Auckland, New Zealand — Newly released research suggests that intermittent fasting – which has been studied for its effect on shift worker health – doesn’t negatively affect decision-making, response speed and accuracy, and other cognitive functions.
The results challenge a popular belief: “We’re told constant fueling is the secret to staying alert and efficient,” Auckland University professor David Moreau said in a university blog post.
Moreau and Ph.D. student Christoph Bamberg examined data from nearly 3,500 adults in 71 studies. They analyzed various cognitive functions – including memory recall, decision-making and response – among participants who were fasting or had recently eaten. The fasts lasted for 12 hours or less.
The team found “no meaningful difference in cognitive performance between fasted and satiated healthy adults,” Moreau wrote in the blog post. “People performed just as well on cognitive tests measuring attention, memory and executive function whether they had eaten recently or not.”
Still, Moreau said, fasting “isn’t a one-size-fits-all practice.” He added, “If your job requires peak alertness late in the day, or if you’re frequently exposed to tempting food cues, fasting might feel harder to sustain.”
The study was published in the journal Psychological Bulletin.
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Original article published by Safety+Health an NSC publication