Adopting a time-restricted eating schedule, where food intake is limited to an eight-hour window each day, may offer cognitive benefits, according to new research from Rutgers University.
The study, which involved overweight or obese women over 50, found that participants who adhered to a time-restricted eating plan demonstrated significant improvements in memory, learning, spatial planning, and problem-solving skills compared to those who ate throughout the day. Both groups in the study reduced their daily calorie intake by 500.
Dr. Sue Shapses, a nutritionist who led the study, noted that while weight loss alone can help mitigate some age-related cognitive decline, restricting eating to fewer hours per day could provide additional benefits. The research suggests that stopping food intake several hours before bedtime and limiting the eating window to eight to nine hours daily may be more advantageous than a typical 12-hour eating period.
Nearly a million people in the UK and an estimated seven million Americans currently live with dementia, with projections indicating these numbers could nearly double in the next 25 years. Alzheimer's disease is a leading cause of death in the United States and globally.
Time-restricted eating, a form of intermittent fasting, involves limiting caloric intake to specific hours of the day or days of the week. Popular variations include the 14:10 plan (eating within a 10-hour window) and the 5:2 diet (eating normally for five days and fasting for two). This dietary approach gained popularity in the 2010s, with an estimated one in 10 Americans currently following it. While some experts endorse it for weight loss and hunger control, others express concerns about potential muscle loss, nutritional deficiencies, and mood impacts.
In the Rutgers study, 47 participants aged between 50 and 79 were divided into two groups. The time-restricted eating group was instructed to eat for no more than nine hours daily, averaging eight hours and 12 minutes of eating time. The control group ate for an average of 12 hours and 18 minutes.
Cognitive assessments revealed broad improvements in the time-restricted eating group, particularly in areas of spatial planning and problem-solving. The study noted that reductions in the eating window correlated with greater cognitive improvements. However, no significant differences were observed between the groups in multitasking or reaction times.
Researchers hypothesize that time-restricted eating might trigger neuroprotective processes in the brain. Previous research also suggests that eating close to bedtime can disrupt sleep, which is considered crucial for dementia prevention.
The study was presented at NUTRITION 2026, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition. While the findings indicate a potential association between time-restricted eating and improved cognitive function, the researchers emphasize that the study was small and did not prove causation. Further larger-scale studies are needed to confirm these results. The team plans to investigate the underlying mechanisms, such as the interplay between circadian rhythms, nutrient sensing, inflammation, and metabolic health, that might explain these potential benefits.