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+
+# food and focus
+
+what and when you eat has an outsized effect on cognitive performance. this took me embarrassingly long to figure out.
+
+## the food coma problem
+
+large meals — especially carb-heavy ones — trigger a parasympathetic response. blood diverts to digestion, insulin spikes, and you get the classic post-lunch crash. this isn't a character flaw; it's physiology.
+
+the worst combo: a big meal + sedentary work immediately after. your body is trying to digest and your brain is trying to think, and neither wins.
+
+## the no-eating block
+
+i've settled on not eating past ~7pm. the reasons stack up:
+
+- **sleep quality** — eating close to bedtime forces your body to digest when it should be cooling down and preparing for sleep. late meals shift the peripheral clocks later (see [[circadian-rhythm]]), creating internal desynchrony.
+- **morning energy** — sleeping without a full stomach means waking up actually hungry, which is a natural alertness signal.
+- **evening wind-down** — not eating creates a natural boundary between "productive hours" and "wind-down hours."
+
+## what actually works for sustained focus
+
+- **smaller, more frequent meals** — avoid the single massive meal. spreading intake prevents the big insulin spikes.
+- **protein and fat over simple carbs** — slower energy release, less of a crash. this isn't a diet thing; it's a performance thing.
+- **caffeine timing** — caffeine blocks adenosine receptors but doesn't clear adenosine. when it wears off, all the accumulated adenosine hits at once (the crash). the fix: don't use caffeine to mask tiredness — use it strategically when you're already alert and want a boost. and never after ~2pm if you value sleep.
+- **hydration** — the simplest performance lever that everyone ignores. even mild dehydration tanks cognitive performance. i keep water visible on my desk.
+
+## the fasting question
+
+i've experimented with intermittent fasting (16:8 window). the morning focus is genuinely better — no digestion overhead, elevated cortisol and adrenaline from mild fasting state. but it's a tradeoff: afternoon energy can crash hard if you're not adapted to it.
+
+my current approach: light breakfast or skip it, moderate lunch, done eating by 7pm. this gives me the morning focus benefit without the afternoon collapse.
+
+## connection to resets
+
+when energy is low, eating fruit is on my [[resets]] list. it's fast-acting sugar without the heavy digestion overhead. the key is that this is a *reset*, not a meal — small, quick, targeted.
+
+also: the physical state of hunger vs. satiation affects decision-making. don't make important decisions (see [[reversible-vs-irreversible]]) when you're either starving or in a food coma. your cognitive resources are compromised in both states.
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