To eat or not to eat: How to boost your productivity before noon

There’s one notion about nutrition that most of us have learned in our childhood: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Yet, it turns out that this is not supported by science at all. Instead, eating around the clock is quite unhealthy, while restricting food intake to a part of the day (say, 12 to 16 hours) has many health benefits, not least increased fat burning. And in terms of productivity, breakfast emerges as the prime candidate among meals to skip.

Most of us are physiologically set up for a peak in productivity during the hours before noon, so being alert during that time of day is key. Nutrition plays an essential role in this respect: Eating activates our rest-and-digest system, which promotes tiredness. Fasting increases the level of adrenaline in our body, which promotes alertness and thus productivity.

During fasting, we don’t eat anything, but drinking is crucial. First, many people attribute the shaky feeling they experience during fasting to low blood sugar. Yet, for most of us, the real problem is not low blood sugar, but insufficient hydration and sodium – so drinking plenty of water and adding half a teaspoon of salt often solves that problem. Second, a cup of black coffee not only supports that high level of alertness as well as fat burning, but also effectively blunts feelings of hunger.

Taken together, skipping breakfast is great for productivity and allows you to burn fat while working. To fast properly before noon, make sure to drink plenty of water, add half a teaspoon of salt, and have a cup of black coffee if you get hungry.