We all know people need nutrients to maintain healthy body function, but did you know that what you eat also affects your productivity at work? If you’ve ever gone out for a giant plate of pasta on your lunch break, you’ve probably experienced afternoon drowsiness, but did you also notice a general lack of focus?

The food you eat plays a big part in your energy levels, but it can also have an affect on your attention and ability to focus on your work, with certain foods helping you stay productive while others… not so much. This has to do with how your body breaks down food into glucose, which is what fuels your brain.

Food for thought from an article in the Harvard Business Review:

“Not all foods are processed by our bodies at the same rate. Some foods, like pasta, bread, cereal and soda, release their glucose quickly, leading to a burst of energy followed by a slump. Others, like high fat meals (think cheeseburgers and BLTs) provide more sustained energy, but require our digestive system to work harder, reducing oxygen levels in the brain and making us groggy.”

 The article, written by Ron Friedman, Ph.D., founder of ignite80, a consulting firm that helps leaders build thriving organizations, states that our food has a direct impact on our cognitive function. If you want to be productive, you should choose your food wisely or you could derail your whole afternoon. It makes sense that Friedman would be writing on this subject, since an entire office with poor eating habits is going to have lower productivity than one that pays more attention to what they’re eating and how it impacts their performance. Who knew lunch could give an organization a competitive edge?

How to Make Smarter Choices

So how should one eat if their goal is to boost their productivity at work? Friedman has several recommendations, which are all backed by research:

Decide what you’re going to eat before you get hungry: This one is key because when we’re hungry (i.e. our glucose levels are low), our brains are less likely to make smart decisions about our food. That’s why people tend to grab fast food and other unhealthy things. If your alert brain makes a healthy food choice ahead of time, you’re more likely to stick to it.

Eat smaller meals throughout the day: This is a better option than eating large meals that cause your glucose to skyrocket, then crash and burn after a few hours. Small, frequent meals maintain your glucose and energy at consistent levels throughout the day.

Plan healthy snacks and keep them nearby: Keep healthy snacks by your desk so you’re not tempted to hit up the vending machine. Fruit and nuts are excellent choices.

Another Solution? Try Luvo!

Luvo’s quick and good-for-you frozen snacks and entrees are the perfect solution to the productivity conundrum. Keeping some in the staff kitchen freezer helps ensure you always have a healthier option that’s not going to leave you napping under your desk like George Costanza.

Friedman ends his article on a powerful note:

“If you’re serious about achieving top workplace performance, making intelligent decisions about food is essential.

The good news is that contrary to what many of us assume, the trick to eating right is not learning to resist temptation. It’s making healthy eating the easiest possible solution.”

Do you have tips for making healthy eating easy? Share them in the comments or over on Twitter at @luvoinc.