Although Thanksgiving may be the warm-up holiday for the December festivities, we have to stop to admire the pure bliss of being able to eat and sleep for the four day weekend we’re about to receive. The food is amazing, not a doubt, so give thanks for the pounds of stuffing you’ll be stuffing in your tummy, whether it be your grandma’s pumpkin pie you love oh so much, or that awkward helping of green bean casserole you’re forcing yourself to eat. But, scrutiny is owed to the infamous food coma, best known as the state of sleep and extreme lethargy induced by the consumption of a large amount of food.

Trust me, food comas are a thing, but there’s obviously a medical term for this coma like state. According to foodrepublic.com, post-prandial somnolence is the fatigue that follows after ingesting a hearty helping of that turkey you love so much (good luck vegans and vegetarians). Tryptophan is an essential amino acid found in the food you consume during the holiday season, and especially found in turkey. This overdose of tryptophan is synthesized into serotonin, and then of this serotonin is further transformed by the pineal gland into melatonin. This melatonin results in the sweet sleep you experience after munching on Thanksgiving day.

So while you’re digesting the scrumptious succulents, don’t be confused if you feel yourself dozing off into a deep sleeping state. The food you consumed is only doing it’s main job, and you should be fine just in time for your black friday shopping events. So snooze away the large amounts of tryptophan. I heard target has some good deals this year.