Wednesday 06-01-2021 - 16:41

In the current climate, eating healthy is probably the last thing on everyone's minds. But as we work and study from home more, it is important to dedicate time to focus on our studies. 

No more opening teams on your laptop, turning off your mic and camera then hopping back into bed! 

One way to improve your focus is by eating all the right foods; the food you put into your body makes the biggest impact on how your brain works. This is especially important to remember when those pesky deadlines are coming your way.

By making the switch to some of these brain foods, it will not only fuel your brain but also improve your memory and help you get all that extra studying in! 

It’s important to remember that your brain is the most complex part of your body. Look at it as a computer, it is running millions of processes every single day and it never stops working. To keep it working you must top it up with fuel! The type of fuel your brain needs to keep working is glucose, which is a type of sugar. Your body gets glucose from the food you eat and is delivered into the brain through your bloodstream. Unlike a computer, your brain cannot store glucose, so you must top up those levels throughout the day. I understand this can be hard between lectures and work so healthy snacks such as fruit and nuts are a definite must! If you don’t keep on top of fuelling your brain you are likely to start to feel sad, irritable and unmotivated. It can affect the way you sleep, give you poor memory and you may have difficulty problem-solving. This is not how you want to feel when you have a deadline the next day.  

 

Protein

This includes meat, fish, eggs, poultry, legumes, nuts, seeds, dried beans and lentils, dairy products and soy products. Protein will help your brain to send messages to the rest of your body, It also helps to create Dopamine which is also known as “The feel-good hormone” this will help to improve your mood.  

 

Omega-3 

You get Omega-3* from oily fish, flax seeds/oil, eggs, chicken and beef. Omega-3 has been found to help your brain work harder and can improve your mental health as it contains a type of fatty acid called EPA which has been scientifically proven to fight depression. Omega-3 can also help with eye health, this is particularly important when studying online as we spend so much time glued to our computer and tablet screens.  

 

Caffeine

Pulling an all-nighter to get that essay finished? Caffeine will be your best friend! Remember though this must be in moderate amounts! Tea and coffee are the perfect way to boost your energy while working away. Did you know you can also get caffeine from dark chocolate? Snacking on some dark chocolate with fresh fruit is sure to leave you feeling ready to take on whatever assignment is due! In small amounts, caffeine will leave you feeling refreshed and more focused!  

 

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that can reduce and slow down damage to cells caused by free radicals, unstable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to environmental and other pressures. You get Antioxidants from your fruits and vegetables, try snacking on some berries or drinking some pomegranate juice! Antioxidants can help to delay certain effects of ageing on the brain!  

 

Dietary Cholesterol

Foods such as milk, prawns and egg yolks naturally contain cholesterol, this is called Dietary Cholesterol; it has less of an effect on the level of cholesterol in your blood than saturated fat. Your brain relies on cholesterol to create the cells needed to send messages to the rest of your body.  

 

Monosaturated Fats

These are the healthy fats you find in avocados, nuts, and certain oils, such as olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil. They contribute to the improvement of your memory and brain function.

 

Water 

Water is quite possibly the best thing you can put into your body! After all, your brain is 73% water! It can help improve your memory and mood. The NHS recommends you drink 6-8 glasses a day; low-fat milk and low sugar/sugar-free drinks, tea and coffee contribute to this goal.

 

That is it! Make some of these healthy swaps for your meals and it’ll be sure to help boost your motivation to study and get those deadlines completed! 

Please take care, Georgia 

*https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-brain-foods