Your Brain is Hungry & Thirsty
By Amy Barr with The Lukeion Project
Our brains burn as much as 20-30% of the energy our body consumes each day. Our brains need some love, attention, good nutrition, plus a little sympathy. Being a student is a physical work out, not just a mental one, as if those two things are different. If you want a high-functioning brain doing what it must do during the active part of your education years, there are some basic healthy steps to take. Students should prepare their brains for learning just like athletes prepare the rest of their bodies.
I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist. Anything I say here is based on my decades of personal experience as mom, educator, avid brain-user, and researcher. Take what you like, leave the rest. I have a lot of suggestions if you know me but will limit this to easy starting points.
When I started graduate school, I worked far into the night translating long Latin passages. Funds were limited as was time. I ate poorly, I seldom got any sunlight, and I rarely exercised except when I walked to the department office every morning and back home each night. My first year was tough but I assumed all of this was par for the course. I was constantly tired and lacked the energy to do anything but stay up late grinding away at my work. I felt isolated and depressed because I did not spend much time doing anything but translating.
I had a bright idea at the start of my second year of graduate studies. I added exercise, drank more water, and started consuming more nutritious food. Voila! I needed less time to study because my brain had more to fuel it. I was also less fatigued during the rare hours I had off. I could add more social events because my brain became more efficient at accomplishing what I needed it to accomplish. All my scores and academic efforts improved so that my stress was reduced. Though I added activities to my schedule (gym time, farmer’s market, time outside, and better meal prep) I decreased my brain work time and my physical work time by adding more to my schedule. I decreased my food budget expenses while I bought superior food at the farmer’s market.
What does our brain really want for the best results?
Some might complain they do not have the time or money to eat better food. Every penny and minute counts! Start by getting a decent water filter (do your research because results really do differ) and change to water as your main drink throughout the day. Many who say they do not like the taste of water complain about it because their tap water tastes like a dirty swimming pool in most communities. That is just the start of the unwelcome news because the “stuff” that shows up in most municipal water supplies would keep you up at night. A good filter gets rid of many objectionable chemicals (and other nasty things) and improves the taste. I use one that takes out fluoride too, which I strongly recommend for brain and body health. Simply switching to water throughout the day gives your brain what it really needs while your family saves money spent on sodas, juices, powders, energy drinks, etc. Want some flavor in that water? Add a squeeze of citrus or a slice of cucumber. In only a couple of months, whatever money you spent on a good filter will be returned to you by making the switch from pricey things that come in bottles to decent filtered water.
While you are saving money, cut out junk food. Easy! Unfortunately, many people are so accustomed to junk food that they cannot imagine cutting it out of their diet. So ingrained are our habits that we cannot imagine leaving behind family traditions like breakfast cereals, chips, boxed granola, packaged mac-n-cheese. Over two decades ago, our family gave up every bit of it. If it came in a box, we stopped buying it. It took about a week to learn new habits but eliminating all of it at once is better than suggesting that only a couple of people in the family should just “cut back.” If it is in the house, family members will eat it. Starting your day with sugar (breakfast cereal or pastry, for example) is poor brain care plus it will make you powerfully hungry all day.
If you think transitioning away from factory food is hard, wait until everyone can think clearly, concentrate for longer periods, and get along more agreeably with siblings! Such a huge bonus for deleting these pricey toxic things from one’s daily diet. Avoiding fast food restaurants, it is obvious, has the same positive effect and saves even more money for better food purchases and better brain power.
Now that you have cut junk out, add good things in. The rule about foods that serve your body and brain well is simple: Know what every ingredient is and what it does. Processed sugars, gluten, dyes, and glyphosate (which is sprayed on things we might assume are healthy) are horrendous for the brain. Become an expert label reader or just avoid prefabricated food as much as possible. Farmers’ markets are excellent if you cannot grow your own food because you get the cheapest, freshest, healthiest supplies while supporting your local food chain.
If you visit my kitchen, you will find that it is full of one type of thing: raw ingredients that I assemble for meals. “Who has time for that!” you might wonder. I cook dinner every night from scratch though I run a business (50-hour work week), run a homestead, and educated my family at home. There are bountiful supplies of things that can help you cook while you work or quickly prepare other things from scratch in only a few minutes.
The learning curve is a little steep and will initially take a bit longer than opening your door for nightly delivery. C'est la vie. You will find it is worthwhile plus everyone in the house can get involved by learning essential skills in food prep. Dinners usually take around 20 minutes for preparation before it goes in an oven, Crock-pot, or Instant pot. My garden, the Amish market, or a local farmer’s market guides my daily choices. A full spice cabinet makes it more flavorful. I preserve my garden excess as our only form of “fast” food. Some use even less time per day by doing weekly meal preps, but I like to spend my Saturdays differently.
Finally, the nourished brain (and body) needs air, exercise, and sunshine. Every semester I take a poll in my classes about favorite physical activities. Every year, the number of students who say they prefer to stay inside goes up. Everything from feeling blue to having the flu improves with daily sunshine and movement. Get in a pleasant half-hour or so of midday sun maybe as you enjoy your lunch! The dog sure needs a walk. The flowerbed needs weeding. Start riding a unicycle or skateboard! Maybe just do ANYTHING outside. Every inch of our body craves air, exercise, and sunshine. At least for now, all of that is free.
Your brain is hungry and thirsty. It craves authentic nutrients, rest, sunlight, and clean water. It craves a good dinner at the table with those you love. Give your nourished brain some TLC and sympathy. Your grades will thank you and your mood will too.
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