The Most Surprising Performance Killer

Typically, we do not associate blood sugar deregulation with psychological performance, but in my experience, this is one of the most important factors in creating sustained focus, motivation, and mood.

The field of nutritional psychology is just beginning to grow into a substantial science, yet we already have evidence that stabilizing blood sugar is not just something to worry about for diabetes.

Blood sugar stability is crucial for creating the ideal mental state. Blood sugar fluctuations are associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and ADHD.

This is something that is very well founded in the field of psychology, yet it seems to not have made it to the general public yet.

I personally think that stabilizing blood sugar is one of the most important, if not the most important, factors in performance and well being.

When it comes to blood sugar, we want to minimize spikes because the higher the spike, the lower the reactive hypoglycemia. When blood sugar goes up, it must then come down the opposite and equal amount to then regulate. These ups and downs can feel like energy crashes, result in poor sleep, irritability, weight gain, and significant losses in performance.

The foods that spike blood sugars are often the obvious culprits, high sugar processed foods. But then there are some that seem healthy, like rice and oatmeal, that will spike blood sugar for some people in the same way straight candy will. The key is that everyone is highly individual in their ability to eat and process certain foods.

For some people, rice will have no effect, and for others, it will create a disastrous afternoon of fatigue. It's crucial to experiment with your own diet to see what will and will not disregulate your blood sugars.

I have used a CGM like Levels in the past to figure out what works for me personally. This may seem like a lot of work, but that's how important blood sugar regulation is to health and performance.

If you have struggled with focus, or even symptoms of anxiety and depression and haven't been able to overcome them. Try to eat this coming week with the goal of maintaining the most steady blood sugar. This usually means a good amount of vegetables, protein, and a very moderate amount of carbohydrate in the form of whole foods.

Our minds and our bodies are both highly susceptible to fluctuations in our diets, and eating for performance is usually only something athletes think about. Yet, as we need to perform at a higher level and strive to grow our ability for cognitive work, we need to start considering what truly effects our performance the most, and according to the latest psychological research , it is blood sugar regulation.

Further reading:

This is your brain on food

Cognitive performance and refined carbohydrate consumption