What Are the Psychological Effects of Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating protocol that involves completely or partially abstaining from eating for a specific period of time (e.g., for 12 hours a day) and eating the foods and nutrients you need during the rest of the day, when fasting is not being practiced. We are talking about a practice that has been gaining fame in recent years, with its lights and shadows.

Among the different psychological effects of intermittent fasting, it is worth highlighting that these could be both positive and harmful, so it would be advisable to consult with professionals before putting it into practice and, in any case, it should be carried out progressively. and do not start suddenly by practicing a prolonged fast.

In this article we will explain in more detail What are the different psychological effects of intermittent fasting? but first let’s see what intermittent fasting really consists of and what the best-known types of fasting are.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is an eating protocol that consists of abstaining from eating partially or completely for a specific period of time and ingesting the foods and nutrients necessary to maintain a balance during the period of time in which fasting is not done ( For example, doing intermittent fasting for 16 hours a day, so that you eat the necessary foods in 2 or 3 meals during the remaining 8 hours of the day in which you are not fasting).

It should be noted that this practice should be supervised by a professional expert in the matter so that it is not harmful and it is also important to say that the practice of intermittent fasting is not a diet but rather a feeding protocol, which means that it is about the way in which the nutrients are distributed. meal times and there is no established plan that indicates what to eat as is usually the case with diets.

However, you must also know that when intermittent fasting is practiced, it is very important that, during the eating period, you try to carry out a balanced diet with all the necessary nutrients which means that fasting should not serve as an excuse to binge eat and uncontrollably eat processed foods rich in sugars and saturated fats since this would nullify the possible benefits of intermittent fasting.

On the other hand, there are various types of intermittent fasting, among which we must highlight those that we are going to briefly explain below.

1. 12-hour intermittent fasting (12/12)

This type of intermittent fasting is the shortest and, therefore, the simplest, so perhaps it would be the most recommended In all cases, when starting to practice intermittent fasting, you should first start with this type of fasting and then progressively move towards the practice of longer fasts, always under control and supervision.

Furthermore, this would be a fairly accessible fast, since if we count the approximately 8 hours that we sleep and the 3-hour period that should elapse between dinner and bedtime, we would already have 11 hours of fasting, so that simply by waiting to have breakfast for 1 more hour when we get up we would have already fasted for 12 hours without too much effort.

2. 16-hour intermittent fasting (16/8)

This is the most popular type of intermittent fasting and consists of fasting 16 hours, so that 2 or even 3 meals are usually distributed in a period of 8 hours. Those who practice it normally skip breakfast and wait to eat food for the first time at lunchtime (e.g., fasting from 9 p.m. at dinner time until 12 noon, etc.). at lunch time).

3. 20-hour intermittent fasting (4/20)

Here we would already be talking about a fairly prolonged fast that requires a prior adaptation process and also greater control and supervision. In this case we would help for 20 hours a day, so that We only eat food for the remaining 4 hours the most common being to eat 2 meals during that period (e.g., fasting from 9 p.m., after dinner, until 5 p.m. the next day, eating one meal at 5 p.m. and another at 8).

4. OMAD eating plan or 23-hour fast (1/23)

This type of intermittent fasting would be the longest among the best known, also known as the OMAD (“One Meal A Day”) eating plan which, as the acronym of its name in English indicates, basically consists of eat only one meal a day Here we would already be talking about a fairly expensive type of fasting, so it would not be highly recommended to practice it long term, like 20 hours since it could be harmful.

If intermittent fasting is put into practice, it should be noted that the protocols that have the most scientific evidence regarding its long-term benefits would be the 12-hour and 16-hour protocols, in addition to being the easiest to follow and the least restrictive. However, it is always advisable to consult a professional first as it could be very harmful to people vulnerable to its effects (e.g. people with diabetes, hypertension, an eating disorder, etc.).

The possible psychological benefits of intermittent fasting

There are numerous testimonies, as well as some studies, that affirm the existence of various benefits of the practice of intermittent fasting; However, more research is still needed in this regard, especially with humans, so that we can make more solid statements.

Below we will briefly explain the main beneficial psychological effects of intermittent fasting, according to various research carried out based on this eating protocol.

1. Increased self-control regarding food

One of the main psychological effects that the practice of intermittent fasting could provide would be an increase in self-control, since with this protocol one of the possible objectives sought is establishing greater self-control regarding hunger and satiety, thus regulating the hormones responsible for this (ghrelin and leptin). In addition, it could help in some cases to combat emotional hunger or boredom.

This would be possible in those cases in which a person eats out of inertia several times a day, even if he is not hungry, and, through fasting, he could train himself to be able to differentiate the signals of hunger, so that he only eats food at regular intervals. those moments when you feel real hunger.

On the other hand, the opposite effect could also occur and the person loses control regarding food and binge eat when breaking fast Therefore, it is important not to start this protocol, especially if it is a very prolonged and long-term fast, without the help, control and monitoring of a nutritionist and even a specialized team that is made up of several professionals (e.g., doctor, nutritionist and psychologist).

