Influence Of Long-Term Fasting And Intermittent Fasting On The Cognitive Abilities
Vol.14,No.1(2020)
Fasting, skipping or abstaining from eating or drinking for a certain time is known mainly in religious circles. In addition to religious reasons, we can also fast for weight loss or detoxication. We have decided to examine the impact of fasting on the human organism more closely, especially on the cognitive functions, such as short-term memory, attention, concentration, language skills, abstract reasoning, etc. The research completed used 16 participants (M+F; 25.8y±2.7; 179.5cm±11.6; 74.6kg±15.1). They were divided into 2 groups (long-term fasting (LTF) and intermittent fasting (IF)). To measure cognitive function, we used Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which was completed by all participants in the study before and after the fasting period. The total score of MoCA decreased in both group after the fasting period, more in the IF group (-1.1 points), but not statistically significant. Values for short-term memory evaluation decreased in both groups, also in the IF group more (-0.9 points), there was a larger effect. Verbal production values decreased in both groups and these changes were statistically significant with a smaller effect. Our results suggest that long-term fasting and intermittent fasting may reduce genitive abilities. Especially short-term memory can be influenced by intermittent fasting. Both fasting methods decreased the level of verbal production.
fasting methods; cognition; Montreal Cognitive Assessment; short-term memory; verbal production
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