Time restricted feeding and mental health: A review of possible mechanisms on affective and cognitive disorders

This 2021 review presents the available data on the effects of time-restricted feeding on brain health. The authors explain that the increase in life expectancy observed during the last decades is not adequately balanced out by improvements in quality of life. The incidence of aging-related disorders such as depression, cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease may be increasing due to this imbalance. This is to say that mental illnesses are caused by multiple factors, including lifestyle and nutrition which can be modified individually. Among nutritional interventions, intermittent fasting has emerged as an innovative strategy to prevent and treat mental health disorders, sleeping problems, and cognitive dysfunction. Time-restricted feeding appears to show the most promise among all types of intermittent fasting regimens. People who practice time-restricted eating receive some benefits of a total fasting regimen while maintaining total consumption of calories and nutrients. This review particularly examines the role of time-restricted feeding on brain signaling, neurogenesis (formation of new neurons), and synaptic plasticity. [NPID: brain health, time-restricted feeding, fasting, intermittent fasting, cognitive disorders, aging, sleeping, nutrition, lifestyle, dementia, Alzheimer’s, depression]

Year: 2021

Reference: Currenti, W., Godos, J., Castellano, S., Mogavero, M. P., Ferri, R., Caraci, F., Grosso, G., & Galvano, F. (2021). Time restricted feeding and mental health: a review of possible mechanisms on affective and cognitive disorders. International journal of food sciences and nutrition, 72(6), 723–733. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637486.2020.1866504

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