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August 31, 2005
Want Enhanced Spatial Memory? Eat Oatmeal
From the Washington Post:
In this month's edition of the journal Physiology and Behavior, Tufts University psychologists report on two experiments they conducted on 60 schoolchildren. For breakfast one day, the researchers fixed the youngsters oatmeal made with milk and then had them take a battery of classroom tests. A week later, the students ate Cap'n Crunch cereal with milk and then were tested. During a third week, they skipped breakfast one morning and just took the tests.
Simply eating breakfast produced better test results than missing the morning meal -- findings that echo results of numerous other studies. But the researchers also discovered that boys and girls performed better on the tests when they ate oatmeal than when they had Cap'n Crunch. (The research was funded by Quaker Oats, maker of both products used in the study.)
After eating a bowl of oatmeal, boys and girls aged 9 to 11 showed enhanced spatial memory, a skill that helps with drawing and doing puzzles. Spatial memory can help not only with art, but also with geography as well as some technical skills used in math and science. Girls, but not boys, also displayed better short-term memory after eating oatmeal. [Emphasis is mine.]
Meanwhile, if you or one of your students want to skip breakfast (oatmeal or otherwise) with the reasoning that it's part of the new super low calorie diet that'll have you living to age 125, well, consider this:
Starving -- officially known as caloric restriction -- may make worms and mice live up to 50 percent longer but it will not help humans live super-long lives, two biologists argued on Sunday.
They said their mathematical model showed that a lifetime of low-calorie dieting would only extend human life span by about 7 percent, unlike smaller animals, whose life spans are affected more by the effects of starvation (Yahoo News).
OK. Now I just need to find a way to make oatmeal more palatable, so I can start eating it for breakfast. I find it rather bland. Any suggestions?
Posted by ExploreLearning at 10:30 AM in Science (Real World) | Permalink
Comments
I think I should start eating more oatmeal :)
Oatmeal/bran muffins make for a good and healthy morning snack.
Posted by: Rp | Sep 4, 2005 5:56:04 PM
Hey, I was just reading your article, while I was searching for a site that would help me identify the types of worms out there. When I came to the bottom and saw that you were looking for a few suggestions on how to make oatmeal more palatable. However, unfortunatly I would tell you never to eat it again. Simply because this morning, while I was preparing my normal Quaker individual package of Mixed berry oatmeal; i found some rather disturbing carnage in amongst the berries. Half of a fat Green worm with black spots down the back of it. Yep. I guess he got to it before I did. If you're interested, i will be posting some pictures of it tonight. I can send you a picture if you wish!
Better stick with fruit.
Posted by: Cecelia | Aug 19, 2006 2:53:50 PM
