So, this past week was a long, tiring, yet very satisfying one. Over the course of three days, I facilitated six lunch and learn sessions, all focusing on some aspect of health and nutrition. Outside of the obvious fact that I love getting to teach others about the many facets if wellness, I really enjoy facilitating because of the people I meet, and the stories they share.
There seemed to be a common theme this past week within these interactions in that a lot of people do not eat breakfast. The reasons varied, for most it was a lack of time in the morning, or for others it was a lack of appetite. So I found a particular story really interesting last night when I was watching the CBC news. The Toronto District School Board released a study proving there is a direct link between students’ performance and eating breakfast. Here is a link from their website:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/05/11/toronto-school-nutrition.html
The two-year study looked at how access at school to a healthy breakfast impacted the grades and behaviour of approximately 6000 students. Not surprisingly, it had a profound effect, most notably the statistically higher graduation rate in those that did take advantage of the meals provided. The CBC interviewed a number of the students who verbally attested to the impact having breakfast had on their day.
So, yes, some of you are possibly remarking, “Lauren, grade 7 and 8 was so long ago that I cannot even remember it. What’s your point?” and maybe others of you have connected the dots. I’m sure there are a number of studies out there looking at the effects that breakfast has on performance, and engagement and concentration levels in hard working adults, but at this moment, I do not have one to show you. Thankfully, I am not asking you to draw a comparison between your life and to the results from a scientific study involving the use of petri dishes. This is evidence on HUMANS (albeit young ones!), so take note, you non-breaky peeps!
Don’t fret! That first meal of the day does not have to be huge and cumbersome. It’s as easy as hard-boiling a bunch of eggs Sunday night so you can readily grab one and a piece of fruit on your way out. Or maybe a high-fibre, high-protein granola bar and some yogurt would suffice. Just give it a try and see if there is any difference in how you feel throughout your day.
I’m going to be bold here, and promise you that you will see a change, i.e. you will have better energy, you’ll be able to concentrate more readily and you might not be giving alllll of your hard-earned pennies to Timmy’s at break every morning. Give it a go, and try and prove me wrong. I bet you can’t! 😉