Four consecutive weeks of dawn-to-dusk intermittent fasting are associated with improved neuropsychiatric symptoms and neurocognitive functions among adults: a prospective cohort

Intermittent fasting (IF) has been shown to reduce factors linked to mental health issues. This study tracked neurocognitive changes over four weeks of dawn-to-dusk (Suhoor to Iftar) IF during Ramadan (RIF), assessing shifts in anxiety, depression, resilience, quality of life (QoL), sleep, and diet quality. A total of 336 participants, predominantly male (84.2%), were assessed before and during the last week of Ramadan using validated questionnaires: GAD-7 for anxiety, PHQ-9 for depression, the Resilience Questionnaire, PSQI for sleep quality, and KIDMED for diet quality. Results showed that observing RIF was associated with significant decreases in PHQ-9 depression and GAD-7 anxiety scores (P < 0.001), with significantly increased QoL scores (P < 0.010), but without a substantial improvement in KIDMED diet quality scores. Additionally, PSQI sleep quality scores showed considerable improvement (P = 0.014). These findings suggest that the RIF model could serve as a lifestyle intervention to enhance mental well-being and overall QoL. Further research with more controlled designs and larger sample sizes is warranted to understand the underlying mechanisms better and to develop tailored interventions to optimize health during and beyond Ramadan.