Tejal’s teacher had become worried of about the 6 year old. By lunch time, Tejal looked exhausted. When the teacher would ask Tejal if she was feeling ok, the young girl often complained of feeling dizzy. When asked if she ate lunch, Tejal would say yes, leaving out the detail that she ate it during morning recess. No amount of water would alleviate the dizziness. Tejal’s parents, who just welcomed newborn twins into the family, took her to the doctor and they could find nothing physically wrong. When the pediatrician reviewed Tejal’s nutritional intake, they pinpointed the problem.
Anant was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 8 years old. Having been on medications for much of his life, he had learned how to manage his symptoms well and was excelling in school. Since he began 9th grade, his friends and classmates noticed that he would be very fidgety, especially in the morning. He would talk back to his teachers and snap at everyone around him. His mother worried the ADHD medication stopped working so they visited his psychiatrist. After a thorough evaluation, the doctor concluded his impulsivity was not due to his diagnosis.
Amanat was ecstatic about his new job. After being at the previous one for 7 years, he was due for a change. Though he was anxious about the new responsibilities, he was excited about moving up in the corporate world. For the first couple of days, he felt energetic focused. Soon after, he noticed he was developing a short fuse, becoming irritated very quickly with situations and people around him. He noticed people seemed to tiptoe around him. Anant assumed it was because the stress of the new job were catching up to him, but his wife was quick to identify the cause of his
They they are of varying ages and exhibit different symptoms, Tejal, Anant and Amanat are all reacting to the same problem: none of them eat breakfast. Whether it is due to parents being overwhelmed that it slips their mind, not enough time in the morning or stress affecting appetite, skipping breakfast has negative impact on physical and emotional health.
It makes adults and children more irritable, more fidgety and affects the ability to learn and retain new information. Skipping breakfast can also exacerbate existing mental health symptoms. Additionally, children, teens and adults who skip breakfast are more likely to experience dizziness, fatigue and stomach aches and become at risk for being overweight.
A healthy, nutritious breakfast is essential for cognitive functioning and emotional health. By waking up a few minutes early or packing your breakfast the night before to eat on the road can have significant impact on productivity, learning and mood.
What do you eat for breakfast? Please leave your comments below.