The Effects of

Breakfast on Short
Term Memory
Amelie Francisco, Katie Konkin, Samara
Robinson
 Question

What type of breakfast improves short term

memory the most?
 Hypothesis
If people eat a different type of breakfast everyday and then take a short
term memory test they will perform best on the day that they eat a
carbohydrate breakfast because a carb-rich breakfast will supply your
brain with more glucose than any other type of breakfast which it requires
to function properly.
Background Research
Everybody has heard that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day”, but that doesn’t necessarily
mean that every breakfast will affect your brain the same way. It’s been scientifically proven in numerous
studies that those who eat breakfast have better overall cognitive function, including better memory and
attention, than those who don’t eat breakfast at all [1]. Getting the right amount of nutrients is important for
your overall health and for your memory. Carbohydrates are the preferred energy source for the brain and
consuming complex carbohydrates for breakfast can improve memory since more glucose is readily
available [1]. Our brain cells need glucose to work, but they have no way of storing it so they rely on a
continuous supply from the bloodstream [2] which is why complex carbohydrates are great for breakfast
because they take a while to breakdown and continue to provide glucose to the brain over a lengthy amount
of time. Although, eating carbs can make you feel tired because of the increased level of the amino acid,
“tryptophan”, which creates chemical messengers that tell the brain to relax and be calm [3]. While eating
carbs is good for the brain, you also don’t want to eat too many because it can end up making you feel
sluggish and distracted.
Background Research
However, eating protein raises the level of a different amino acid, “tyrosine”, which creates
chemical messengers that can cause you to feel energized and alert [3]. This would keep your
concentration levels higher. Though, eating too much protein can lead to an imbalance in your
body. Your brain needs both protein to stay alert but it also needs carbs for energy [4]. Fruits
are also one of the best brain-fuel foods. Fruits and vegetables have been found to improve
the health of blood vessels which can decrease the risk of memory damage due to something
such as a stroke [5]. Studies have found that blueberries may help with short-term memory [6].
Fruits are also rich in their own carbs, glucose and fructose [7]. Since they are naturally
occurring sugars, fruits and vegetables are in a different category than the carbs category.
They are not complex-carbohydrates, and therefore do not require a large amount of
breakdown. Since the glucose from fruit does not need to be broken down, the brain will use it
as a short-term fuel.
.
Variables
Independent: Type of breakfast the subject eats

Dependent: Short term memory test score

Controlled:

- Type of test (short term memory test where the subject memorizes pictures)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RjIsrX_YlusVvn09BnKM2qe2EpS3AU-unDpMEymzeX8/edit?usp=sharing
- Time given to complete test (15 seconds to memorize, 1 minute to record everything they
remember)
- Amount of subjects (12)
- Test room environment (MPR)
- Amount of people eating each type of breakfast everyday (3 per breakfast, rotating)
Procedure
1. Assign 4 groups of 3 test subjects.
2. Day 1: group 1 will eat a carb-based breakfast (bagel, toast, etc.), group 2 will
eat a protein-based breakfast (eggs, sausages, etc.), group 3 will eat a
fruit/vegetable-based breakfast (smoothie, piece of fruit etc.) and group 4 will not
eat breakfast. We will not track specific foods, we trust that they ate the assigned
breakfast.
3. At 10am we will take 3 subjects at a time until everyone has been tested to the
MPR and show them a computer screen with 15 images on it. They will have 15
seconds to look at the screen and memorize as many objects as possible. The
screen will be taken away and then they will have one minute to write down the
names of as many images that they can remember.
Procedure
4. On day two group 2 will eat a carb-based breakfast (bagel, toast, etc.), group 3 will eat a
protein-based breakfast (eggs, sausages, etc.), group 4 will eat a fruit/vegetable-based breakfast
(smoothie, piece of fruit etc.) and group 1 will not eat breakfast.
5. (Repeat of step 3) At 10am we will take 3 people at a time until everyone has been tested to
the MPR and show them a computer screen with 15 images on it (different than the first one).
They will have 15 seconds to look at the screen and then they have one minute to write down
the names of as many images that they can.
6. On day three group 3 will eat a carb-based breakfast (bagel, toast, etc.), group 4 will eat a
protein-based breakfast (eggs, sausages, etc.), group 1 will eat a fruit/vegetable-based breakfast
(smoothie, piece of fruit etc.) and group 2 will not eat breakfast.
7. (Repeat of step 3) At 10am we will take 3 people at a time until everyone has been tested to
the MPR and show them a computer screen with 15 images on it (different than the first two).
They will have 15 seconds to look at the screen and then they have one minute to write down
the names of as many images that they can.
Procedure
8. On day four group 4 will eat a carb-based breakfast (bagel, toast, etc.), group 1
will eat a protein-based breakfast (eggs, sausages, etc.), group 2 will eat a
fruit/vegetable-based breakfast (smoothie, piece of fruit etc.) and group 3 will not eat
breakfast.
9. (Repeat of step 3) At 10am we will take 3 people at a time until everyone has been
tested to the MPR and show them a computer screen with 15 images on it (different
than the first three). They will have 15 seconds to look at the screen and then they
have one minute to write down the names of as many images that they can.
10. Analyze data.
 Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_t5HNK_Bn4&feature=youtu.be
All test results
Test Score out of 15
Subject No Breakfast Fruit/Veg Carb Protein
1 9 9 7 8
2 5 7 6 6
3 5 7 7 7
4 7 6 9 8
5 5 6 8 9
6 8 8 9 7
7 4 5 - -
8 6 8 6 7
9 6 5 6 6
10 8 5 7 6
11 7 5 6 9
12 8 11 9 7
Change in test score
compared to baseline score Subjects Fruit/Veg Carbs Protein

