Whether if you’re preparing for finals coming up, the SAT/ACT, a big test, or you’re just having trouble paying attention in class, there are some foods you can eat to help increase your focus and even increase your chances of maintaining a healthy brain.
The first of these four foods are pretty obvious, your fruits and vegetables. But you should always eat your fruits and vegetables! Eating a good amount of fruits and vegies supply you with natural vitamins and minerals that can help you get through the day. Also your fruits natural sugar—such as oranges or strawberries—called glucose helps power your brain and is its preferred source of energy. It will also improve your memory, thinking, and mental ability.
The second group is whole grains. There have been studies that prove whole grains—especially in the morning—can improve your attention span and short term memory. The top performing students tend to eat breakfast containing whole grain rather than those who do not. The most common foods to eat that contain whole grain are cereals, toast, or the bread on your sandwiches.
Coffee is also a great thing to have to improve your focus. It’s no secret that the caffeine in coffee can wake someone up but studies have shown that coffee makes your brain act sharper, energize you, and help you concentrate. But did you know coffee affects males and females differently (according to research done at University of Barcelona). Men began to wake up around ten minutes after drinking it and it gave them a “metal boost” for a half hour. However women felt a “kick” but it was a much weaker rating than the men’s. But women are much more influenced just by anticipating of the effects of caffeine than guys. When given decaf, the women felt much more alert than the men who only felt a “slight boost”.
One of the more surprising foods that I found was gum. It doesn’t give you your natural vitamins or minerals, sugar, or caffeine and doesn’t improve your memory, thinking, or mental ability. However, it does help you become much more alert. A studies have shown that people who chewed gum—especially in stressful situations—where much more alert than those who didn’t chew gum.
Some other helpful hints are to make sure to get a good night’s sleep, stay hydrated, exercise, and possibly meditate to create clear thinking and relaxation.
To read more about foods that help you concentrate click here or here.