Between early April 2025 and July 2026, the GlyCoBrain nutritional intervention study was carried out at the Institute for Nutrition, Consumption and Health by the Nutritional Science and Public Health Nutrition research groups.

The aim of the study is to investigate possible links between the glycaemic index of breakfast, the occurrence of reactive hypoglycaemia and changes in memory performance and attention in young adults. The study also takes into account chronotype, which describes an individual’s preference for sleeping and waking times.

A total of 356 students from Paderborn University took part in the screening phase. Based on the screening results, suitable participants with the earliest and latest chronotypes were invited to take part in the dietary intervention study. A total of 182 participants took part in the intervention studies.

The project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for three years and will run until July 2027.

The first phase of the GlyCoBrain study began in October 2024 and was completed in January 2025.

Among the 356 study participants, data collected included chronotype, assessed via a questionnaire, and the students’ breakfast habits. To this end, the participants answered questions about their breakfast habits and their eating behaviour prior to examinations. They also used a computer-assisted 24-hour recall to document the food and drink consumed over the previous 24 hours. In addition, anthropometric measurements were carried out and further personal data was collected. Initial results of the screening were already presented at the 63rd Scientific Congress of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) in March 2026 in Kassel.

Eva Landgräber presented initial findings on the quality of breakfast among young students, taking chronotype into account. Theresia Schminke presented analyses of the carbohydrate quality of breakfast among young students, also taking chronotype into account.

Two intervention studies were carried out as part of the GlyCoBrain project.

The first intervention study investigated the effects of a breakfast with a high or low glycaemic index on memory and attention performance in healthy young adults. The second intervention study focused on the effect of reactive^{hypoglycaemia¹ on} cognitive performance.

The first sub-study was successfully completed in December 2025 with 90 participants. The second sub-study followed immediately afterwards and was completed in July 2026 with 92 participants.

Once again, anthropometric measurements, including assessments of body composition, were carried out and chronotype was recorded.

The study participants were given a test drink on each intervention day. Subsequently, several capillary blood samples were taken, saliva samples were collected and a number of cognitive tests were carried out.

The procedure for both studies was identical and differed only in terms of the test drinks consumed in each case.

¹ Reactive^{hypoglycaemia} , also known as postprandial hypoglycaemia, is a drop in blood glucose levels to values below the fasting level. This typically occurs within 1–3 hours after a meal and is not associated with diabetes.

The results of the GlyCoBrain study are currently being analysed and will subsequently be published in scientific journals.

Former player: Melvin Sigges