(no breakfast) 1 0 -2 -1
2 +2 +1 +1
3 +2 +2 +2
4 -1 +2 +1
5 +1 +3 +4
6 0 +1 -1
7 +1 - -
8 +2 0 +1
9 -1 0 0
10 -3 -1 -2
11 -2 -1 +2
12 +3 +1 -1
Conclusion
We found that participants performed the best on short term memory tests on the
days that they ate protein or carb breakfasts. This is because protein and
carbohydrates provide your brain with lots of fuel and energy allowing it to
function better. On days where participants ate fruit and vegetables for breakfast
their performance was still better than their control day when they ate nothing for
breakfast but not better than when they ate carbohydrates or protein. Although
there was difference in test scores between days, the difference was very small.
Eating protein or carbs for breakfast improved test scores by just over half a point
average and eating fruit improved the average by less than half a point. Overall we
found that eating breakfast does improve short term memory but only marginally
and that eating a breakfast rich in protein or carbohydrates improves it the most.
Conclusion
Although we did see a difference in test scores depending on the type of breakfast
the participant ate, it is hard to be completely confident in our data. We had a small
group of subjects and to have conclusive evidence this experiment would need to
be done with a much larger group over a longer time period. Since we compared
everyone back to their own baseline score on the day they didn’t eat breakfast we
did not have to worry about individual short term memory skills because we were
comparing them to themselves. Something that was difficult to control was portion
size. Since participants ate breakfast at home we couldn’t control how much they
ate every day which could have been a source of scientific error because on some
days they would have eaten more total calories therefore providing the brain with
more fuel no matter what it is they were eating.
Conclusion
Our data shows us that eating breakfast does improve short term memory
performance although only by a fraction. I would like to see this experiment done
with a larger group of people and have them all eat the same breakfasts multiple
times in order to see the effects of different types of food more accurately.
Although the majority of our variables were controlled we couldn’t control
everything like exact portion size and some of the noise in the environment we
were testing our subjects in. We are fairly confident in our data but we cannot be
100% confident, mostly because we couldn’t test a larger group of people. We
would be curious to see how short term memory would be affected by breakfasts
with more than one major food group and what the best combinations of food
would be to boost short term memory performance.
 Sources
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https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/eating-breakfast-affect-memory-11475.html
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from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/132733.php#1
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https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200301/brain-power-why-proteins-are-smart
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https://sunwarrior.com/blogs/health-hub/proteins-effect-brain-function-memory-health
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https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/boost-your-memory-by-eating-right
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https://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/7-back-school-breakfasts-boost-brain-power
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https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325550.php#fruit-sugars-vs-other-sugars