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Foods that Help You Focus and Study Better

When we sit down to study it’s important to have a clear mind and a “non-disturbing” body. If your body is feeling restless, or if your mind’s feeling drowsy, you are not going to get much study done. What you eat has a mighty role to play in how well you are able to study. In fact, there are certain foods that help improve your cognitive abilities, making your brain more responsive and sharp. In this article we will discuss some foods that help you focus and thereby study better. We will be discussing this from the perspective getting the right nutrition and improving your cognitive abilities in particular.

List of Brain Foods that Help You Focus

1.) Fish – It’s been studied that fish like salmon make for great brain food due to the presence high concentration of omega3 fats. If you consider that the human brain is made up of 60% structural fat, you will understand the importance of foods that provide essential fatty acids that help maintain the neural centers.

Studies have come to surface that link conditions like ADHD with low levels of omega3 fatty acids in the body. Eating fatty fish like Salmon, Tuna, Mackerel, Trout etc will enrich the reserves of omega3 fats in your body and contribute to your brain health. Studies have indicated that adults who deprecate in their cognitive abilities, and are affected by conditions like dementia, are usually the ones who have low count of omega3 in their blood.  So if you want a good mental health, which will help you focus and learn faster, then it’s important to eat fish rich in omega3 fatty acids.

2.) Whole grains – Instead of eating a breakfast of sugary cereals, pancakes or refined flour breads, it’s best to focus on consuming whole grain products, especially with as less processing as possible. Cooked oats (Scottish oats) are great as breakfast food; they not only provide energy in the form of  complex carbohydrates (so the sugars are released in a more balanced manner), but they are also rich in essential minerals and vitamins that contribute to overall health of the body.

Eating whole grain breads is a much better option than to eat refined white flour breads. Whole grain breads are rich in dietary fiber and have higher glycemic index than refined flour breads. When you eat whole grains, the sugars will be released in a controlled manner, so there will be no spike in your sugar levels which contribute to restlessness and lack of focus.

3.) Berries – Fruits in general are excellent foods to eat when you are studying. Not only do they supply energy in the form of simple carbohydrates, that doesn’t task the digestion process, but they don’t mess with your sugar levels either. Natural foods never seem to mess with your body’s chemical balance thereby helping the brain focus better.

Eating fruits, especially berries, helps reduce the levels of toxicity in your blood, and in fact helps oxygenate your blood better, leading to more robust and active brain functioning.

Eating berries like blueberries, raspberries, cranberries, plums, grapes and gooseberries contributes to brain health due to the presence of several phytonutrients and antioxidants which help improve the blood circulation and nerve response.

Berries, and other fruits like apples, oranges, bananas, are excellent snack foods that can be eaten during the day, to study better. If you are going to snack on cakes, pastries, chocolates, chips or other processed foods, you will end up feeling fatigued to due to the sugar fluctuations and toxicity in your body (owing to the processed nature of these foods).

4.) Nuts – Eating some nuts on daily basis is highly essential not only for your brain health, but for the over-all well-being of the body. Nuts like Almonds, Pistachios, Walnuts are considered to be brain food, as they contain essential fatty acids in good amounts, and contain minerals like magnesium, manganese and zinc that help promote brain health.

In countries like India, it’s traditional for students to eat almonds during their exam days. Of course, it makes more sense to eat nuts on daily basis to ensure that your body gets ample supply of essential fatty acids and minerals. Nuts are mostly composed of healthy fats and proteins, and they are low on sugars, which directly ensures that you will not feel any restlessness, or over-excitement, after eating these foods – so they make for great snack foods that help focus and faster memorization.

In Conclusion

It’s important to consider what to eat to study better, and it’s just as imperative to consider what not to eat when you are in the “studying” mode. If you want to study long, then distance yourself from refined sugar laden foods like cakes, pastries, soft drinks, sodas and milk chocolates (though dark chocolate in moderate amount helps with brain health), to avoid restlessness caused by sugar spikes. Avoid eating heavy meals when you are studying, and focus more on eating simple meals of vegetables, fruits, whole grain breads, fish and nuts.