Do you feel a steady decline in your attention span during the late morning hours? Are you unable to stay concentrated on your work? Do you feel tired after you just had a good nights sleep? The problem may be what you ate, or didn't eat for breakfast.

Think about it. You eat dinner probably between five and seven in the evening. You may have a snack a few hours after that. Either way, you probably go about 12 hours from that time until you eat again. In fact, the time frame between dinner and breakfast is the longest span of any three meals of the day. By the time you wake up in the morning, your body is actually in fasting mode. I read an article that taught me just why this happens. While we sleep, our bodies need fuel to keep our hearts beating, our nerves transmitting, our cells dividing and much more. Most of that fuel comes from glucose that is stored in the blood, liver and muscles. After the body uses up all of the glucose, it begins to break down fatty acids in order to produce energy. The problem is, without carbohydrates, fatty acids are only partially oxidized. This causes blood sugar levels to drop resulting in fatigue, poor concentration, and lethargy. By eating breakfast, you break the fast. Get it? Break - Fast.

That being said, I have to make a confession. This morning...all I had for breakfast was a cup of coffee with four hazelnut creamers. Now, keep in mind, I had that after I did all the research for this topic. My mornings are so busy and habits are hard to change!

Besides time constraints and bad habit, another reason why people skip breakfast is because they think it will help them to lose weight. Research shows, however, that people who eat breakfast have a better chance of losing weight and keeping it off.  When you skip a meal, the body slows down your metabolism. This causes the body to slow down and burn less fat. In addition, the meal you eat after the skipped meal will be converted almost entirely to fat and then stored. This is a defense mechanism that the body uses to keep you from starving. So, if you skip breakfast, almost all of your lunch will be converted to fat. This doesn't sound like a good weight loss strategy to me!

Now that you know the negative effects of skipping breakfast, here are some of the benefits of eating a healthy meal in the morning.

• You will have more efficient problem solving skills,
• Improved memory,
• Increased verbal fluency,
• Improved attention span,
• And a better attitude.

Having a clear head and healthy body will help you to improve your productivity at work and make it easier for you to get through the day. So, follow my lead and hit the grocery store after work!