Tired? Try tryptophan

Need to pull an all-nighter to finish that 15 page report on the history of the magic 8-ball? Well the first thing you need to do is put down that Elk meat smothered in Swiss cheese and coated in chocolate.

Certain foods (such as milk, eggs, cheese, meat, fish and nuts) have components of their chemical makeup that help to lull you to sleep. Now this can be great, I think, if you want to go to sleep. However that is seldom the case for me, and maybe you, so this information should be beneficial!
Tryptophan, you are the devil. According to definition, Tryptophan: is one of the 20 standard amino acids, as well as an essential amino acid in the human diet. It is encoded in the standard genetic code as the codon UGG.

Now what would be most revelant to you, I assume, is the fact that one of it's purposes is that it synthesizes serotonin. Serotonin plays the role of a neurotransmitter in the Central Nervous System. This is where it does the work that we can usually associate it with, having a role in the modulation of aggression, anger, body temperature, appetite, sleep, mood, and metabolism, along with various others. Obviously, therefore, eating foods that are high in tryptophan encourage the release of sleep hormones.

If your diet is lacking in this amino acid, however, certain conditions can be developed such as

• depression
• anxiety
• impatience
• impulsiveness
• irritability
• insomnia
• unexplained weight gain/loss

Therefore, taking in a healthy amount of foods rich in tryptophan is important.

I'm sure that you've heard that turkey makes you sleepy. On the subject I'll address this issue. While turkey does have the magic chemical, it has less than even cheddar cheese. No one ever assumes that they're sleepy because of that sandwich they had for lunch, but yet, poor turkey is always singled out. The real truth of this myth probably stems from the fact that large amounts of turkey are eaten particularly at Thanksgiving, one of, if not the, largest meal of the year. Thus, the drowsiness most likely can be attributed to the intake of carbohydrates, not the turkey specifically.

Christopher Wanjek, LiveScience's Bad Medicine Columnist, debunks the traditional turkey myth.

The massive intake of carb-heavy calories stimulates the release of insulin, which in turn triggers the uptake of most amino acids from the blood into the muscles except for tryptophan.

With other amino acids swept out of the bloodstream, tryptophan—from turkey or ham or any meat or cheese, for that matter—can better make its way to the brain to produce serotonin. Without that insulin surge, tryptophan would have to compete with all the other kinds of amino acids in the big meal as they make their way to the brain via a common chemical transport route. And not enough tryptophan would make it to the brain because other basic amino acids are far more plentiful in food.

So, if you're ever wondering, "WHY am I so tired?!" Search vehemently online for the glycemic index on every food you consumed during the day. :)