🧠 Think clearer before noon

Your morning can fall apart before work even starts.

You drink coffee, skip real food, then wonder why your brain feels scattered by noon.

Sometimes your brain needs real fuel before fake fuel. And caffeine on an empty stomach is usually fake fuel…

In a 2023 double-blind randomized controlled trial, 66 healthy young adults were given drinks with either 0g, 10g, or 15g of milk protein.

Researchers tested processing speed, inhibition, shifting, updating, and working memory before the drink, then again after 15 and 60 minutes.

The 10g and 15g protein drinks improved shifting performance after 15 minutes compared to the 0g drink. The 15g effect lasted 60 minutes. Updating performance also improved after 60 minutes with both protein drinks.

󠁯• Shifting means your ability to switch between tasks without mentally lagging.

• Updating means holding new information in your head and using it.

Basically, the stuff you need when you’re writing, studying, planning, replying to messages etc.

Protein does not fix everything.

But your brain usually works better when you stop treating breakfast like an optional side quest.

I noticed this myself when I stopped drinking caffeine on an empty stomach. My focus didn’t become superhuman, but I stopped getting that weird shaky, scattered feeling where I wanted to work but couldn’t land on one task.

Try this for 7 days.

Before caffeine, eat 25-35g of protein.

That could be eggs, Greek yogurt, chicken, turkey, protein powder, tofu, or a high-protein smoothie.

Then wait 20-30 minutes before coffee.

Don’t change 20 things. Test that one thing and watch your focus before lunch.

If your mornings feel messy, don’t start by blaming your personality. Start with the inputs. Sleep, food, caffeine timing, phone use, and light exposure decide more than people want to admit.

See you next Sunday.

—Ernest P.
Founder, Enhancing Brain