Preview

Eating Breakfast for Success

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1023 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Eating Breakfast for Success
Running Heads: Breakfast and Learning

Impact of Breakfast on Learning in School

Ming Wen

University of Massachusetts Boston

Dr. Sheree Conrad

Psychology 101

Fall 2012

Abstract

In this experiment, we will study the impact of breakfast on learning in school. Students in several classes will be surveyed on their breakfast eating habits and their personal test scores. It will be a one-time survey over the course of one test. Factors that will be put under consideration are the amount of times each individual studied and the amount of sleep they had the night before. Many researches have been conducted proving that there are significant relationships between eating breakfast and educational performances. This study hypothesizes that students who ate breakfast will do significantly better on tests than students who didn’t eat breakfast.

Impact of Breakfast on Learning in School

Boschloo, Annemarie, et Al. (2012) conducted a survey with 608 adolescents age 11-18 investigating whether skipping breakfast has an impact on educational performances. The survey was to determine if those who eat breakfast daily have a better end-term-grade than those who skips breakfast. As a result, those who eat breakfast daily performed better in school than those who don’t eat breakfast. The result also shows that people who slept late tend to slip breakfast, but sleep had no effect on performances. The results applied to older and younger students also boys and girls. Another crossover trail has been done by Widenhorn-Müller, Katharina et al. (2008), the trail was applied on high school students age 13-20. Students were assigned to two groups: one with breakfast and who without breakfast. They compared cognitive functions of students in each group. As a result, Breakfast had no effect on paying more attention in class among students, but it has a short term effect on self-assessment and personal performance among


References: Boschloo, Annemarie, et Al. (2012). The relation between breakfast skipping and school performance in adolescents. Mind, Brain, and Education, Vol 6(2), Jun, 2012. pp. 81-88. Widenhorn-Müller, Katharina et al. (2008) Influence of having breakfast on cognitive performance and mood in 13- to 20-year-old high school students: Results of a crossover trial. Pediatrics, Vol 122(2), Aug, 2008. pp. 279-284. Pollitt, Ernesto et al. (1982-1983). Fasting and cognitive function. Journal of Psychiatric Research, Vol 17(2), 1982-1983. pp. 169-174. Pivik, R.T. et al. (2012). Eating breakfast enhances the efficiency of neural networks engaged during mental arithmetic in school-aged children. Physiology & Behavior, Vol 106(4), Jun 25, 2012. pp. 548-555.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Raina
    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Raina

    Firstly, I support the breakfast program because kids will have better health. For example, by eating breakfast kids have energy. For me, when I wake up in the morning I feel like going back to sleep. After hurrying to school and skipping breakfast I become distracted in class and my stomach begins to ache. However, with the breakfast program kids will come to school unstressed about missing breakfast and will be wide awake, full of energy and ready to learn. Adding the breakfast program will guarantee that kids maintain energy and succeed in school. Another example of why I support the breakfast program is because without breakfast you will develop a belly and/or become overweight. Without starting your metabolism early in the day, when lunch comes an issue occurs. Without breakfast you’re metabolism starts late in the day which will overall result in a very slow metabolism. However, with the breakfast program this obesity will not be an issue in this school district. The breakfast program will definitely help prevent kid and teen obesity.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Obesity By Jennifer Warner Summary
    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Obesity By Jennifer Warner Summary

    overweight. From the article “Eating Breakfast May Beat Teen Obesity” by: Jennifer Warner it says that "teens that eat breakfast regularly eat a healthier diet and are more physically active in throughout their adolescence.” This also says that “Years later, they also gained less weight and had a lower body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight in relation to height used to measure obesity”. Teens think without breakfast they are losing calories but what they do not understand is without breakfast teenagers won’t have the energy to stay active throughout the morning or that later in the day they might eat enough to regret not eating in the morning (Jennifer Warner). The Article goes on to talk about statistics that show a relation between…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why Do Schools Start Later
    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why Do Schools Start Later

