Tonia Morris, Kerry Owusu

2 Healthcare Belief Turkey makes people tired because it contains Tryptophan, an essential amino acid. Colloquially, it is believed that the turkey eaten on Thanksgiving causes people to feel tired because of the Tryptophan it contains.

3 Initial Group Vote Agree Disagree 6 3 Most of our group initially agreed with this healthcare belief

4 Background Tryptophan is an essential amino acid This means our bodies cannot produce it and we must acquire it through diet Tryptophan is found in food such as yogurt, cheese, fish, eggs, and turkey. Tryptophan is converted in the brain to serotonin Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that contributes to drowsiness. 1

5 Background Protein digestion begins in the stomach Parietal Cells secrete HCL which convert Pepsinogen into its active form

6 Background Digestion finishes in the small intestine where the proteins are further broken down into their smallest component amino acids. Finally, the amino acids are absorbed in the lumen of the small intestine through active transport.

7 Hypothesis An increase in turkey consumption will lead to proportional increases in perceived exhaustion.

8 Experiment Cubero et. al Study 2 16 infants were divided into two groups One group was fed formula (no tryptophan) The other group was fed with breast milk (tryptophan) Griffiths et al. Study 3 Performed on young adults Two groups were separated, a high tryptophan dose group (12g) and a low tryptophan dose group (7.5g)

9 Cubero et. al Study 2 Data Analysis The infants who drank milk with tryptophan had better regulated sleep cycles and as a result, exhibited better sleep *Griffiths et al. Study 3 Of the two groups of young adults, both reported increased rate of sleepiness. However, the smaller dose group (7.5g) were the only group to have significant changes in their sleep pattern (better REM) This suggests tryptophan is dose dependent Corroborated by W.J. Wojick 4 who found moderate doses of tryptophan given to rats produced a larger sleep effect relative to larger or smaller doses Although tryptophan can/will make you sleepy, when competing for absorption with other amino acids, its absorption is less than necessary to make you tired 5,6

10 Conclusion While it is true that moderate concentrations of tryptophan can cause drowsiness, the concentration of tryptophan found in your average Thanksgiving turkey meal alone is not enough to do the trick. Other amino acids besides tryptophan in the blood are transported through the active transport system to the brain. The high volume of these amino acids makes it harder for tryptophan to reach the brain in high volumes. This in turn, will not make you drowsy.

11 References 1.) Vorvick MD, Linda. Tryptophan: Medline Plus Medical Encylopedia. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan Web. 16 June ) Cubero, J, V. Valero, and J. Sanchez. The Circadian Rhythm of Tryptophan in Breast Milk Affects the Rhythms of 6-Sulfatoxymelatonin and Sleep in Newborn. Neuroendocrinology 26.6 (2005): Web. 19 June ) Griffiths, WJ, and BK Lester. Tryptophan and Sleep in Young Adults. The Society for Psychological Research 9.3 (1972): Web. 19 June ) Wokcik, W.J., C. Fornal, and M. Radulvacki. Effect of Tryptophan on Sleep in the Rat. Neuropharmacology 19 (1979): Print. 5.) Winchester Hospital. "True or False: Eating Turkey Makes You Drowsy." Winchesterhospital.org. Winchester Hospital, n.d. Web. 17 June ) Handwerk, Brian. "Thanksgiving Mystery: Does Turkey Make You Sleepy?" Nationalgeographic.com. National Geographic Society, 22 Nov Web. 17 June 2014 *Literature review on tryptophan: Silber, B Y, and JJ Schmitt. Effects of Tryptophan Loading on Human Cognition, Mood, and Sleep. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral reviews 34.3 (2010): Web. 4 June 2014.

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