The science of food and work productivity

The science of food and work productivityThe science of food and work productivityEating the right food throughout yur workday is as essential as filling yur car up with gas. Without it,you get nowhere. Moreover, the quality of fuel matters. A poor diet is like filling your gas tank with sugaryPepsi.In short, food affects not just how we feel and what we weigh it changes how we work. Here are three tips to eat your way to a better workday, based on scientific research and real insights from employer reviews onkununu.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreBreakfast actually mattersBreakfast fuels the most energetic, inspired part of our workday.Researchshows that alertness spikes right after breakfast is consumed. A good breakfast is the difference between a lethargic, unproductive morning, and one of those unstoppable, in-the-zone mornings.What breakfast is best? High fiber, carb-rich meals are associated with the highest alertness ratings, as well as the most cumulative alertness between breakfast and lunch. In onestudy, breakfast cereal consumption welches associated with lower levels of depression, emotional distress and fatigue as well as greater alertness, fewer cognitive problems, and fewer bowel problems. Researchers observed these effects after just one week.Though high (good) fat breakfasts are popular in natural health circles right now, some research indicates that fat-rich breakfasts have a weak satiating power compared to other kinds of breakfast. If your breakfast tends to be high in fat, that might be why youre rooting around your workplace kitchen at 10 a.m.So even though breakfast is important, dont overthink it you dont need a massive, perfect breakfast every day. Instead, shoot for easy but healthy whole grain, high-fiber cereal, yogurt and granola, fruit and whole grain toast, or even a breakfast shake (as long as it doesnt have more than abou t 10 grams of sugar). Hassle-free and nutritious is the key to consistent productivity.Eating regularly matters just as much as eating wellOnly35 percentof American employees say they almost always take a lunch break. 60 percent either eat at their desks or dont eat at all,The New York Timesreports.kununu reviews echo these statistics. At this facility I can never get a break or lunch because Im so busy oneVibra Hospital of Charlestonemployee wrote. An employee atIKEAsaid the same If you came in the morning and had short hours you had only a fifteen minute break and no time to eat lunch until you would get home later. Employees atCVS Caremark,NissanandUnitedHealthcareagreed theres not enough time to eat during your lunch break, and/or taking lunch is frowned upon.The mistake many 9-5 workers make is waiting until 2 p.m. to eat lunch, by which time theyre famished and craving fat and carbs. This method wastes productivity in two ways. First, the low energy caused by our hunger saps o ur motivation and attention. Our body converts pretty much everything we eat into glucose, which our brains use to think and stay alert. When were hungry, itshard to concentratebecause our glucose is low. Not eating regularly can also make people emotional, which impedes productivity. Secondly, after we binge on a high-carb, high-fat lunch, much of our bodys energy goes to digesting the meal we just ate, rather than doing good work. This is what causes that afternoon slump feeling. Another trending technique is intermittent fasting which, despite its budding popularity, hasprovento plummet mood and alertness at work.Ideally, your workplace environment will support eating healthily and eating whenever youre physically hungry (not just bored). Employees who eat at staff canteens aremore likelyto eat well and regularly compared with other subjects. One employee atAnmed Healthwrote that my cafeteria promoted healthy food which I appreciated.But if youre on a budget or your workplace doe snt have a cafeteria, there are other ways to eat regularly. Just as you stock your home fridge with food every week, stock your work fridge. Services like Amazon Pantry andInstacartmake this easier than ever. If you dont have a fridge to use, one employee at Moncler Fashion suggests bringing high-glycemic snacks like bananas, peanut butter and honey on whole grain bread to give you energy throughout the day. Workers often resort to eating huge, expensive, unhealthy meals because the options theyve brought themselves to work arent appealing enough mid-day. So step up your food game your boss will thank you.Stress messes with your eating habitsEven slight changes in eating habits cangenerate stressequivalent to an increased workload. One employee atSpa Urbanaexplained, Everyone was stressed due to regularly not getting an adequate lunch.Conversely, stress itself can change eating habits. One employee atJustifacts Credential Verification, Inc.noticed that Managers get so stressed to g et work done that they eat lunch at their desks or not at all.But stress doesnt just reduce the time we have to eat it physiologically changes how our bodies perceive food. When were stressed, our bodies release cortisol, which then interacts with two hormones called neuropeptide Y and leptin to stimulate ourappetitefor high sugar and high fat food. Moreover, when were stressed, good food stimulates anopioid release- your bodys natural version of heroin. An addicting reward cycle ensues We get stressed, and comfort food quite literally, physiologically, comforts us, and then we indulge in it to alleviate our stress. Stress increases the reward value of highly palatable food, one studyexplains. Indeed,researchsuggests that stressed students are more prone to practice bad eating habits, like eating junk food. The more stressed we get, the more we crave and love high sugar, high fat food, and the more lethargic and less productive we become.In short, eat regularly to reduce your stres s, and reduce your stress to improve your diet.What we eat is the foundation of our work. When we choose to eat well and often, we opt to invigorate our work energy and reimagine a productive day.This article originally appeared on Kununu.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people