How to Boost Performance on the Field & in the Classroom
Being an elite athlete doesn’t just depend on properly fueling your muscles - it also depends heavily on how you fuel your brain. Mental and physical health are so connected and this is something I love talking about on my Instagram!
…By the way, let’s be friends on Instagram! @fuelingthefuture_
Your brain is a muscle too - and an important one! There are so many things you can do with your nutrition to help improve both mental and physical performance. In this post, I’m going to walk you through three simple strategies to BOOST that brainpower!
1. Consume Breakfast
Breakfast is thought to be the most important meal of the day for cognitive and academic performance. When compared with breakfast omission, the consumption of breakfast was found to have beneficial effects on cognitive function for up to four hours!! (1)
This makes sense because we don’t eat anything as we sleep throughout the night, so our bodies wake up depleted. Especially for young athletes who do a lot of sleeping, the breakfast meal is so important to fuel your body for the rest of the day! Skipping breakfast can not only impact your cognitive function but also your energy levels for afternoon practice.
2. Consume Plenty of Carbohydrates
The lack of carbohydrates in the body can contribute to both physical and mental fatigue during exercise. The brain functions primarily on glucose (carbohydrates) or glycogen (stored carbohydrates). Research has demonstrated that there’s a clear link between carbohydrates and the brain. This link can be illustrated through something called carbohydrate mouth rinsing.
Carbohydrate mouth rinsing is the act of swishing high-carb fluids around in your mouth & spitting it out without ingestion. Studies have shown that carbohydrate mouth-rinsing is associated with improved physical and cognitive performance despite the fact that no glucose is actually entering the body (2) (3)
Since it is already well-established that carbohydrates serve as a primary fuel source for both the body and the brain, it is clear why carbohydrate consumption is important for performance both on and off the field.
3. Consume Plenty of Polyphenols
Polyphenols are plant-derived compounds found in tea, fruit, red wine, cocoa, and coffee. These polyphenols have been widely researched for their impact on both cognitive function and athletic performance.
Flavonols are one of the largest groups of polyphenols. They are found in a variety of foods such as dark chocolate, grapes, citrus fruit, green tea, broccoli, and berries. Flavonoids have emerging potential in improving attention, memory, and cognition. (2) (4) (5)
Because these compounds are powerful antioxidants, they work to reduce the presence of free radicals in the body & brain. The body can produce free radicals after exercise and these antioxidants can help to increase recovery.
Additionally, these flavonols & others such as beetroot juice and Rhodiola rosea have been shown to increase athletic performance through various mechanisms. (2) For instance, beetroot juice has been shown to increase oxygen uptake and blood flow, thus improving aerobic performance. (6) Rhodiola rosea has also been studied for its improvement in endurance performance. (7)
These are just a few of the countless ways you can serve both your brain and your body through nutrition. Implementing these three practices into your daily routine can help improve your performance and your future health in so many ways!
I don’t know about you, but any excuse to consume more dark chocolate
sounds great to me!!
Citations:
Adolphus, K., Lawton, C. L., Champ, C. L., & Dye, L. (2016). The Effects of Breakfast and Breakfast Composition on Cognition in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 7(3), 590S–612S. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.115.010256
Meeusen, R., & Decroix, L. (2018). Nutritional Supplements and the Brain. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 28(2), 200–211. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0314 https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/ijsnem/28/2/article-p200.xml
Reinmuth OM, Scheinberg P, Bourne B. Total Cerebral Blood Flow And Metabolism: A New Method for the Repeated Serial Measurement of Total Cerbral Blood Flow Using Iodoantipyrine (1131) With a Report of Determination in Normal Human Beings of Blood Flow, Oxygen Consumption, Glucose Utilization and Respiratory Quotient of the Whole Brain. Arch Neurol. 1965;12(1):49–66. doi:10.1001/archneur.1965.00460250053007
Francis, S. T. PhD*; Head, K. BSc(Hons)*; Morris, P. G. PhD*; Macdonald, I. A. PhD† The Effect of Flavanol-rich Cocoa on the fMRI Response to a Cognitive Task in Healthy Young People, Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology: June 2006 - Volume 47 - Issue - p S215-S220
Scholey, A.B., Tildesley, N.T.J., Ballard, C.G. et al. An extract of Salvia (sage) with anticholinesterase properties improves memory and attention in healthy older volunteers. Psychopharmacology 198, 127–139 (2008).
Domínguez R, Cuenca E, Maté-Muñoz JL, García-Fernández P, Serra-Paya N, Estevan MCL, Herreros PV, Garnacho-Castaño MV. Effects of Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Cardiorespiratory Endurance in Athletes. A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2017; 9(1):43.
De Bock, K., Eijnde, B. O., Ramaekers, M., & Hespel, P. (2004). Acute Rhodiola Rosea Intake Can Improve Endurance Exercise Performance, International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 14(3), 298-307.
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