Intermittent Fasting Doesn't Impair Cognitive Abilities, Study Says
When it comes to weight loss, trends and strategies come and go, but one that consistently sticks around is intermittent fasting, which consists of cycling between periods of eating and not eating. A common concern, however, is whether skipping meals makes it harder to think clearly throughout the day. Our jobs, families, and daily responsibilities require focus, so understanding how intermittent fasting affects cognitive abilities matters for anyone using it for weight loss or health.
New research suggests there’s little reason to worry, as it shouldn't affect your ability to think, remember, and problem-solve. A study published by the AmericanPsychological Association reviewed data from thousands of healthy adults in experiments comparing people who were fasting with those who had recently eaten. Researchers looked at hundreds of measures of cognitive performance, including memory, attention, and decision-making.
Researchers found no meaningful difference in cognitive ability between those who had fasted for 12 hours or less and those who were fed. In other words, short-term fasting did not appear to negatively affect cognitive performance. However, longer fasting periods of over 12 hours were linked to small reductions in cognitive performance, and younger adults seemed slightly more affected by fasting than older adults.
"Our main finding was that there is generally no consistent evidence that short-term fasting impaired mental performance," said David Moreau, PhD, lead author and associate professor of psychology at the University of Auckland. "Individuals who fasted performed remarkably similarly to those who had recently eaten, suggesting cognitive function remains stable in the absence of food intake."
Ultimately, the findings suggest that short-term fasting is unlikely to interfere with your everyday thinking skills. For most people, intermittent fasting can be practiced without major concern for immediate cognitive decline, although longer or more intense fasts may require more consideration.
Related: What Time-Restricted Eating Does to Your Body, According to Experts