Weekend Plus Desk :
What long hours of tuition and a large stack of books cannot do for your kid, a scoop of ice cream can do! Wonder what? Make them smarter! Yes, the sweet and cool treat may give your kids a sugar rush that might make you cringe in horror, but it will also make them more alert and increase mental performance. Worth the trade, one would say.
A study, recently published by Kyorin University professor Yoshihiko Koga, says eating ice cream right after waking up can be beneficial for the kid. Some recorded data showed improved instances of alertness and mental performance in the participants after eating ice cream for breakfast.
The study, which was published on Japan’s Excite News website on Tuesday, is sure to bring a bright ray of sunshine into all kids’ dull and boring breakfast schedules. The study compared the brain activity of people who had been fed ice cream immediately after waking up with those who hadn’t. Koga found that the participants who had had ice cream for breakfast could respond faster and process information better than those who didn’t.
On further analysing brain activities, it was found that the people who had ice cream first thing in the morning had an increase in high-frequency alpha waves.
These high-frequency alpha waves are associated with higher levels of mental alertness and reduced mental irritation, The Telegraph reported.
The participants underwent another round of test where they were given cold water instead of ice cream immediately after waking up. The results from the cold water also showed an increased level of mental alertness and capacity, but people who were given the ice cream showed significantly higher mental stimulation.
Koga is on a quest to find if ice cream can also make you happy (solid proof, we mean) by triggering positive emotions and increasing energy levels. One cog in the wheel for Koga is the sugar rush that comes with eating ice cream.
A research conducted in 1994 showed that sugar doesn’t change the cognitive skills or affect the behaviour of children, which Koga might have to disprove.
