Guest Author: Rylan Duggan
It’s no surprise that in times of increased mental, emotional, and physical stress, our bodies and our health take a back seat to the more pressing tasks at hand. Who has time to worry about eating healthy and exercising when it’s crunch time? You’ve got a stack of papers due, and naught but a half-assed three-line intro complete on your essay, and that little blinking cursor on your screen is staring you mockingly in the face.
Any student currently facing the infamous end-of-term onslaught of exam preparation and deadlines knows all to well what I’m talking about.
These epic marathons of stress take a substantial toll on one’s emotional and physical well-being, and often leave you questioning not only your choice of major and future career path, but even more existential queries like “what the hell is the true purpose of my life anyway?” and “could I pay off my student loans if I sold a kidney?”
So before you go running off to the black market organ donation clinic in desperation, let me share with you a few insider nutrition secrets that can help you zap your stress levels, boost your brain power, and keep you even-keel while your classmates are having nervous breakdowns.
Secret 1. Forget the Caffeine.
I’m sure there is a study out somewhere that correlates increased sales of energy drinks around exam times, but if you want to have any sort of wherewithal to produce meaningful work – leave these mammoth sugar laden cocktails alone. The same can be said for coffee and other stimulants too. High doses of caffeine and sugar will keep you awake, but your brain isn’t going to benefit. In fact, those jittery early-morning hours you spend trying to cram the last bit of studying in, or working on your thesis, would have been better spent getting some restful sleep.
Caffeine and sugar do not give you usable energy, and that is the key. It will keep you awake, but your concentration will decrease, your memory is reduced, and your creativity will plummet. Added to that is the massive increase in stress hormones your body releases in response to these substances. This creates a horrible downward spiral where you are stressed out, so you eat foods that make you more stressed, and the cycle perpetuates itself.
So what do you do? If you are falling asleep and you need to snap out of it and get to work, take a brisk walk or do a quick 5 minute workout. Exercise is exponentially more effective at increasing alertness and cognition, (and even at sobering you up) than caffeine.
It will seem like exercise is the last thing on Earth you would want to do at the time, but once you are up and moving about, you will see how effective it really its. Try this out: Anytime you feel like dozing off, hop out of your chair, and throw 100 punches in the air. This will spike your heart rate, boost your metabolism, and will instantly wake you up. However, I recommend waiting until you are out of the lecture hall and somewhere private before attempting this one.
Secret 2. Ditch the Carbs.
While some carbs are necessary to fuel your brain and keep you at your sharpest, nearly everyone goes way overboard with the amount they eat at each meal. Carbs are nature’s sedatives, and for many people in both the academic and corporate worlds, they struggle each and every day to make it through the afternoon slump – and they think it’s because they aren’t getting enough sleep. It’s not your sleeping habits that are at fault – it’s your diet. Trying to stay conscious during that 3:00 lecture can be a lesson in futility if you had a large lunch that included any sort of bread or pasta or other heavy carbohydrate.
To keep yourself from dozing off in the afternoon, you need to start at breakfast. Get a good serving of slow burning carbs in the morning in the form of some oatmeal or other hot cereal. This will give you lots of energy that will last throughout the day. Then at lunch, focus on lean protein, vegetables, and whole fruit only – no starchy carbs like pasta, bread, or potato. This will fill you up, provide ample energy, and you won’t crash in the afternoon. For the perfect non-drowsy lunch, serve yourself a large salad topped with a grilled chicken breast and an apple on the side.
Secret 3. Eat Protein Every Few Hours
Protein fills you up, keep you satisfied, and it helps your body rebuild and replenish from excess stress. It should be the staple of each meal you eat, and you should eat it often. Which leads me to my next point: One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting too long between meals. If you wait too long and allow yourself to get really hungry – you will overeat. When your blood sugar drops too low, you will become ravenous, and it will take every ounce of your will-power not to overeat at your next meal. The problem is, if you are already stressed out, your will-power will be non existent. You will reach for the first satisfying food item you can find (which will usually involve sugar or carbs) and you will just end up in another crash.
But by eating a bit of protein every couple hours, you will keep your blood sugar stable, your energy high, your hunger at bay, and you will never hit the wall or crash. This can be as simple as carrying around a ziplock bag of some mixed nuts, or a thermal lunch bag with some low-fat cold cuts. Grab a small portion every couple hours to snack on, and you will be amazed at how much sustained energy you will find throughout the day.
Secret 4. Drink up
When you become dehydrated (which nearly every student is due to excess caffeine consumption) your brain power drops dramatically. Your concentration, short and long term memory, analytical faculties, and every other measure of cognitive function drops off substantially. The concerning thing is, you won’t even feel dehydrated at this point. Therefore you must make a conscious effort to drink at least 2 liters of water a day, and I would recommend 3 to be safe. This will ensure that you are hydrated enough to sustain maximum mental capacity.
Taking care of yourself with proper nutrition should not be an afterthought when you are cramming for your exams and trying to make deadlines. By ensuring that your body is properly nourished, you will not only be able to control the ever-climbing stress levels that are synonymous with the end of term crunch, but you will actually perform better, remember more, and even be more creative.
Rylan Duggan
RK, BHK, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Registered Kinesiologist
Certified Personal Trainer
http://www.rylanduggan.com
