What comes to mind when you hear the word, chocolate?…Typically the word that comes to mind is, “where?”
Chocolate is that heavenly goodness that comes in different colours, flavours and forms, and everyone loves. It’s safe to say that if you haven’t tasted chocolate, you haven’t studied.
I bet you didn’t know just how good chocolate is for you. Apparently, consuming chocolate provides a boost to your mood and your health. According to studies done at Loma Linda University, eating chocolate with a higher concentration of cacao, can significantly reduce your stress levels. Apart from the decreased stress levels, it also rejuvenates your memory and your immune system.
Cacao is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. The studies showed that the flavonoids found in cacao aids your brain and your heart.
Eating chocolate actually fortifies your immune system response, and in so doing aids in the body’s ability to form new neural connections.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the reasons why consuming chocolate while studying is healthy and recommended:
An easy-to-share infographic is located at the bottom of this post.
1. Eating Chocolate Can Elevate Your Mood and Make You Happy
When would you enjoy study time more? When you are happy, sad or moody?
That was a trick question!
Of course, every ‘normal’ person would prefer to study when he or she is in an elevated mood. Now, did you know that the consumption of chocolate can help you attain that level of happiness you require to enjoy study time?
It has been proven that chocolate (dark chocolate especially) enhances the production of certain chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins act somewhat like a ‘feel-good’ chemical that makes your brain euphoric, thus making you happy. This feeling can be likened to the way footballers feel while doing what they enjoy doing best – playing football.
In addition to this, chocolate consumption also helps reduce pain, and minimizes the various negative effects that comes with stress.
2. Chocolate Improves Blood Flow to the Brain
Just in case you didn’t know, increased blood flow to the brain at the right time has the ability to boost activity on the brain for a period of time, depending on how long the increased blood flow lasts. In a study conducted at Harvard Medical School, it was shown that 2 cups of Hot Choco improved blood flow to the brain for a time duration that lasted for about 2-3 hours.
A compound found in chocolate known as flavonoid has been proven to help increase blood flow to the brain which in turn helps the chocolate consumer in the following ways:
• Boosts his/her memory and attention span
• Improves his/her reaction time
• Also improves his/her problem-solving skills
The last point was specifically put there for those who encounter difficulties while studying mathematics. Bust a bar of chocolate open, devour that baby and face your math problems. You just might get it right this time!
3. Chocolate Improves Focus, Memory, and Learning
Asides from boosting the blood flow to the brain, the flavonoids found in chocolate have been proven to infiltrate and improve the functionality of the areas of the brain equipped with memory and learning functions.
Chocolate also contains a little dosage of caffeine. Not enough to send your adrenaline pumping and keep you up through the night, but enough to help enhance your concentration, memory and most importantly, elevate your mood and give you that euphoric feeling you need to enjoy study time.
4. Chocolate Relieves Stress
Stress is often underestimated and overlooked. If only more people knew all the damage stress causes to the brain and its effects on the overall health of the average human being, then maybe more attention would be paid to relieving the body of it.
Luckily for you, you now know about this damaging little secret. Let me blow your mind by informing you that you can easily relieve yourself of stress by consuming…you guessed it, chocolate! Chocolate contains magnesium, a compound well known for aiding relaxation in individuals. In fact, magnesium is so effective at relieving stress it’s been called the “original chill pill.
Research has shown that magnesium is usually lacking in our daily diets and that the consumption of chocolate can help supply the body with a substantial amount of it. Further consumption of chocolate, and in extension magnesium, has been said to also help improve mood, memory, and focus.
5. Chocolate Helps Protect Your Brain for a Lifetime
You have probably come across different reports on findings from the use of chocolate to treat medical conditions associated with the brain such as dementia and strokes. These breakthroughs can be traced back to the potent antioxidants found in chocolate, which have been proven to decrease the risk of dementia.
We can be the first generation to grow old without having brain related medical functions such as strokes, dementia and Alzheimer’s our ancestors had, if only we consumed more chocolate now and then, and what better place to do so than in your study room?
This point could also be useful to our parents and older ones as studies have shown that the more chocolate older people (termed as ‘seniors’) consume, the less the likelihood of them to develop dementia.
6. In the Long Run, Eating Chocolate Can Make You Smarter
In summary of all the points explained above, thus consuming chocolate can enhance your mood and capability to focus and assimilate what you are studying, as it contains a lot of components that help the brain function the way it should in the study room.
Chocolate consumption makes you smarter in the long run, as continuous enhancement of brain capability can help the brain attain a level it previously couldn’t without the help of a hot choco, or two bars of chocolate. This permanent enhancement of your brain will no doubt make you smarter.
To make it more believable, chocolate consumption has been proven to augment a feature that has been associated with increased intelligence – it enhances brain plasticity while also being ‘neuroprotective’.
However, while chocolate consumption during study time will undoubtedly enhance your reading and assimilating abilities, how well chocolate consumption complements your studying still all boils down to you.
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