One Morning Habit for Better Mental Health
Banana Toast, Think Yumm!
The Mental Health Impact of Skipping Breakfast Among University Students
A recent study involving nearly 22,000 university students across 28 countries reveals a significant link between skipping breakfast and a range of mental health issues. The study highlights how missing breakfast can negatively affect students’ mood, sleep, and overall mental well-being. Below, we explore the key mental health outcomes associated with skipping breakfast and feature a personal story to illustrate the impact of breakfast on mental health.
Key Mental Health Findings
The study found that students who skipped breakfast (whether infrequently or frequently) were more likely to report a variety of mental health challenges:
Depression: Skipping breakfast was strongly associated with symptoms of clinical depression. Students who did not have breakfast regularly were more likely to experience feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a general lack of interest in their daily activities.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Breakfast skippers were more likely to report PTSD symptoms. This suggests that skipping breakfast could exacerbate emotional struggles related to traumatic experiences, potentially contributing to heightened anxiety and distress.
Loneliness: Students who skipped breakfast also reported feeling lonelier. The lack of a morning meal may be linked to social isolation, affecting students' emotional connections with peers and their ability to engage socially.
Lower Happiness: Regular breakfast consumption was associated with higher levels of happiness. In contrast, students who skipped breakfast reported lower happiness scores, indicating that missing breakfast may contribute to a negative emotional state.
Sleep Problems: The study identified several sleep-related issues associated with skipping breakfast:
Short Sleep Duration: Students who skipped breakfast were more likely to report getting fewer than 6 hours of sleep per night, a factor that is strongly linked to poorer mental health.
Restless Sleep: These students also experienced more restless sleep, characterized by frequent awakenings or difficulty falling asleep.
Sleep Problems Due to Trauma: Breakfast skippers were more likely to experience sleep disturbances specifically related to traumatic events, suggesting that skipping breakfast could exacerbate sleep problems stemming from emotional stress.
A Personal Anecdote
Reading about the link between skipping breakfast and mental health challenges brought to mind my own struggles with this habit during particularly tough times in my life. There was a period when I found it extremely difficult to eat breakfast. Anxiety often made me feel nauseous in the mornings, and the thought of eating—let alone preparing food—was overwhelming. On top of that, when I was feeling depressed, my motivation to eat anything at all was nearly nonexistent. Breakfast felt like one more thing I couldn't bring myself to do.
I remember feeling stuck in this cycle—knowing I needed to eat something but struggling with the physical and emotional barriers that made it feel impossible. Then, during a visit to a nutritionist, I shared how hard it was for me to eat in the morning. Without being harsh, the nutritionist explained that if I didn’t prioritize breakfast, I was essentially setting myself up for a day of feeling low. He told me that breakfast isn't just about eating—it’s about fueling my body and brain for the day ahead. Missing that morning meal meant I wasn’t giving my body the proper fuel it needed to feel better and function properly, both physically and mentally.
His advice really stuck with me: if I didn’t eat breakfast, I was making it even harder to break out of the mental and emotional slump I was in. So, I decided to try making small changes. I started by focusing on foods that were gentle on my stomach, especially since anxiety often made me feel queasy in the mornings. Instead of trying to eat a full meal, I would go for lighter, easily digestible foods like toast, yogurt, or a banana. The goal wasn’t perfection, but simply to give my body something to work with and start the day on the right foot.
That small shift—making an effort to eat something, even if it was just a bite or two—became a crucial part of my routine. And over time, I noticed it had a real impact on my mood and energy levels, helping me feel more grounded throughout the day.
Possible Mechanisms for These Effects
While the study doesn’t explore the underlying mechanisms in detail, there are a few potential reasons why skipping breakfast could negatively affect mental health. One possibility is that breakfast plays a role in regulating mood and cognition. Breakfast helps provide energy to the brain and body after an overnight fast, and missing this meal might disrupt normal brain functioning, potentially contributing to mood swings and cognitive difficulties.
Conclusion
This study underscores the significant impact that skipping breakfast can have on mental health. Breakfast skippers were more likely to experience depression, PTSD, loneliness, poor sleep, and lower happiness—all of which are crucial aspects of student well-being. Given these findings, encouraging university students to maintain a regular breakfast routine could be a simple yet effective strategy to support their mental health.
The next time you're tempted to skip breakfast, remember that it’s not just about fueling your body—it’s also about giving your brain the energy it needs to function well and feel better. For me, making that small change was an important step toward better mental health, and I hope this research encourages others to see breakfast as a simple but powerful tool for emotional well-being.