On December 10th, the New York Times published an article entitled Empty-Stomach Intelligence. This article goes over a research project by Yale Medical School, that has been performed to evaluate performance in mice when they are hungry. According to the research, being hungry actually makes mice smarter. Researches said this is very likely to be true for humans as well.
This is obviously true, or well at least it makes sense. If someone is hungry, they will focus all their energy into finding ways to acquire food. This is why we’ll act smarter, because we need food. The interesting claim is that being hungry helps you learn and remember better. According to the research ghrelin, a hormone produced when the stomach is empty, was binding to cells of the hippocampus (the area in our brain responsible for learning). However, all the facts have been proven for mice, who performed better in a maze because they were hungry (maybe the ones that weren’t couldn’t be bothered, everything and everyone are lazy). No specific research shows this is true for human beings, yet. Scientists believe it is very likely to be the same case.
I find it hard to believe that being hungry could actually help you learn. From experience when you are hungry, all you can think about is food. However, this is why the article recommends to not just “not eat”, but eat a little and snack a lot to keep an “edgy state”. I suppose if you are not that hungry this could work, but this theory has a lot of minds to change, since what is previously believed, is that you need to eat properly before going to school. According to Dr. Debby Demorcy-Luce, a nutritionist from the USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, “Children who eat breakfast have been shown to get higher grades and are less likely to be described as depressed, anxious, fidgety, or irritable by parents and teachers.” Just like Dr. Demorcy-Luce, there are thousands of people who believe the same thing.
Due to the performance in most schools, I’d give the hunger theory a try, it will also help with the obesity problem America is facing. Imagine moms around the country telling their kids, “Hunny, if you don’t bring home an A, you are not eating today”, now this will definetly work!
This entry was posted by Tommy Morris
on Friday, December 15th, 2006 at 2:33 am and is filed under Science, Education.
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