ABSTRACT
An increasing amount of research is finding that the elements of a physically healthy lifestyle, particularly around issues of nutrition, exercise, and sleep, are important for student motivation and their readiness to learn in school and also reinforcing the legitimacy of calling breakfast "the most important meal of the day". Eating breakfast, particularly a healthy one, is linked to improved cognition and mental and physical health for students. It also improves "alertness, attention, memory, processing of complex visual display, problem solving". This chapter includes suggestions for what teachers can do on a day-to-day basis to encourage students to lead a healthy lifestyle, as well as mini-lessons on the importance of eating breakfast, and full lesson plans on junk food and exercise, as well as on sleep. Research shows that classroom lessons on nutrition can have a positive impact on student health.