    Humans are naturally programmed to have to rely on sleep for energy throughout the day. However, as school times become earlier and earlier, it is evident that students turn to other sources of energy such as caffeine and energy drink to keep them awake throughout the day. Allowing students to replace their sleep with other forms of energy in the long run, can lead to obesity or depression and also challenges students to keep a balanced diet which is essential to a healthy lifestyle. Because of this, early high school start times have been labeled the reason for poorer academic performances as well as negative health effects. According to Julie Boergers, Ph.D., a Psychology and sleep expert, “It is well-known that sleep deprivation is common among teens, with potentially serious impacts on mental and physical health, safety and learning. ‘Early high school start times contribute to this problem’”(Boergers). She also mentions that if schools attempt to change the times to match students natural sleep patterns which is staying up late and waking up later in the day, “‘we will have students who are more alert, happier, better prepared to learn, and [who] aren’t dependent on caffeine and energy drinks just to stay awake in class’”(Boergers) Pederson highlights through these quotes, that many students depending on quick and easy unhealthy sources of energy to stay awake in class negatively affects the…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Should School Lunches Be Allowed In Schools
    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Should School Lunches Be Allowed In Schools

    Learning is the key component when children attend to school, yet the food students are served at school does not give them the ability to do so. To learn, students must have a healthy diet and receive health-giving foods. According to an article by Sarah Mahoney, there are three main types of foods that best help the cognitions and learning abilities of children; including whole wheat sandwiches that help the memory cells of the brain, milk which helps give energy to the body, and fruits that help children feel refreshed and ready to learn throughout the day (Mahoney). If a child was offered these foods daily, it would not only benefit them in school but improve their well-being as well. Without these choices being offered daily, it leaves them choosing unhealthy meals that do not help their learning ability nor their health. Recent studies have demonstrated that nutrition affects students’ thinking skills and health, and suggests that diets high in trans or saturated fats can negatively impact learning and memory skills and can later on lead to negative effects on the cognitive development of school-aged children (Florence). Students losing the development of their learning ability due to lack of nutritious tend to participate in less activities and do less school…

    • 1420 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Why Do Later School Start Later
    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Why Do Later School Start Later

    Isn't that what they always told us in school? Don't be a hypocrite, school! Which is why I start everyday off with a huge bowl of Top Ramen. Okay, maybe early school start times aren't the only reason people eat crappy breakfasts. Now you might be thinking...get up earlier, dudes. But it's almost scientifically impossible for teens to get up early.Being tired can not only lead to depression, it can also mean more automobile accidents. Evidence shows that pushing back school start times can actually cut the risk of car crashes. In one county that pushed back school start times, the number of car accidents caused by teenage drivers dropped almost 17 percent. In counties that didn't…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Persuasive Essay On Later School Times
    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Persuasive Essay On Later School Times

    Research can confirm its importance in adolescent’s health, academic achievement, cognitive development, and mental health (Benefits of Eating Breakfast) The way breakfast can do this is because it provides important daily nutrients such as protein, fiber, calcium, and carbohydrates. According to the Food and Nutrition service the nutrients that breakfast provides improves school performance, which allows students to do better in all aspects of their education (Benefits of Eating Breakfast). Breakfast gives the body the fuel it needs every day to do better in school and life. But with so little time in the morning and being rushed to make it on time to school, many have to skip breakfast just because school starts so…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why We Should Start Later Essay
    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Why We Should Start Later Essay

    A study by the University of Minnesota on over 9,000 students found that later start times led to better performance in high school teens. Minneapolis high schools changed their start times from 7:15 to 8:40am, which ultimately led to higher grades on tests and quizzes and elevated graduation and attendance rates (Sohn). When teens are well rested, they are able to focus more in class, starting earlier in the day. They won't have to rely on caffeine and energy drinks as much, which can be harmful to teens’ health. Along with improvements in academics, later start times can be associated with higher energy levels, leading to better physical performance in sports and other extracurricular…

    • 699 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    School Lunches
    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    School Lunches

    Due to school food pricing and quality, many students do not eat lunch and it is resulting in low academic productivity. Students do not make enough energy to learn and this brings an outcome of spacing off, falling asleep, and not being able to think. Junk food served at schools will cause students to have “trouble concentrating and can become slow learners. They will have trouble coping up with physical activities and perform poorly in sports” (Youth Leader Blogs). By improving school lunches there will be an intellectual change in students’ knowledge, helping them to learn quicker and do better on tests and in classes in…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    School Start Later
    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    School Start Later

    According to Keski-Rahkonen “Breakfast skipping clustered moderately with smoking, alcohol use, and sedentary lifestyle in both adults and adolescents.”(pg.1) Students need to eat in the morning or they could possibly turn other substances. School needs to give everyone more time to finish getting prepared for school in the morning. Students need more sleep so they can be awake when they drive to school in the morning.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Why School Should Start Later
    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why School Should Start Later

