Brain Food for Students: Helping Them to Stay Sharp In School and Studies

Updated: 25-Oct-2020 | Created: 9-Nov-2016

Brain Is Just Like A Muscle

To us, studying for a subject is just like any other forms of skills training such as sports training, learning musical instruments, etc. All these skills require regular practices and training so that the body gets adapted to the increasing intensity and builds up stamina for longer duration of the activities.

From this point of view, studying is no different. Instead of training muscles, we are actually training the brain to be more responsive to questions, retrieving information in a shorter period of time and formulating solutions with greater precision and speed. All these trainings are especially crucial in examinations when students are under tremendous pressure to meet all the criteria under strict timing.

Brain Food Is Fuel For Brains

Students nowadays face tremendous pressure in school: Longer hours of studies, increasing homework, additional projects and Co-Curricular Activities (CCAs). To cope with all these, students need the fuel for their brains to stay focused and absorb what is being taught during classes. During revision for examinations, the need for the right fuel is even more important to ensure the brain can carry out its functions well in order for students to achieve their goals for their revision and ultimately, perform better during examinations.

In order to ensure these functions can be carried out smoothly, the brain must have a constant supply of nutrients and oxygen to it. The oxygen intake for brain is actually TWENTY PERCENT of the whole body’s oxygen consumption. So it is important to keep the brain supplied with enough oxygen and along with it, the necessary nutrients for the brain to function well. Here we recommend three types of super brain food:

Cold Water Fish – Fish like tuna and salmon contain omega-3 fatty acids that are vital for strengthening brain function and memory. For those who are concerned about the mercury level in these fish, sardines and mackerels make good alternatives too.
Mushrooms – Mushrooms have always been known as healthy food, especially the higher end types like the cordyceps and ling zhi. Mushrooms generally improve blood circulation to the brain and supply oxygen and nutrients to the brain for better function. Of course, they also improve immunity systems to ensure your child’s health for better learning.
Water – Many people often do not realise that water is one the most integral part of our diet; the brain is 85% water by weight. Hence proper hydration is vital to sustaining the volume of the brain and keeping the cerebral activities on going.

Proper nutrients provide the fuels for the brain to consume to maintain a high activity level for studying and examinations. To complement the nutrients, staying well hydrated is crucial to sustaining proper cerebral activities, thus allowing students to remain mentally sharp and efficient during lessons. This will ensure that students can learn more with less time required. For example, one student may need only two hours instead of the normal 4 hours, due to the increase in efficiency in mental capacity. As a result, students are able to achieve more with well-structured learning and diet.

Study is not just restricted to during school curriculum. With proper diet, discipline and extra-curricular push, students can achieve greater performance in a more efficient and fruitful way.