From Improving Focus to Reducing Stress: Five Ways Intermittent Fasting Benefits Mental Health

Your food choices and nutrition are among the key components of a healthy diet, but how and when you eat can also play a significant role in maintaining overall health. While people focus on nutrition-rich foods, a healthy eating pattern is often overlooked. If you think that a healthy eating pattern is just about controlling a serving size, then you simply undervalue the importance of meal frequency and fasting schedule.

With designated times for eating and fasting, intermittent fasting is a healthy habit. It is a habit that can bless your physical and mental health with several perks. Let’s delve into the concept of intermittent fasting and its effects on your mental health, from its positives and negatives to its correct implementation.

What is intermittent fasting? How does it help the brain?

Intermittent fasting is a pattern of alternating between fasting and eating. How one follows intermittent fasting depends upon the person’s endurance, daily activities, and preference. Here are four common forms of intermittent fasting:

1. The scheme of 16–8: This strategy recommends not eating for sixteen hours after having a healthy meal within an eight-hour eating window.
2. 5–2 Diet: Having regular meals five days a week and restricting calories for the other two days.
3. Standard 24-hour fast: The standard 24-hour fast is proposed to be done once or twice a week.
4. Alternate-day fasting: It is fasting every alternate day, for either the whole day with no food or at most with a little bit of food.

Once you eat, your body starts breaking down the sugar and turning it into glucose to supply energy to your body. It stores the extra energy, and when you are not eating, that stored energy is used. Upon the total depletion of that energy, the body then burns the stored fats for energy, which improves insulin sensitivity, reduces fat, and creates beneficial ketones for brain enhancement.

5 Reasons why intermittent fasting is good for your brain

Aside from its benefits for weight loss and metabolism, intermittent fasting has several other mental health benefits. Here are the five psychological effects of intermittent fasting.

1. It increases focus and clarity. Eating a large, carb-heavy meal often leaves your brain foggy since it must work really hard to digest it. Intermittent fasting allows the brain to become more efficient in processing its energy sources. During fasting, however, one’s body uses fat to fuel itself in the process of ketosis instead of sugar. This produces ketones, which give the brain more energy than sugar. So, your dull and sleepy brain gets rid of those states and keeps itself clear.
2. Hormone and mood regulation. Intermittent fasting helps reduce stress and mood swings by maintaining insulin levels and hormonal balance. It also induces the synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which aids in the growth and maintenance of brain cells.
3. Better sleep quality. When you skip food at least two hours before bedtime, the body takes this little window to rejuvenate and refurbish. Another benefit of intermittent fasting is that it lowers stress hormones like cortisol and helps prevent waking up in the middle of the night.
4. Reduces tension and anxiety. Fasting has been shown to improve stress, anxiety, and mental well-being. With the help of ketones and BDNF, fasting supports stress resilience and mood regulation, making you feel at ease and emotionally anchored. Fasting also requires great determination and a feeling of discipline; thus, it might improve your mood.
5. Strengthens learning power and memory. Fasting causes a 50–400% increase in the level of BDNF protein, which supports cognitive functioning and learning ability. Ketones, being a better source of energy for your brain, reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. Fasting also leads to the growth of the hippocampus, the brain cell that boosts your memorising power.

Common side effects of intermittent fasting

From improving cardio-metabolic functions to supporting mental well-being, Intermittent fasting has several benefits, but it has some side effects as well. During the initial adjustment period, here are some of the side effects

• Losing temper or irritability due to hunger and a change in sugar levels
• Headaches and fatigue are due to low blood sugar and an energy drop
• Dizziness and nausea are a result of low blood pressure or dehydration
• Digestive issues like bloating or constipation
• Improper fasting or poor food choices during the eating window can cause nutrient deficiencies
• Most of these side effects occur for a short period when you are new to intermittent fasting, while some side effects require dietary changes

Final thoughts

Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle change with a very special set of benefits for mental health. However, you must practice this fasting in a way that suits your body to receive proper benefits. Some of the common side effects of intermittent fasting include dizziness, headache, tiredness, and irritability, among others. But most of these intermittent fasting side effects can be reduced by staying hydrated, eating nutrient-dense foods during the eating windows, and starting slowly. Make sure that if fasting is actually disrupting your schedule, health, and mood, you listen to what your body is telling you.

FAQs

Is intermittent fasting suitable for all age groups?

Intermittent fasting is suitable for all adults except pregnant or breastfeeding women, those who have an eating disorder, or any serious medical condition like thyroid or diabetes. However, individuals in the 18-40 age group have strong endurance and energy to follow 12–8 or alternate-day fasting. People above this age group or those taking multiple medications should follow gentler fasting or consult a doctor to plan a fasting schedule.

What factors should one consider during intermittent fasting? Here are some tips to keep in mind while planning your meals for intermittent fasting:

• Ensure you add nutritional meals to your diet.
• Do avoid processed foods containing sugars or refined carbs, as these tend to interfere with fluctuating sugar levels during fasting.
• Drink plenty of water for hydration purposes. You may also consume tea or coffee without any sugar content.
• Avoid fast foods or junk foods to limit your calorie intake.

Which intermittent fasting method is best for beginners?

Follow a fasting plan that is appropriate for your work and routine. For instance, if you have a hectic schedule or you need to travel a lot for work, prefer a gentler fasting schedule. The 16/8 method is a flexible and easy-to-follow fasting schedule for beginners.

Rita Rana is a freelance writer. She has contributed verses to three anthologies: Together Behind Four Walls, Once Upon a Time, and Stardust. You can read her poems at Delhi Poetry Slam, Fuzia World, and Notion Press.