Food plays a very important role in helping your brain function at its optimum level. For this reason, when you are preparing for an exam, or studying a book and want to acquire information from it as quickly as possible, you need to pay close attention to what you are eating.
If you feel that your energy levels are dropping it is a good idea to snack on something healthy and protein rich like a nut butter with carrot or celery sticks. which will give you the energy you need and improve your mood until your next meal
Most students love to eat something while they are reading. But, is that a good thing to do? Even if you are working, you tend to keep a container of snacks to munch on whenever you feel drained.
Therefore, you need to know about snacking comprehensively so that you can make the right decision on whether or not to snack.
Should You Snack When Studying?
While you are studying, your body breaks down glucose to create energy for your brain to work (unless you are on a keto diet). So, food is an important factor, but what is more important is the type of food that you eat and what eating pattern you follow.
Generally, there are two types of people. One that eats 2 or 3 heavy meals a day and the other being a person that eat several small meals a day.
Eating Heavy Meals
Someone who eats heavy meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, are already giving your body enough food. If you do snack in between such heavy meals, chances are you may overeat which is not good thing and may provide distractions while you are studying and in the zone.
In my opinion it is better to eat only 2 or 3 heavy meals a day as you will be less distracted while studying. Stopping every few minutes to eat something while you are studying is not a good idea unless you are taking a break which we will talk about further down in the article.
Taking time to look in your pantry or fridge for something to snack on is not a good idea as it sends the brain a bad message by associating food with studying and taking constant breaks.
However, if you do decide to eat a snack make sure it is a healthy one.
Eating Small Meals
What if you are someone who is eating small meals at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and several smaller meals in between? Now, you might fill yourself with these small snacks, but what really matters is how much food you are snacking on and what type of food you are snacking on while studying. If you are snacking on unhealthy fast food, then you are doing more harm than good to your body and your brain may not function at its optimum level.
Getting a sugar high while studying is not the best thing to do when cramming for an exam. Instead it is recommended that you snack on fruits and vegetables, which would be more beneficial for your body and mind.
Snacking while studying does have some benefits as it will give you energy, boost your blood sugar levels and keep you awake while studying
Snacks You Should Avoid While Studying
As you already know, snacking while studying might be a good idea on certain terms, but there are certain foods that you should not snack on at all. Eventually, these foods will harm you while you study and may cause a distraction. Here are some of the foods that you should not eat while studying;
Sugary Drinks and sodas
Most people love to have various sugary drinks and soda-type drinks. These drinks contain a huge amount of sugar which will definitely give you a boost as a sugar rush but will quickly fade and are best avoided.
Processed Fruit Drinks
You will see many people drinking fruit drinks like OJ or apple juice, you might think that they are drinking something healthy. However, they are just as bad as drinking soda as they are still very heavily processed and are actually reconstituted fruit juice. Reconstituted fruit juice loses a lot of its nutritional values.
Potato Chips
A common staple for many young students, the packet of chips. First of all, most potato chips do not give you any benefit as far as nutrition is concerned. Also, the amount of sodium they use to salt the chips will make you thirsty thus distracting you from your studies.
Protein Bars
Yep, protein bars can be a good thing to have between meals. But what you have to understand is that most protein bars lack a lot of nutrition. Sure, you are getting some additional protein in your diet via a protein bar which is great for your brain but you are not getting the same nutritional benefits that you would get from a proper steak/fish/veggie burger.
So, if you do decide to go the protein bar route then you should try and get a organically natural based protein bar otherwise your likely not getting much benefit from it much akin to a candy bar.
Healthy Snacks You Should Eat While Studying
As you now know which snacks you need to avoid while studying, you will be thinking about what foods should you snack on while studying? There are many healthy foods that you can eat while studying. While choosing a snack, make sure it has 10 to 30 grams of protein and some portion of the fibre. Here are some of the foods that you should consider as a snack during studies;
Slices of Apple with Nut Butter Dip
Slice and apple thinly and dip those slices in the nut butter before eating it. It will be a healthy snack for you.
Vegetables and Hummus
Hummus is really delicious to eat and quite healthy too if you make it at home. So, you can use it as a dip along with sliced vegetables like celery and carrots.
Boiled Eggs
By eating boiled eggs, you will be having a good protein source and also, get amino acids that are important for your body. Therefore, it is a good snack for you to eat.
Dried Fruits
Eating dried fruits can also be a wonderful snack for you. Cashews, almonds, peanuts, pistachios, peaches, raisins, bananas, etc. are very healthy as you are getting important nutrition from them. So, it is just the right snack for you just be sure not to eat too many!
Fruits with Honey and Yoghurt
Take plain yoghurt and add some honey to it. After that, slice fresh fruits and add it in yoghurt and honey mixture or you can use the mixture as a dip. It is a healthy snack for you.
Why you should consume extra protein?
The brain is a muscle and requires protein to grow. Regardless if you are a vegan or omnivore you will be wanting to consume additional protein to create those new neural connections in your brain otherwise all that studying will be going to waste.
It is import to feed your brain with protein rich foods such as:
- Nuts
- Fish
- Beef
- Chicken
- Yoghurt
- Tofu
Why Chewing Gum is a Good Idea
Chewing gum while studying can be a good idea for several reasons.
- Your breath will be fresh
- You will have cleaner teeth (dental health is directly correlated to mental health)
- Your appetite will reduce
Now, if you are a student, you will be more interested to know about the following benefits;
- Stress Reduction: Chewing gum will allow you to feel relaxed and focus on your studies with a calmer mind.
- Boosting Brain Health: Some studies have shown that while chewing gum it makes your brain function better. Also, you can stay alert and concentrate on studies better as well.
Therefore, chewing gum while studying may not be such a bad idea.
Why It Might not be a Good Idea to Snack
It might seem that snacking is a good idea at first. But, if you analyse it a bit deeper, you will find that it is actually better not to snack. For some people, snacking can be a good thing. But, for some, it can be a dangerous thing. Here are some reasons why snacking may not be a wise idea;
- Snacking to maintain blood sugar level is not a good idea because it can raise the blood sugar levels very high this can cause you to gain weight and lose attention which is something you definitely don’t want to lose.
- For some people, snacking leads to a reduction of appetite, which is not a good thing if you don’t eat too much.
- Many people think that snacking increases the metabolism level of the body. However, studies have shown that snacking and metabolism does not have that big connection.
Why Taking a Break Often Can Help Your Memory?
Taking a break when you are studying or working for long hours will help your brain to stay afresh and rejuvenated.
There are so many benefits that you can have by taking small breaks while working or studying. Here are a few benefits from taking breaks between study sessions
- Improved your productivity
- Making better decisions
- Boosting creativity
- Increasing your focus at work
- Sharpening your memory
You may even find that taking a break might even be better than snacking while studying, but that decision is up to you as we are all different.
The Bottom Line
Snacking while studying might help some people, but if you want to maximize your learning during your study time, you will need to take breaks periodically to allow time for your brain to rejuvenate and process the information you are feeding it.
References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9155494/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1905998/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7470437/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK224629/