However, it must be emphasized that a short 12-hour fast, where hardly any noticeable effort is made, is not the same as doing a 23-hour intermittent fast, so more risks could be taken and it is more likely that one could suffer from food anxiety, although we will talk about this later in more detail.

2. Higher levels of concentration

Another possible benefit of practicing intermittent fasting is that many people manage to increase their concentration while fasting and this could be justified from an evolutionary point of view since our most remote ancestors had to go hunting on an empty stomach and to do so they had to have several cognitive functions tuned to be able to achieve it.

In addition, some studies have indicated that when a person is fasting, the levels of some neurotransmitters increase in their brain, such as orexin and norepinephrine, which are associated with concentration so that they can help us be more focused on things. What we’re doing. Therefore, perhaps the practice of intermittent fasting could be more suitable for those people who, for work reasons, need to be very focused on their tasks and also their work does not require high physical demands.

At the same time, The practice of intermittent fasting could be contraindicated for those who have a job that is physically demanding In any case, it would be best to consult with a specialist and, once fasting is being put into practice, it would be important to do a self-analysis about the physical and mental state to be aware of whether this eating protocol brings us well-being and improving performance or, on the contrary, it is harming us.

3. Protection against depression

In some research carried out with subjects who suffered from depression, it was observed that a substance produced in the brain, known as BDNF (“brain-derived neurotrophic factor”), was almost absent in these people who were depressed at differences in those that were not. Based on the results, it could be concluded that the production of the neurotransmitter BDNF could protect us against depression.

In other studies carried out on intermittent fasting, it was observed that the practice of this dietary protocol helped boost BDNF production consistently so its practice could help against depression, as well as could be beneficial for various cognitive functions.

However, depression is a quite complex process, in which several factors intervene, so in addition to intermittent fasting, several guidelines should be followed, such as maintaining healthy social relationships, practicing regular physical exercise, sleeping and getting enough rest. enough, eat a healthy diet, etc.

4. It could enhance neuroplasticity

When a person practices intermittent fasting, starting at certain hours, if it occurs in their body a metabolic process known as “ketosis”, moment from which, after having energy from carbohydrates, it begins to obtain it from body fats. Some studies have stated that when you enter ketosis, by alternating the way you obtain energy between different processes, the plasticity of the brain is also stimulated.

When we talk about brain plasticity or neuroplasticity, we are referring to the ability of the brain to create new neuronal connections, this being an essential process when acquiring new learning, storing memories or new knowledge, among other processes.

• You may be interested: “Brain plasticity (or neuroplasticity): what is it?”

The possible negative effects of intermittent fasting

After having seen the various positive effects that intermittent fasting could bring us, it is worth mentioning that we can also find some negative effects when practicing long-term fasting, so it would be important to be alert when fasting to detect it as soon as possible. possible any indication that could indicate to us that fasting is harming us.

Among the main psychological effects of intermittent fasting, we must highlight some that, if they appear, are very negative. Below we will look at those possible negative effects resulting from the long-term practice of this feeding protocol.

1. Eating disorders

Among the psychological effects of intermittent fasting, we cannot forget that the practice of intermittent fasting could trigger the development of an eating disorder or enhance some symptoms, and, therefore, worsen the prognosis

This could be because intermittent fasting could be used as a tool to significantly restrict the calories ingested from food throughout the day in cases of anorexia or bulimia nervosa. Additionally, in cases of bulimia nervosa, fasting could increase anxiety levels that could precede a possible binge, so fasting could increase the frequency in which a person with bulimia nervosa binge eats.

It could also increase the number of binge eating in those people who suffer from binge eating disorder, so the practice of intermittent fasting would also be contraindicated in these cases.

2. Anxiety

Among the possible psychological effects of intermittent fasting, it should also be noted that the practice of this eating protocol could increase levels of cortisol, a hormone released in the brain in response to certain levels of stress so from certain levels this would lead to an increase in anxiety levels.

It is also possible that anxiety is caused by the desire to eat food, this being more common during the first days of intermittent fasting.

In those cases in which a basic person is predisposed to suffer certain levels of anxiety, It would be best to consult a mental health specialist before trying intermittent fasting, as it could trigger anxiety symptoms.

Conclusion

First of all, it must be emphasized that fasting is not for everyone, since for many people it could do more harm than good and, if someone decides to do any type of intermittent fasting, they should first consult a professional who is specialized. in this type of protocols and, when starting, the most appropriate thing would be to start with the shortest intermittent fasting (12/12).

Secondly, we must be alert to any signs that could indicate that fasting is harming us, both physically (e.g. dizziness, headaches, fatigue, etc.) and psychologically (e.g. e.g., obsession with food, irritability, anxiety, etc.).

Thirdly, it is important to highlight that intermittent fasting is not a panacea and much less on its own, since to enhance the possible effects it must be accompanied by a healthy lifestyle, through a healthy eating plan, a good rest, maintenance of an active and healthy social and family life, as well as through regular physical exercise.