How does breakfast affect your mood

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Differences between breakfast skippers and breakfast eaters in health-related quality of life HRQOL , perceived stress and depression. In order to evaluate differences within breakfast eaters by the quality of breakfast consumed, we investigated differences in HRQOL, perceived stress and depression between adolescents who ate very poor, poor and good quality breakfasts. Differences in HRQOL, perceived stress and depression between breakfast eaters depending on breakfast quality.

With respect to perceived stress, significant differences were found between groups. Finally, significant differences were also found in depression. To investigate whether skipping breakfast is better than eating a poor or very poor quality breakfast, we analyzed differences in HRQOL, perceived stress and depression between adolescents in each of these groups.

Finally, regarding perceived stress, differences were again significant. Differences between breakfast skippers, eaters of very poor quality breakfasts and eaters of poor quality breakfasts in HRQOL, perceived stress and depression.

This study examined the relationship between breakfast consumption and perceived stress, depressive symptoms and HRQOL among adolescent students. To our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates the importance of the quality of breakfast, for the maintenance of a good HRQOL and lower levels of stress and depression in adolescents.

Contrary to previous studies, we found that compared to breakfast eating, skipping breakfast was significantly associated with better HRQOL and lower perceived stress.

We investigated whether the quality of breakfast consumption rather than eating or not eating breakfast might help to explain these results. To test this hypothesis, we compared first i the differences in perceived stress, depressive symptoms and HRQOL between adolescents who reported consuming good, poor and very poor quality breakfasts, and second; ii differences in mental health and HRQOL between those who skipped breakfast and those who ate a poor or very poor quality breakfast.

Regarding the first set of comparisons, our findings suggest that a high-quality breakfast, characterized by consumption of cereal and dairy products, is associated with a better HRQOL and lower levels of perceived stress and depressive symptoms in adolescents.

The positive contribution of breakfast to nutritional status and subjective health in children and adolescents has been previously linked to the quality of breakfast and the type of food consumed [ 29 ]. In children, a high quality breakfast has been defined as those including cereals, fruit or fruit juice and low-fat milk or other dairy products [ 9 ]. Cereals have commonly been considered a healthy breakfast food due to them containing a wide range of healthy micronutrients, protein, sugars, and carbohydrates and that they are frequently consumed with other healthy foods such as milk, which is known to be a significant source of calcium [ 18 ].

Previous studies have found that consumption of breakfast, in particular breakfast cereals, is associated with better physical and mental well-being and subjective health [ 30 , 31 ]. Our results are also consistent with the traditional view that eating a healthy breakfast is linked to lower mental distress, fewer depressive symptoms, positive mood and improved quality of life [ 32 ].

Although the mechanism through which breakfast contributes to reducing depression and stress remains unclear, several mechanisms have been proposed. Specifically, after eating breakfast, carbohydrates are converted into glucose producing changes in levels of acetylcholine, insulin, serotonin, glutamate and cortisol [ 23 , 33 ].

In addition, conversion of carbohydrates into glucose is essential for the formation of tryptophan, a precursor protein for the synthesis of serotonin, which regulates depressive symptoms, irritable mood and cognitive functioning [ 34 , 35 ]. Several studies support these assumptions, showing that individuals who eat a healthy balanced breakfast have a better mental health status, more positive attitudes to life [ 36 ], lower rates of depression [ 34 ] and high levels of quality of life than those who eat a poor quality breakfast [ 8 ].

Adolescents eating a high quality breakfast also display a healthy pattern of behavior including a relatively high level of physical activity and low consumption of fats throughout the day [ 22 ]. This positive effect of a good quality breakfast as a marker of a healthy lifestyle is particularly significant in childhood and adolescence, when dietary and other lifestyle pattern are initiated, resulting in long-term health and nutritional benefits in adulthood [ 8 ].

Our findings also suggest that adolescents with a regular habit of skipping breakfast have better HRQOL, less subjective stress and fewer depressive symptoms than those who eat a very poor quality breakfast, characterized by consumption of commercially baked goods.

