Eating a handful of walnuts at breakfast boosts brain performance, scientists have discovered.

Experts found when people added just 50g of walnuts to muesli and yoghurt they recorded faster reaction times throughout the day and better memory performance.

Scientists believe the simple intervention could give people a “mental edge” if they have a particularly tricky day ahead.

Prof Claire Williams, who led the research from the University of Reading, said: “This study helps strengthen the case for walnuts as brain food.

“A handful of walnuts with breakfast could give young adults a mental edge when they need to perform at the top of their game.

“It’s particularly exciting that such a simple dietary addition could make a measurable difference to cognitive performance.”

The research involved 32 adults, aged between 18 and 30, who were asked to eat a walnut-rich breakfast, or a calorie-matched breakfast on separate occasions.

Around six hours after breakfast, they were asked to take part in various cognitive and memory tests while their brain activity was monitored.

Walnut eaters responded up to 22 milliseconds faster on attention and task switching and could recall an average of 0.4 words more in memory tests.