Bradford College

Brain Boosting Foods - Boost Exam Performance

There is growing evidence to suggest that the foods we eat, can directly affect the performance of our brain. Researchers believe that by eating the right food, you can boost your IQ, sharpen your memory, improved concentration, increase mood and emotional stability. Healthy College Manager, Jane Marshall has joined forces with Sixth Form Curriculum Team Leader, Veronique Leygue to put the theory to the test - to see if students will benefit from brain boosting foods…

There is growing belief that exam success can, quite literally, be served up on a plate. Healthy College Manager Jane explained: “If you give your brain the right nutrients, you will be able to think quicker, have a better memory, be better coordinated and have improved concentration.”

Jane continued:  “The key to boosting your brainpower and keeping your brain healthy are nutritious food, water and oxygen.”  Jane has been working in collaboration with Veronique Leygue, to prepare Sixth Form Centre students for their exams, by giving health talks to explain how they could benefit from adopting a good diet, as well as intensive study to help boost performance during a crucial time in their academic lives. 

Jane explained:  “We wanted students to realise that what they eat on the day of the exams, could play a vital role in contributing to maximising exam performance. There’s no point a student revising for months and months and then not eating properly on the day of the exam. This will have a massive effect on the outcome of their exam success.”

Other Health College initiatives used to boost exam performance include free bottles of water and fruit for every student to take in whilst sitting exams and free porridge at exam time for students.   Calming music will also be used to ease pre-exam nerves as students enter the room to sit exams. If the pilot scheme is successful, there are plans in place to roll out the initiative College wide to all students.

Elaborating further, Jane said:  “Drink plenty of water.  For your brain to function at optimum level, it needs to be fully hydrated as it acts as a transport system, delivering nutrients to the brain and eliminating toxins. It is essential for concentration and mental alertness.” Studies have show that most people are permanently partially dehydrated. This means that their brain is working considerably below its capacity and potential.

Jane continued: “We’ve all had that sleepy feeling after a big meal.  That’s because most of your body's oxygen is being used by your stomach and digestive system to digests the food you’ve eaten. So your brain is being denied much of the oxygen it needs to function effectively and stay mentally alert.  By eating little and often you can combat the feeling and increase your brain power, as well as taking regular exercise.”

There is more evidence to suggest that what we eat, can have an impact on how well we perform.  Inadequate levels of iron are known to cause a drop in concentration and energy. In a study conducted by King’s College, London, those whose diets were high in iron had higher IQs and performed significantly better in cognitive assessments. Good sources of iron can be found in: leafy green vegetables, eggs, red meat, fortified breakfast cereals and sardines.

Other tips for an intelligent diet include lots of protein rich foods, which are essential for optimising your mental performance and alertness through the day. These can be found in fish, chicken, eggs and tofu.  Studies have also shown that eating plenty of oily fish, like salmon, anchovies, tuna and mackerel, which are all rich in omega 3 fatty acids, will also boost brain power. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast.  Research suggests that students that have eaten a bowl of cereal on the morning of exams had gained better results than those that had skipped breakfast.

A level student, Jayne Phiri has been putting the intelligent diet to the test. Since adopting the brain boosting strategy, she feels her mental performance and alertness through the day has increased dramatically. Reflecting on the success of the pilot scheme, Jayne said: “I found revising for my exams much easier.  I’m able to concentrate more and what I’m reading seems to sink in a lot better… I’m no longer struggling.” 

Jayne added:  “I actually wish I’d known about this two years ago.  I feel I will definitely be more successful in my exams now. I’ve done more work than I’d normally do in terms of taking notes and revision.  I’ve actually caught up with all the work I didn’t do since the start of term. I’m going to carry this on when I go to uni as well!"

Encouraged by the positive feedback received by students’ trialling the pilot scheme, Veronique said: “I feel very positive about the scheme and excited by the results so far. Hearing the feedback from Jayne has really reinforced the fact we need to get this message across to all our students. We’re going prepare for the June examinations by making sure that everyone in the Sixth Form Centre knows about this – and how we can change marks to improve their future chances of success at university. It’s very important. Particularly at the moment when there will be a lot of competition for places. We need to make sure that students have every means possible to be well placed to compete with everyone else and give them the competitive edge!”

For more tips on healthy eating and adopting a healthier lifestyle, visit the Healthy College Website at: www.bradfordcollege.ac.uk/student_life/healthy-college

For further information on healthy eating visit: www.eatwell.gov.uk