It’s not just a marketing ploy on the part of cereal companies: breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Think about it: your body has just spent (ideally) eight hours sleeping, and your last meal was probably a few hours before bedtime. You’ve had no food or water in almost 12 hours. You’re dehydrated, your blood sugar is low, and as a result, you have no energy. By skipping breakfast in favor of a snooze or getting the kids out the door in time for you to pick up coffee, you’re sabotaging your healthy eating efforts. By the time lunch rolls around, you’re ravenous and more likely to reach for larger portions and unhealthy foods.

Harvard researchers found that kids who skipped breakfast were twice as likely to be depressed, four times more prone to anxiety, and 30 percent more likely to be hyperactive. When those kids started eating breakfast regularly, their levels of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity all decreased.