Importance Of Breakfast For Students

Skipping breakfast is one of those harmful habitsthat all of us have subjected ourselves to at some point of time in our life, especially during the times we were students. The excuses vary from “I am late”, “I really need to lose some weight” to “Gee, I don’t feel hungry!” But little did we realize the importance of breakfast then. So, for those who are still students and have kids who are student here is a chance to discover theimportance of breakfast for students!

1. Break fast, means breaking of fast and it is important for students because you are actually refueling yourself after a whole night of fasting. 
   
   Close to 8-9 hours without food means that your body needs energy for breathing, for normal heart related activities and also for the brain to function normally! Importance of breakfast as a meal for students cannot be overlooked here as they need a large amount of energy to function effectively through a normal school day.
2. Morning is the best time to study as you grasp more during the waking hours of dawn. But you need your breakfast to use this study time effectively as your brain requires an abundant supply of fuel it can use easily like glucose to function well.
3. Studies have proved that students, who do eat breakfast, do well in school/college and haveexcellent academic records. They also display better psychosocial functioning and they don’t experience anxiety problems and almost never display restlessness and lack of attentiveness. This is because breakfast produces energy that helps student in their learning process by helping with heightened concentration, increased memory  and retention power and even higher problem solving abilities!
4. On the other hand students who ignore the importance of breakfast, exhibit physical problems like, headache, sleepiness, stomach pain, muscle fatigue and psychosocial problems like indecisiveness, anger, anxiety, irritability, unhappiness, nervousness, lethargy, hostility etc. This in turn hinders their learning process. In short students who don’t have breakfast are only functioning at 75 percent of their actual potential!
5. One of the serious consequences of overlooking the importance of breakfast by students isincreased vulnerability to various diseases because of decreased immunity. You are also at a higher risk of developing gastroenteritis and other digestive problems.
6. If you avoid breakfast because you believe that it will help you slim down, think again! Avoiding breakfast can actually lead to obesity! Yes, when you don’t have breakfast regularly, your body reacts to it by switching to the starvation mode, where in the body starts taking in anything you take in later on and stores it up as fat because your body is not sure when it will get the required fuel again! This means that the fat stores up and is not converted to energy! Also lack of a proper breakfast can result in the indulgence in unhealthy eating habits! On the other hand, students who eat breakfast have a lower BMI and there is a lesser chance that they will indulge in binge eating foods, like, fast foods and other unhealthy food.

Tips for a perfect breakfast

A perfect breakfast for students should have proteins, calcium, vitamin B6, vitamin A, zinc and iron. It should contain very little sodium, salt and sugar. High fibre cereal, milk/yoghurt and fresh fruits  or even a veg omelet with bran muffin and low fat milk or any fruit juice will do. Here are a few healthy breakfast recipes.