Nutrition for workplace motivation

Beth Rush

Several factors affect your performance at work — one of them is what you eat. Fast food might give you the energy you need to complete your tasks, but it will only last a little while. Consuming these foods comes with a price your health has to pay. Find out strategies to leverage a nutritious diet to manage your energy and sustain productivity.

1. Eat Nutrition-Rich Foods

What you eat impacts your health and the quality of your performance in the workplace. Follow these food tips to impress your colleagues and finish tasks on time.

Devour Brain-Boosting Foods

Coloured fruits and vegetables — such as black plums, blood oranges, and red onions — are packed with anthocyanins. These are the purple, deep red, and blue pigments in plants. They’re classified as flavonoids and can help improve brain function.

One study found drinking 200 milliliters of cherry juice daily improved the speech and memory of seniors with mild to moderate dementia. If your job relies on your cognitive skills, eating brain-enhancing foods can help you maximize your ability to be more productive.

Snack on Nuts

Nuts bring good brain benefits to the table. Walnuts are dense with plant-based omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenolic compounds — both critical in fighting inflammation and oxidative stress. Almonds, macadamias, and pistachios contain the same substances that can delay the decline in cognitive skills and promote brain health.

Eat nuts as snacks, add them to your meals, or use them as salad-toppers.

Drink Coffee and Green Tea

Coffee and green tea contain caffeine that can increase your alertness and keep you awake during working hours. Besides this brain-stimulating chemical, they also contain potent antioxidants that counter oxidative stress and protect the brain from damage.

Signs of oxidative stress include fatigue, brain fog, and headaches. If you experience any of these, try drinking coffee and tea.

Eggs for Breakfast

Every 100 grams of eggs have 251 milligrams of choline — a compound that helps regulate neurotransmitter functions. It affects serotonin production, which is essential for controlling mood and sleep. Review findings revealed giving children choline supplements can support normal brain development. For adults, it can sharpen memory and treat mental disorders.

Indulge in Dark Chocolate

Like coffee, dark chocolate contains caffeine that helps you fight sleepiness, manage your energy and concentrate on your tasks. It has antioxidants and flavonoids that may enhance blood flow to the brain. Dark chocolate is part of a healthy diet, but remember to eat it in moderation – it s still high in sugar after all.

2. Eat Before Going to Work

Avoid making work-related decisions when you’re hungry. An empty stomach can lead to impatience and increase the chances of settling for less-desirable outcomes. An experiment by the University of Dundee found people’s preferences for merits change when they skip meals.

Under normal circumstances, participants were willing to wait 35 days to receive more significant rewards, but this declined to only three days when hungry. Meals are essential for working people — especially those who make critical business decisions — so ensure you eat before heading to work.

3. Decide What To Eat Before You Get Hungry

A meal plan of some sort is always a good idea. You are more likely to make better food choices and manage your energy if you decide what you eat before you get hungry. Doing so helps you make rational decisions and limit your options to healthy menus.

Before you go to the office, decide what you’ll have for lunch and an afternoon snack. If you buy food, order them early to avoid making spontaneous and unhealthy food decisions.

The best example to demonstrate this idea is fixing a healthy lunch box after breakfast. Since you already know what to eat for lunch, your brain automatically eliminates cravings for unhealthy foods. You’re left with no choice but to eat what you prepared. Remember to thank your past self while tucking in!

4. Manage Health Conditions With Diet

If you have a health condition that affects your body’s functions, establish a diet to manage it. For example, abnormal spikes and drops in blood sugar can lead to hunger, lethargy, and diabetes if left untreated. All these consequences can decrease your work performance.

Ask your doctor or dietitian for help in establishing the right diet for you and your health needs.

5. Eat Mindfully

Sometimes people need to remember the purpose of food is to nourish the body rather than satiate hunger. Mindful eating lets you enjoy your food by engaging your five senses.

It’s a philosophy for slowly chewing food in the mouth so it’s easier for the stomach to digest. When you eat with awareness, you’ll immediately notice when you’re full. When you’re too full, you move and react slowly, which influences how you do your tasks.

6. Get Professional Help

Adopting a healthy diet is twice as challenging if you have food restrictions, such as intolerance to gluten or dairy. Instead of following others’ opinions about what to eat, it’s best to work with a registered dietician to establish the best food route for you.

A professional can help you create a balanced diet program that suits your needs and include alternatives for foods you can’t eat to curb nutritional deficiency risks.

Quick Tips for Sustaining Workplace Efficiency

Nutrition is only one prism of health that contributes to excellent performance in daily tasks. It should combine with your lifestyle to manage your energy throughout the day and finish everything before your shift ends. Besides eating good food, take onboard these additional tips to help you remain efficient at work:

  • Sleep well: Getting enough sleep is crucial for optimal brain health.
  • Exercise: Physical activities promote blood flow to the brain so it gets nutrients and oxygen to function properly.
  • Reduce technology use: Spending too much time on screens can agitate the mind, decreasing attention span and focus.
  • Manage stress: Stress can lead to memory problems, disengagement and unhappiness at work.

Good Nutrition Supports Your Productivity

A healthy diet can make a difference in your performance levels. Foods rich in antioxidants, fatty acids, and brain-boosting substances can help optimise your cognitive skills, stay in a better mood, and effectively increase your productivity. Implement these strategies and watch your workplace productivity thrive!

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Featured image courtesy of Austin Distel on Unsplash. No changes were made to this image. Image license can be found here. 

Beth is the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind. She is a well-respected writer in the personal wellness space and shares knowledge on various topics related to mental health, nutrition, and holistic health. You can find Beth on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth Rush!

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