Nutrition is very important when it comes to fueling your body. Not only does having the correct amount of nutrients affect your daily life, it also affects your mental health.
Having the correct amount of nutrition in your daily life is important so you can feel your best throughout the day. Eating the right foods can have an impact on your focus and energy.
As a cooking teacher at the high school and seventh-grade girls soccer coach, Ms. Markell Reid stresses eating breakfast in the morning so you are ready to learn.
“Your nutrition affects your daily life in all aspects, from morning to night,” Reid said. “Your stress levels actually rise overnight. It’s something called cortisol, and then so when you eat in the morning that helps bring it down. We actually want to eat breakfast so that you guys can be ready in class, alert, and functioning.”
Although having a healthy nutritional diet is very important for the average person, athletes and others who use their body as an instrument need to be very mindful of how many nutrients they eat in a day to feel ready and energized for their activity.
Spanish teacher and girls soccer coach Gino Miraglia recommends different options for fueling your body in preparation for a game.
“Hydration is important, starting days or, at the latest, the day before a game, especially if it’s going to be hot,” Miraglia said. “Carbs are always a great option to store up some energy for game day. Day of game, bananas, granola bars, and protein shakes are always popular. After games, I always recommend pickle juice or mustard packets to help with recovery.”
While there are many good foods to eat, you should always eat at a certain time to ensure you have the right amount of energy to perform your activity.
“ Not eating right before you’re about to go on the field and giving your body time to digest whatever you ate [is important],” Reid said. “If you do need quick energy or something… that can be digested quickly, so like carbohydrates or things like Gatorade, those energy gummies.”
Not only does nutrition affect your daily life, but it can also have a major impact on your mental health and confidence throughout the day. Eighth-grade math teacher and baseball coach Mr. Brian Fili believes that having good nutrition affects his athletes.
“If you eat better, you’re going to feel better, and I think if you’re feeling better, your mental health is going to be better, for sure,” Fili said.
Even if you do not play a sport, having a healthy diet and consuming nutrients can affect your daily life and how you feel throughout the day.
“If we don’t have enough of carbohydrates which is our key fuel for our brains, it’s kind of hard to function in everyday life,” Reid said. “I do think it’s a big thing for your mental health– a good relationship with food really ties into mental health.”
Although getting the proper amount of nutrients is very important for you, one more thing can affect your mental health and focus throughout the day: sleep.
“I’m no scientist, but getting a good night’s rest and properly fueling your body is optimal for the mental and physical well-being of any athlete,” Miraglia said.
