Does Turkey Really Make You Sleepy? - Instant Egghead

Nov 19, 2012

Share
Email

The drowsiness we experience after a hearty Thanksgiving meal is usually blamed on the amino acid tryptophan, which turkey supposedly has an extra helping of. Or does it? Scientific American editor Ferris Jabr investigates.

All Videos tab arrow

Scientific American Exclusives tab arrow

Instant Egghead tab arrow

Cicadas - Making Sense of the 17-Year Emergence Why Stress Is Good for You Hovering "Home Drone" Puts Burglars on Display Penitent Hacker Aims to Protect World's ATMs 'Apps for Asia' Offers Solutions to Poverty-Re... Audubon's Birds Live On Long After His Death

Showing 1-6 of 806

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Why Stress Is Good for You How Do Tornadoes Form? Cicadas - Making Sense of the 17-Year Emergence Hovering "Home Drone" Puts Burglars on Display Why Barns Are Red - The Countdown #22 Penitent Hacker Aims to Protect World's ATMs

Showing 1-6 of 6
Why Stress Is Good for You
Santander Claims Title as Europe's "Smartest" ... Wooden Solar Cells Shine Light on Cleaner Power Urban Algae Turns Wastewater into Energy Wooden Radio Broadcasts Sustainable Message Lagos School Girls Harness the Power of Pee Green Toilet Saves Water, Feeds Garden

Showing 1-6 of 102

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Bird 'Crouch' Developed in Dinosaur Ancestors What Color Were Dinosaurs? - Instant Egghead Who Was the First Human Ancestor? - Instant Eg... How Does Radiocarbon Dating Work?- Instant Egg... How Do Animals Become Zombies? - Instant Egghead Instant Egghead - Are We Facing the Sixth Mass...

Showing 1-6 of 57

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Decades-Old Stroke Damage Reversible with Oxyg... Going Viral to Stop Superbugs China Bird Flu Spurs Drive for Universal Vaccine 3D Printer Produces Artificial Ears New Implant Brings High Hopes for Back Pain Re... 3D Printer Builds Human Tissue-Like Substance

Showing 1-6 of 96

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Why Stress Is Good for You Billion Dollar Project to Recreate the Human B... Curved Glass Linked to Fast Beer Drinking Instant Egghead - What Is the Ames Illusion? Mind-Controlled Aircraft No Longer Unthinkable Instant Egghead - How Do 3-D Glasses Work?

Showing 1-6 of 56

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Why Barns Are Red - The Countdown #22 Gemini's Paraglider Landing System How Do Astronomers Find Exoplanets? Antarctica's Supernova Sand - The Countdown #21 Missing Mars Lander Found? - The Countdown #20 How Massive Stars Are Born - The Countdown #19

Showing 1-6 of 92

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Hovering "Home Drone" Puts Burglars on Display Penitent Hacker Aims to Protect World's ATMs 'Apps for Asia' Offers Solutions to Poverty-Re... Autonomous Attack Drone Flies into History The World's Lightest Material Unmanned Combat Jet Passes Flight Test

Showing 1-6 of 343

1 2 3 4 5 > >>
Cicadas - Making Sense of the 17-Year Emergence Why Stress Is Good for You 'Apps for Asia' Offers Solutions to Poverty-Re... Why Barns Are Red - The Countdown #22 Autonomous Attack Drone Flies into History The World's Lightest Material

Showing 1-6 of 379

1 2 3 4 5 > >>

Post a Comment | Read Comments (0)

submit to reddit

Comments

More from Scientific American

News | 9 hours ago | 5
Infant Tooth Reveals Neandertal Breastfeeding Habits
Ask the Experts | 10 hours ago
Why Twisters Hammer Tornado Alley
TechMediaNetwork | 10 hours ago | 2
Rare View of Ancient Galaxy Crash Revealed
Guest Blog | 11 hours ago
Discover the Secret of the 17-Year Cicada, But It Won t Get You Tenure
Overthinking It | 14 hours ago
Why Portland Is Wrong About Water Fluoridation

Follow Us:

See what we're tweeting about

Scientific American Editors

BecCrew RT @screen_info Congratulations to @BadenPailthorpe! http://t.co/4gc6DfL1gN
42 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
BoraZ Fasting: The New Fad Diet? http://t.co/AzNQ2HlXno
58 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite
sciammind #SciAmBlogs Wednesday - niche construction, cicadas, ageing, Moon, pirates' dodo, sick caecilians, hurricane f... http://t.co/sVtkJrmrg2
2 hours ago · reply · retweet · favorite

Free Newsletters

Get the best from Scientific American in your inbox

Solve Innovation Challenges

Pseudoephedrine #2: Outsmarting Methamphetamine Producers
Deadline: Jul 30 2013
Reward: $100,000 USD

The Seeker desires a method for producing pseudoephedrine products in such a way that it will be extremely difficult for clandestine che
Expose Data Relationships Through Visualization of Thomson Reuters Web of Science Content
Deadline: Jul 25 2013
Reward: Varies

This challenge provides an opportunity for Solvers to build a web-based or mobile “app” to explore data relationships in scholarly conte
More Challenges »

Powered By: Innocentive

SA Digital

Latest from SA Blog Network

#SciAmBlogs Wednesday - niche construction, cicadas, ageing, Moon, pirates' dodo, sick caecilians, hurricane forecasts, and more.

STAFF
The Network Central | 4 hours ago
Recipe for a Photograph #2: Bee in Flight
Compound Eye | 9 hours ago
Discover the Secret of the 17-Year Cicada, But It Won t Get You Tenure
Guest Blog | 11 hours ago
Why Portland Is Wrong About Water Fluoridation
Overthinking It | 14 hours ago
How to Use the Bathroom on a 20-Hour Plus Solar Airplane Flight [Video]
Observations | 14 hours ago

SA Digital

News From Our Partners

Science Jobs of the Week

Professor in Secretion Research Uppsala University
Professor in Physiology Uppsala University
Senior Product Marketing Manager (IVF products) BlueGnome
More jobs from Naturejobs.com »

risk free title graphic

YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.

cover image

Scientific American is a trademark of Scientific American, Inc., used with permission

© 2013 Scientific American, a Division of Nature America, Inc. View Mobile Site All Rights Reserved.

Email this Article

X

Scientific American Magazine

Subscribe Today

Save 66% off the cover price and get a free gift!

X

Please Log In

X

Account Linking

Welcome, . Do you have an existing ScientificAmerican.com account?

X

X

X

Error

X

Share this Article

X