Whether you are a high school student going through final exams or a college student looking for a balanced diet away from home, a diet rich in brain-boosting food can have many benefits.
With your future on the line, studying for school might dictate and disturb your entire routine and you may find yourself skipping meals to make time for a final cram session.
However, skipping breakfast before your morning exam or swapping dinner for an all-nighter might have a worse effect on your brain.
Read along to see what changes you can make to your diet to help you stay focussed.
Watch The Caffeine Intake
Caffeine is a student’s go-to choice during exam season whether it’s coffee at breakfast or a late-night energy drink.
While drinking caffeine can give you that much-needed energy boost to keep studying and keep you awake, too much caffeine can quickly start altering your natural sleep clock.
When you are studying a lot and constantly putting your brain to the test, it needs to have proper rest too.
On a hectic week when you’ve decided to pull an all-nighter but could end up dozing off mid-way through an important submission, you can just hire a writer online to do the assignment while you get your much-needed sleep.
While a morning coffee is not a bad choice to start the day, a couple of energy drinks or colas throughout the day or right before bed can affect the quality of your sleep immensely.
Get Creative And Snack Healthy
Before you start exam week, try to stock up on healthy groceries such as lots of fruits and vegetables rich in nutrients. You should plan on eating an apple or a banana as a snack in between meals since they are filling and healthy.
You can opt for some yogurt with granola and berries to satisfy your sweet tooth. Furthermore, you should reward yourself with a smoothie from your favorite shop but ask for fresh fruits only without any artificial sweeteners.
Many people enjoy the flavor of protein boosters or try to hide leafy veggies in their smoothies too, so there are countless ways to get creative.
Meal preparation for a brain-boosting diet also does not have to be boring. You can go out and buy the ingredients for that new overnight oats recipe you saw on social media and give that a shot. Overnight chia seed puddings are also a great breakfast and easy to make.
Hydrate And Avoid Junk Food
Many times your brain will convince you to go grab that bag of chips or a pack of cookies just a couple of hours after you had a very filling meal. You might feel full but still, give in to the cravings.
When you feel this happening, ask yourself when you last had a glass of water. Wanting to eat when full is oftentimes just a signal to hydrate.
See if you are still hungry after having a glass of water and you will know whether you actually needed to eat the junk food or not.
While it is better to stick to water, you can switch it up occasionally with other drinks or foods that have an appetite-suppressing effect.
One of the biggest reasons busy college students rely heavily on junk food or ready-to-eat high-sodium meals is that they don’t have time to cook a whole meal.
Use your study breaks to cook a good meal rich in protein and minerals such as a brown rice bowl with leafy greens topped with some crunchy seeds or nuts.
Create A Meal Plan
Make sure to create a meal plan that outlines every meal and snack throughout the day including late-night snacks.
Go for lunch recipes that include protein-rich meats, and ample fiber obtained from various grains.
For dinner, you can even try out new cuisines such as Mexican which includes a lot of healthy ingredients like beans, corn, and avocados.
Feel free to find healthy substitutes like quinoa and greek yogurt instead of white rice and sour cream.
Brain-Boosting Diet Plan: Conclusion
The most important thing when creating your brain-boosting diet plan is to remember to keep it interesting and switch it up often. If you get bored of eating the same thing every day you might end up seeking unhealthy options.
