We’ve all heard it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But who has time for breakfast when getting the kids off to school, feeding the animals, squeezing in a workout, and arriving to work on time? I’m plenty guilty of often skipping or forgetting this important power boost to my day even though I know better.
Why is breakfast more important than other meals?
First of all, if you have healthy sleep habits (getting on average eight hours of sleep a night), not to mention healthy eating habits in the evening (not eating two or so hours before you go to bed), your body has been without intake for approximately 10 hours. That’s a long time. (Sleep and health is an entirely huge topic on its own maybe to be discussed in the future.) Skipping breakfast and not eating until 11 am or so just added another five hours. And when we reach that point, our food decisions deteriorate rapidly and it becomes so much easier to reach for that leftover donut in the breakroom or a quick fix from the vending machine. Eating a well-rounded breakfast can prevent bad food decisions throughout the day. It doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time.
If you’re guilty of skipping breakfast, it’s probably no surprise that your morning productivity at work is mediocre at best. Productivity is greatly increased with a healthy breakfast. Did you know your brain cannot use stored glucose (also known as glycogen)? Now if we really delved into the biochemistry of our body, there are ways aside from glucose that the brain cells can get some energy, but it’s not easy and doesn’t provide near the amount of energy our brain needs to function.
During the night or the time you have been without food, your body’s processes are still at work using up available glucose, otherwise known as blood sugar. If there is excess blood sugar, it is stored away in the form of glycogen (stored in your liver and muscles) or fat. Or if you haven’t eaten adequate calories for your body’s processes, your body is busy using stored energy from glycogen or fat. So while the rest of the body’s functions can go on for a while without a fresh supply of food, the brain cannot because the brain cannot access glycogen. It needs food. The brain is full of nerve cells (neurons) and because of such, it is the most energy demanding organ in the body and uses one half of all the sugar energy in the body. According to a Harvard Medical School blog, “Brain functions such as thinking, memory, and learning are closely linked to glucose levels and how efficiently the brain uses this fuel source. If there isn’t enough glucose in the brain, for example, neurotransmitters, the brain’s chemical messengers, are not produced and communication between neurons breaks down.” So the next time you tell someone that you can’t think straight, you really might not be thinking straight!
If you’re the type to skip breakfast due to time, plan ahead and get some fast, simple items ready to grab and go. Prepare a yogurt parfait the night before, grab an apple and string cheese, fry an egg while your bread is in the toaster, or even have a protein bar/shake on hand to grab on your way out the door. Between the long period of time your body goes without food overnight until you eat the next day and knowing the important role glucose plays in the brain, it all comes together why breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast really is brain food!
About the Author:
Growing up in Arizona at 7,000 feet elevation, Nicole Post has always been most at home in the mountains with their seasons and outdoor adventures. Home was the main lodge of a 14-cabin property that her family owned and ran as a family business. It was there she learned how to work hard and gained people skills, all while having the outdoors as her playground. College took her to the University of Arizona in Tucson where she completed her degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During those four years, she eventually found the beauty of the desert, but couldn’t wait to escape the heat and the city. Life took Nicole and her husband to Missoula to look at the University of Montana and on the first step off the plane, she knew this was the place. It was love. In August 2003, one U-Haul, one truck, one horse, and two little boys drove into the five-valleys area known as Missoula to embark on a new adventure. 15 years and two more kids later, she still calls the Bitterroot Valley home (just south of Missoula). In her spare time if it exists, she likes to hike, cross country ski, snowboard, read, practice yoga, run, quilt and try new things. Nicole has played a few different roles at Meetings Northwest since joining the staff in 2008. As an event planner, she is creative, efficient and responsive. As our copy editor, she makes us and our clients sound concise, intelligent and interesting. Nicole’s attention to detail and remarkable dissection of words always shines our clients in the perfect light!
