 [ Symptoms ] will eating turkey help me sleep [ Disease ] well there is a big myth about turkey okay so turkey does have l tryptophan in it you would have to eat about a 46 pound turkey to get enough tryptophan in your system to for it to make a difference and the truth of the matter is that tryptophan does not work particularly well in the presence of protein so it does not really work there is just as much tryptophan in beef and pork so if you eat a big thanksgiving meal it is not what is making you sleepy is not the turkey it is probably the preparations and the lack of sleep you got the night before getting the meal ready that is actually making you tired