Nutrition

There’s little argument that proper nutrition, and particularly the consumption of protein, is vital for academic achievement. In fact, research documents improvements in concentration and retention when students are given nutritional meals before, and throughout, the school day.

 

Poor nutrition has been shown to affect school performance by:

-Increasing fatigue

-Reducing memory

-Making concentration difficult

-Increasing behaviors that mimic ADD/ADHD

 

So what is the proper nutrition for an adolescent, and when should the nutrition be consumed? The answer obviously isn’t coffee, or nothing, before school, and soda and chips at lunch.

 

Hydration

While there’s been a great focus on nutrition, particularly with the increase in childhood obesity and the presence of vending machines and fast food vendors on campuses, little has been said about the role of hydration for student performance. Without hydration the brain cannot function properly, cannot focus, cannot concentrate, cannot remember. 

 

Studies find adolescents today are far less likely to consume the recommended amount of water, and in fact, the dramatic increase in consumption of soda and coffee among adolescents has resulted in dehydration. 

 

But here’s the difficult part, the brain functions best when water in-take is fairly consistent and continuous. This means students need to be able, and encouraged, to drink water throughout the day - not just prior to arriving at school and again at lunchtime. The result will be a significant increase in the number of bathroom breaks students take for the first 2-3 weeks. After that the kidneys grow accustomed to the larger water in-take and the number of bathroom breaks drop off. The common educational practice of granting bathroom “passes” to students, and then granting additional points or rewards for NOT using those passes, would need replaced with another incentive program so as not to discourage increased water in-take.

What this Means for Education

 

The Reality

The adolescent brain functions much better if at least 36 ounces of water is consumed during the average 6.5 hours the student is in school. Studies find the intake of protein for breakfast, and again at lunch, increases concentration and memory retention.

 

The Difficulty

Parents, educators and students would need to work together to understand the neurological  benefits of increased hydration, and remove access to sodas, coffee and sports and energy drinks, particularly during school hours. A temporary disruption of the classroom could be expected as increased hydration resulted in more students needing to visit the restroom prior to the scheduled break between classes. 

 

Best Practices

More schools are making an effort to address nutrition and hydration.  They recognize that removing soda machines from school is a temporary solution. The permanent solution is for students to internalize the importance of healthy living and be able to recognize when and how nutrition, hydration, and exercise impact on their own achievement, ability to focus, mood, and self-image.

Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007, New Hope Charitable Foundation