You have probably been told by parents and teachers alike since elementary school to eat your breakfast.
However, when the world flipped on its head and college became Zoom University, eating breakfast probably slipped to the back of your mind. That being said, with so many things out of our control right now, starting your day on the right foot is entirely up to you.
Whether you consider yourself a morning person or not, eating breakfast is one of the first steps to set yourself up for a successful day. Simply put, eating breakfast replenishes nutrients and energy after sleeping.
This is not new information — for many of us, this way of thinking was drilled into our heads. But let’s take it further.
From the perspective of a college student, making breakfast will help stimulate your brain before you attend class. If you are committed to preparing breakfast, you are also waking up earlier. Setting an alarm 20 minutes before you typically wake up will give your mind a head start and time to fully boot up.
College students were already sleep deprived prior to the pandemic. With the spike of anxiety and depression that has swept across the country over the past year, it is no surprise that students’ sleeping schedules are more messed up now than ever before.
So, how are eating breakfast and sleeping related?
Not only will breakfast give you a reason to wake up in the morning, but it will also prevent your body from releasing stress hormones. Without breakfast, your body thinks it is in a state of famine and will consequently pump stress hormones through your body, making it harder to sleep.
Now that I have provided you with scientific evidence that eating breakfast is necessary, let’s talk about the profound effects eating breakfast has on your mental health.
It is similar to the theory that making your bed after waking up gives you a sense of accomplishment early in the day. Eating breakfast is a demonstration of self-love. Once I learned the joys of waking up to good food, I stopped thinking of eating breakfast as a chore.
Of course, there are a million other ways to practice self-love, but as college students, we share one thing in common: our love for food. Well, that and our collective hatred of dining hall food that usually leaves me feeling off for the rest of my day.
So, now you may be wondering, “Okay, this all sounds great, but where do I start?”
First, create a list of your favorite foods. More specifically, find foods that make you feel good when you eat them. For example, I love incorporating whole foods such as berries, avocado and eggs into my breakfast because they are easy for my body to digest and they give me energy instead of making me feel sluggish.
Next, examine your living situation: the appliances that are readily available for you to use and your grocery budget. If you don’t have money to spare, there’s no need to worry.
Most dining plans include convenience points in addition to swipes into the dining hall. This means you can go to any university convenience store and buy staple groceries there.
Eating breakfast and looking forward to it every morning is possible. You just have to muster up the motivation to wake up a little earlier and make the trip down to a grocery store, City Convenience or — if you are brave enough — a dining hall.
Whether to reduce stress, make an Instagram-worthy smoothie bowl or simply start your morning off right, making breakfast for yourself every morning is a healthy habit.
