My son has ADHD and I know how important a good breakfast is for him. When he gets a nutritious breakfast -- preferably with some whole grains -- and gets good exercise in the morning, he's always more focused and better able to control his behavior. Previous research has confirmed what I (and probably every other parent) knew: Breakfast does a kid's body -- and mind -- good.

A new study supports this previous finding and takes it one step further. It turns out that, while beneficial for all, the benefits of breakfast vary in boys and girls. Researchers had half of students in the study eat a standardized breakfast while the other half didn't eat breakfast. All students later took a test to measure cognitive ability and mood. A week later, the test was repeated except the previous non-breakfast eaters ate a morning meal and vice versa.

While there was measurable improvement in focus, all of the students who ate breakfast reported feeling more alert. In addition, boys reported having an elevated mood and the boys performed better on visuospatial memory tests.

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According to a recent study, babies who were breastfed exclusively for at least the first three months of life scored higher on IQ tests at age six than children who weren't breastfed exclusively. Previous research has shown that breastfed babies had enhanced thinking, learning, and memory abilities.

Researchers aren't exactly sure what the link between breastfeeding and IQ is. It could be a nutrient in breast milk -- perhaps the amino acids or cholesterol that's found in breast milk but not in formula. Or it could be the attachment-inducing act of breastfeeding.

The researchers of this study recommend breastfeeding exclusively for at least three months, though six months to one year may have added benefits.

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Getting an adequate amount of sleep is just as important for your health as eating right and living an active lifestyle. Yet, we skimp on it all the time. Even some people who make certain to exercise and eat well still short themselves by sleeping only a few hours a night. Just how much does sleep affect our health? Men's Health magazine broke it down like this:

8 Hours of Sleep - Improves your problem-solving ability by 300 percent compared to those who burn the midnight oil.

Less Than 6 Hours of Sleep - Can harm cognitive skills as much as two full nights of sleep deprivation.

Less Than 4 Hours of Sleep - Results in a 24 percent increase in appetite, with especially strong cravings for sugar, salt, and starch.

0 Hours of Sleep - Not sleeping for even 17 hours straight impairs driving as much as a blood-alcohol of 0.5 percent (so, you can imagine what not sleeping for a full 24 hours does to you).

And with that, I'm off to bed!!

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It has been known for quite some time that flavonoids reduce the risk of heart disease. But, what scientists are now finding is that flavonoids may also slow cognitive decline in older adults.

Researchers had a very large pool of participants -- more than 1,600 men and women -- on which to base their study. From the start, this is a good thing, as it is all too often that studies are based on, like, seven people. So, as I said, 1,600 people aged 65 years or older who were initially dementia-free were involved in this study, and researchers assessed their dietary consumption of flavonoids.

For ten years, the subjects' cognitive performance levels were measured. It become apparent to researchers that subjects with the lowest flavonoid intake demonstrated two times the rate of cognitive impairment as the subjects with the highest amount of flavonoid consumption.

Flavonoids, which are naturally occurring antioxidants, can be sourced from a variety of fruits and vegetables. In addition, red wine is a great source of flavonoids, as is dark chocolate that is made of at least 70-percent cacoa.