There are two things you should be doing this Thanksgiving: eating turkey and watching your ASU football team cream USC.
However, these mindless tasks may be harder than we think; after the turkey is gobbled down many of us might be struggling to stay awake.
This Thanksgiving the baked bird might just be our biggest enemy; not the Trojans.
Thanks to the "turkey coma," Thanksgiving Day is the one day mom puts off the doing dishes. It's the day when stale leftovers are still spread across the table but you eat them anyways, and when little brothers and sisters, God forbid, actually want to take a nap.
For many of us the words lazy, nap and football are synonymous with Thanksgiving.
My main goal this Thanksgiving is to not fall asleep and miss the ASU game, but if that means skipping out on the turkey, I'm in between a rock and a hard place; sorry Sun Devils.
I'm looking out for all you Sun Devils too. As stressed, overworked students what are we supposed to choose?
Do we ditch the turkey we visualize months before the feast in order to catch the game that will solidify our Rose Bowl dreams?
Or do we dare to indulge and risk nodding off before kickoff? Highlights and recaps on the news just aren't the same as seeing the Trojans get spanked live.
A turkey coma is a lethargic feeling people seem to experience after eating turkey particularly on Thanksgiving Day. Health guru Dr. Andrew Weil states this sleepy feeling is due to an amino acid found in the skin of the turkey called L-tryptophan, a natural sedative.
I'll admit, I'm skeptical; do we really get sleepy after our turkey feast? Is this whole turkey coma theory in the bird, our bellies, or in our brains?
This theory is hard to believe. I eat plenty of turkey sandwiches through out the week and afterward I've never had the urge to plop over or dose off, unless it's the day of my journalism news writing class!
The real culprit isn't the turkey, it's the feast.
This feeling of sleepiness after eating Thanksgiving dinner is thanks to overeating, fatty foods and alcohol — everything we adore before, but regret the next day.
Dr. Anne Marie Helmenstine author of the article, "Does Eating Turkey Make You Sleepy" said, "It takes a great deal of energy to digest a large meal. When your stomach is full, blood is directed away from other organ systems, including your nervous system."
The turkey coma is actually the feeling of being stuffed.
"You will feel the need to snooze after any big meal, particularly if it is high in fats and carbohydrates," Helmenstine said.
You feel lethargic after eating foods rich in fats because they slow down the digestive system.
"Fats take a lot of energy to digest, so the body will redirect blood to your digestive system to tackle the job. Since you have less blood flow elsewhere, you will feel less energetic after eating a meal rich in fats," she added.
To stay awake enough to catch the game, don't go alcohol crazy to celebrate. Alcohol is a depressant, "If alcoholic beverages are part of the holiday celebration, then they will add to the nap-factor," Helmenstine said.
According to the University of Illinois Extension Web Site, "Eating turkey does not cause you to feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. Carbohydrates in your Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness."
It's not just the turkey; it's the carbs, bread, pie, gravy, alcoholic beverages, and the stuffing that makes us stuffed and feel sleepy.
Resist the turkey coma, Sun Devils. If you feel yourselves falling into a drowsy daze after your family feast, pry those eyes open, you won't want to miss the bliss of ASU battling the Trojans.
Lauren will be in a real coma if the Sun Devils are defeated Wednesday by the Trojans! Join her at: lauren.misak@asu.edu.
