Fasting Keeps Your Brain Sharp and Reduces Anxiety

Fasting Researcher Dr. Mark Mattson found that IF increases the synapses on your neurons, increases your total number of neurons, and can reduce anxiety.

In an old post titled Upgrading Your Brain for Free, I briefly touched on the positive effects that intermittent fasting (IF) has on brain function. In this post, I go more in-depth on how exactly IF positively affects the brain.

This kind of information is important because we’re living in one of the most prosperous countries on earth in one of the most prosperous times. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. But it’s easy to become so self-indulgent and complacent that we are soon aliens to the slightest experience of discomfort. In that atmosphere, it’s easy to forget that missing a meal can actually be a positive thing. The easy road is not always the most beneficial road when it comes to health. But remember, discomfort is not an end in itself. Much of the initial discomfort that accompanies IF disappears after an initial adjustment. You can do hard things!

Today’s Story at a Glance

Dr. Mark Mattson, lifelong intermittent fasting researcher, discovered that:

• IF increases the number of synapses on brain neurons (nerve cells) causing the neurons to remain robust instead of deteriorating

• IF increases the number of newly generated neurons

• IF makes neurons more resilient and resistant to injury and disease

• IF stimulates the increase of an enzyme that inhibits over-excitatory brain dysfunction thereby suppressing anxiety

Meet Dr. Mark Matson

• Professor of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

• Former Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institutes on Aging Intramural Research Program

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) considers him: “One of the world’s top experts on the potential cognitive and physical health benefits of intermittent fasting.”

• Has dedicated his life to researching how intermittent fasting can protect the brain

• Author of the groundbreaking 2019 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease”

• Author of 2022 book The Intermittent Fasting Revolution: The Science of Optimizing Health and Enhancing Performance