Fit for university with the right breakfast?
Breakfast is generally regarded as one of the most important meals of the day. While there is much discussion about the consequences of skipping breakfast on body weight, for example, the impact on cognitive performance has been less focussed on until now. However, current research results show this: People who eat breakfast can concentrate better, have a more efficient memory and can cope with tasks more easily. So does breakfast make our brain fit for a strenuous morning at university?
‘A key factor here is the availability of glucose in the brain. Studies suggest that a constant supply of glucose, particularly through low glycaemic index (GI) meals, may be beneficial for children, adolescents and young adults. In contrast, meals with a high glycaemic index, which cause a rapid but short-term rise in blood glucose levels, can actually have negative effects on mental performance later in the morning,’ explains Prof. Dr Anette Buyken from Paderborn University. Prof. Dr Lars Libuda, who is conducting the study together with Buyken, adds: ‘It is currently unclear whether these limitations in mental performance are triggered by hypoglycaemia, i.e. only occur when the blood glucose level falls below the initial value with a sharp rise around two hours after breakfast.’
How blood glucose levels develop after breakfast also appears to be related to individual chronotypes. An earlier study by Paderborn University showed that young adults with a late chronotype (i.e. late risers, the so-called ‘owls’) react to a breakfast with a high GI with particularly significant increases in blood sugar. Whether their cognitive performance is also particularly affected by breakfast remains to be investigated.
In the ‘GlyCoBrain Study’, the team from the ‘Public Health Nutrition’ and ‘Nutritional Science’ working groups led by Buyken and Libuda at the Institute of Nutrition, Consumption and Health aims to answer these open questions. Specifically, the study funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) aims to clarify how the blood glucose effectiveness of a breakfast affects the cognitive performance of young adults and what role hypoglycaemia plays in this. In order to shed light on the significance of chronotype in these relationships, both owls and larks (the ‘early risers’ with an early chronotype) are to take part in the study.
The researchers initially plan to ask students about their breakfast behaviour and investigate whether breakfast on exam days differs from breakfast on normal unit days. The owls and larks from this group will then be invited to take part in nutritional intervention studies. On the days of the study, they are then offered different breakfast options, which are intended to influence blood sugar levels differently. Computerised tests will then be used to test cognitive performance during the morning.
Students between the ages of 18 and 25 are now being sought for the study. Screening for the study on breakfast behaviour starts in October. Interested parties can find further information on the aims and procedure of the study, the conditions of participation and how to register at sug.uni-paderborn.de/ekg/glycobrain. Eva Landgräber and Theresia Schminke will be happy to answer any queries: Tel.: 05251/60-1845, e-mail: glycobrain-support@uni-paderborn.de.
This text was translated automatically.
