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The Importance of Breakfast in the Life of a Student

As classes commence, it is necessary to emphasize the significance of breakfast and the consequences of skipping it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Aside from being the first meal of the day, it is a meal that is crucial in the life of everyone, especially working class individuals and students.

Eating breakfast means fueling up for the long day ahead. It provides the necessary and essential nutrients and energy boost that is needed to focus during lectures, engage in critical thinking and also problem solving.

Research has shown that eating breakfast has a positive impact on students’ academic performance, behaviour, and overall health. It is essential that students strive to incorporate a ‘healthy’ breakfast despite their busy schedule.

It is however cogent to note that, eating junk food like snacks, fast food and sugary drinks in a snap, like many studies do, cannot be a substitute to an appropriate breakfast. An ideal breakfast should be made up of food items that contain necessary nutrients and energy that are enough to make one productive for the day as well as improve concentration. Foods such as: oats meals with fruits, bread and tea, rice and beans fall into this category.

To further preach the gospel of having an appropriate breakfast, these points of discussion highlight and expatiate some of its benefits.

To begin with, eating breakfast boosts energy levels. Starting the day with breakfast means being equipped with the energy needed for good physical and mental performance throughout the day. Energy refers to the calories our bodies derive from the food we eat. Calories are a measure of the energy that foods provide and they’re essential for powering our bodily functions, such as breathing, thinking, moving and exercise.

In addition, eating breakfast improves concentration and memory. Breakfast plays a significant role in supporting cognitive function including concentration and memory. Key nutrients such as glucose; the brain’s primary source of energy, and antioxidants such as vitamin C and E which help protect the brain from oxidative stress and inflammation can be gotten from eating a healthy breakfast.

More importantly, eating breakfast promotes better behaviour among students. Eating breakfast and food generally has been shown to reduce irritability and mood swing among students. When a person eats a healthy breakfast, he or she is at low risk of having a low mood which can prevent interpersonal communication among peers. When healthy breakfast is taken, neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin are synthesised which regulate cognitive function and mood.

On the other hand, after preaching for breakfast, it is also incumbent to remunerate the consequences of leaving it out.

One of the risk consequences with skipping breakfast is decreased energy level. In the absence of breakfast, the energy level is decreased, there is an increased level of lethargy and struggle to focus leading to decreased productivity and academic performance.

Furthermore, there is poor concentration and increased irritability. The old saying, “A hungry man is an angry man,” captures this reality well. Hunger can be a significant distraction and decrease the level of concentration making it challenging for students to pay attention and retain information.

In conclusion, breakfast is an essential part of a daily student’s routine. It is pertinent for students to incorporate a healthy breakfast into a busy student’s schedule. That is, students should make breakfast time-tables just like the way they make reading time-tables. The fear of missing 8:00am class should not be a hindrance to taking a healthy breakfast!