    Adolescents today face a widely popular problem: sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation affects problem solving, attention skills, coping with stress and the ability to be alert. What I ask is what is sleep. Why do we need sleep? What is sleep to us teenagers? To me, sleep is one of the only moments where I can fully relax and recover from the events that happened in the day. I therefore believe that school should definitely start later. For one reason, it is a proven fact that we need at least 9 hours of sleep per night, or we get cranky and stressed. Because of homework and other schoolwork, students often stay awake way past appropriate bed time hours. This causes us to wake up the following morning tired, cranky and often in a bad mood. More sleep greatly improves concentration, reduces amount of stress and of course, would result to less tardies. Schools that have tried starting school slightly later have also instantly shown a huge improvement in their student body academic results. In addition to this, because of the lack of time in the mornings, a lot of teens skip the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Breakfast can actually help you achieve better grades in school because it improves how well you concentrate. Skipping breakfast also affects your mood, and your metabolism. When you are sleeping, your metabolism slows down to a crawl, and eating breakfast gets your metabolism going again, which actually helps you burn fat and calories, on the contrary of what people think. Aside from all of this, I do know that starting school later would result to ending school slightly later, and if you have afterschool activities, you would end up coming home late. This can be solved quickly by cutting a bit of lunch off, and also of your homeroom class time. Imagine starting school at 9am and finishing school at 3:30. Wouldn’t that be better?…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Late Start School Essay
    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Late Start School Essay

    They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but 20 to 30% of students don’t eat breakfast due to early start. In fact, some students have the time to eat a poptart, or cereal, or instant oatmeal, but since it’s so early they don’t think they're hungry. Then, they go to school and 30 minutes after class started they wish that they could eat something, and then the students go about 4 hours until they get to eat lunch.…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    High Schools Should Start High School Classes Later
    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages

    High Schools Should Start High School Classes Later

    The amount of sleep they get affects many factors of their life at school especially in the morning. Studies from the University of Minnesota, Brown University, and the Children’s National Medical Center procured a substantial amount of evidence that, “running schools at developmentally appropriate hours not only improves health and academic performance but actually results in teenagers getting significantly more sleep” (Bratsis). These studies prove that schools should start at later times to help improve multiple aspects of school and teen life. The hormone that tells the body when to sleep is different in teens than it is in adults and…

    • 966 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Outline Of Persuasive Speech
    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Outline Of Persuasive Speech

    1 You’re all probably wondering why I am eating right now. I’m actually eating my breakfast. According to the betterhealth.gov this meal not only help you lose weight but helps you perform while learning by boosting your ability to be engaged and staying focus. They documented that children who skip breakfast are more significantly heavier than children who don’t. WebMD even reports that skipping breakfast tells your body to store fat instead of using it throughout your day. It does this because it goes into survival mode thinking that you don’t have any food. Despite all of these benefits of eating breakfast and risks of not, the Huffington…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should School Start Time?
    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Should School Start Time?

    People deprived of sleep are often too tired to exercise, burn less calories and may also experience a disruption in their appetite hormones which causes them to be more hungry throughout the day. Young adults are increasingly at risk for becoming overweight if they do not receive enough sleep, which is why studies have recommended that school starts at around 8:30 a.m. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “93% of high schools and 83% of middle schools in the U.S. started before 8:30 a.m.” (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Population Health). With the majority of US schools having early start times, this results in adolescents not receiving enough sleep. The other percent of high schools and middle schools with later start times reported having their students perform better academically, their depression rates lowering and less involvement in risk behaviors. Thus, starting school at a later time will help increase students’ energy throughout the day, benefiting them in other aspects of school and enabling them to be more healthy…

    • 794 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Importance Of Later Start In High School
    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Importance Of Later Start In High School

    I often see my sister just grabbing a cup of yogurt for breakfast, not supplying her with nearly enough of the nutritional values she needs. She has traded a nutritious breakfast for extra minutes of sleep. She is not alone in her actions. Many of my other friends choose not to participate in eating breakfast either. With a change in the schedule, more students would eat breakfast in the mornings. By allowing them more time to get ready in the morning, students will not be as rushed. With more students now getting a more nutritious meal in the morning, it will boost attention in classes, keep students awake, and students will be more…

    • 902 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics