# Is there a food I can slowly snack on for a few hours to improve brain performance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 12, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496 "2009-10-12T04:41:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/1 "2009-10-12T04:41:29Z")
I have a test tomorrow that I would like to put in a few hours of study for, is there food I can snack on while studying that will help improve brain performance for the purposes of retention? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/2 "2009-10-12T04:44:13Z")
(survivor of the Just Say Yes generation) Speed? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/3 "2009-10-12T04:52:35Z")
No foods have been shown to have instant impacts on cognition, except those that remove potentially deleterious effects (caffeine and alcohol, for example). Gingko and omega-3s, for example, appear to prevent memory loss- but if true, that will help you pass a test when you’re 55, not tomorrow. Drink a cup of tea halfway through your study session, is my advice. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/4 "2009-10-12T05:17:08Z")
Ahem, lets just assume that **dropzone** was having some fun with you. Speed and exam study has a rather sad and sorry history. Pretty much assues a total fail. Personally I would just go for a low GI, low fat, snackfood. You don’t want the effects of sugar rushes, you don’t want to feel tired, and sure don’t want the happy post prandial stupor. Just a nice steady feed. ---
**Author:** ![Nunavut\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e95f7d/32.png) [@Nunavut\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nunavut_Boy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/5 "2009-10-12T05:19:55Z")
brains of other, smarter people? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/6 "2009-10-12T05:20:03Z")
Thanks guys. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/7 "2009-10-12T09:26:37Z")
This may be purely internet rumour, but I remember reading that apples are a good source of the exact form of sugar the brain uses, so they make a good study snack. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Awesome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Captain\_Awesome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Awesome)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/8 "2009-10-12T09:53:16Z")
You could try chewing gum, > [@](#): > > …chewing gum at initial learning was associated with superior recall… sucking gum was sufficient to induce some of the same effects as chewing. Just make sure you perform the same action during the learning stage and during the recall stage ([Baker _et al_. 2004](http://www.cf.ac.uk/psych/home2/papers/aggleton/Appetite%20-%2043%20-%20207-210.pdf), .pdf) ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/9 "2009-10-12T17:32:17Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > This may be purely internet rumour, but I remember reading that apples are a good source of the exact form of sugar the brain uses, so they make a good study snack. The brain uses glucose. Plant sugars are almost all sucrose, which is a disaccharide of glucose and fructose. So that rumor is 50% true and not much truer for apples than any other fruit or vegetable. As for the OP… I would recommend going with something that has a strong scent or flavor that you’ll remember easily, perhaps even something you can have with you during the test. It has been shown that environmental cues like scents and flavors can help trigger memories. Of course, more important than anything you eat is that you **get enough sleep**. Given a choice between 8 hours of sleep and 2 hours of studying or 8 hours of studying and 2 hours of sleep, take the first option. ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/10 "2009-10-12T17:36:59Z")
bacon The trick to any “help” you get while studying - for best results you need the same “help” while accessing the information in your brain. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/11 "2009-10-13T01:21:56Z")
Thank you again. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-food-i-can-slowly-snack-on-for-a-few-hours-to-improve-brain-performance/513496/12 "2009-10-13T15:38:08Z")
For many decades, dogs have eaten homework to improve their concentration.