Although the lack of a standardized definition of what constitutes a poor quality breakfast, as well as different methods for measuring breakfast consumption, may lead to different results across studies examining the link between breakfast consumption and composition on health outcomes [ 37 ], previous studies in children and adults indicate that the consumption of high levels of added sugar, fat and commercially baked goods may contribute to dietary inadequacies that are not compensated for by other meals [ 38 , 39 ], and these might in turn affect HRQOL, depression and stress.

Furthermore, a growing body of evidence suggests that there is a link between increased sugar consumption, major depression and oxidative stress in humans.

Higher added sugar intakes have been reported in individuals at risk for depression [ 40 ] and neuroimaging studies confirm that exposure to pleasant tastes such as added sugar activate the same brain regions of the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior insula, and amygdala as those activated in patients with depression [ 41 , 42 ].

All of these factors could explain the results obtained in the present study, in which adolescents who consumed a poor or very poor quality breakfast showed poorer health outcomes than those who skipped breakfast. Some evidence suggest that calorie restriction of skipping breakfast may have more beneficial effects that a poor quality breakfast given that calorie restriction particularly, suppression of added sugar intakes has been shown to have metabolic benefits including neuroprotective, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory outcomes.

Thus, it is possible that calorie restriction play a similar role in psychological wellbeing and quality of life. Nevertheless, futures studies should examine these hypotheses exhaustively and attempt to replicate this pattern of results [ 43 ]. Although the present study entails an important advance in the comprehension of the effects of breakfast on psychological functioning in adolescents, some limitations should be addressed.

Firstly, the cross-sectional design of the study does not allow us to establish causal relationships between the variables studied. Longitudinal studies are needed to explore how breakfasts habits could play an important role on psychological wellbeing and quality of life. Secondly, dietary information from participants was based on self-report which may be subject to error, in particular, underreporting.

Further, the quality of breakfasts was evaluated through three items of a previous validated questionnaire employed to evaluate adherence to the Mediterranean diet, rather than a specific instrument focused on assessing breakfast quality.

Nevertheless, the relevant content of these items intakes of cereals, dairy products and commercially baked goods and the differences obtained between groups formed based on the scores on these items demonstrate their validity to stratify adolescents by the quality of breakfast they usually eat.

Hence, the results obtained indicate the validity and usability of a short form to assess breakfast quality in this population, containing information about the intake of foods essential for what is traditionally considered a good-quality breakfast namely, cereal and dairy products [ 23 ].

Furthermore, the variables evaluated are key factors for improving our understanding of the important role that nutritional factors play in the psychological functioning and HRQOL of adolescents. However, several other potential outcomes that may be linked to quality of life and psychological wellbeing in adolescent student were not included in the current study. Future research should assess the impact of additional variables such as the cultural differences in breakfast, composition of breakfast, weight as well as the protective role of family in individuals who skipping breakfast.

Despite these limitations, this study provides evidence of the important that breakfast play on health and psychological wellbeing. To our knowledge, this is the first study that has shown the importance of the quality of breakfast, rather than just whether breakfast is eaten or skipped, for the achieving good HRQOL and low levels of stress and depression in adolescents. As previously described, breakfast can potentially affect mental health in several ways. Although most previous research has indicated that breakfast consumption is valuable for the mental and physical health of adolescents, few studies have gone a step further, analyzing the importance of the quality of the breakfast consumed.

Our findings entail a significant advance in the field of nutrition education, in that they imply that nutritional programs should not only include strategies for promoting breakfast consumption, but should place emphasis on the eating of a healthy breakfast.

Conceived and designed the experiments: N. England and Wales company registration number Select your region. Trending Christmas makeup Beauty advent calendars Migraine cures Best women's walking shoes. Caitlin Elliott. Useful links Most popular Best reusable face masks Best bob hairstyles Vouchers. Buying Guides Best induction pans Best bras Best hair dryer. By mid-morning I was starving and craving sugar. Now I prepare breakfasts on a Sunday and refrigerate them.

Many of us mistakenly rely on coffee when we wake up, believing it improves mental alertness. Credit: Stocksy. And the results?