Eating at This Hour May Preserve Healthy Cognitive Function, Finds New Study
A Rutgers University team found a simple choice that may promote sharp thinking long-term. The post Eating at This Hour May Preserve Healthy Cognitive Function, Finds New Study appeared first on The Healthy.
Research has previously shown us that the foods we eat can help promote brain health. Now, a recent study points to the idea that when we eat may boost those effects even more.
A team from Rutgers University set out to investigate a possible solution to existing research findings consistently showing that women and overweight individuals are more prone to dementia conditions like Alzheimer’s. As large segments of our population grow older and face age-related dementia, could some relatively simple lifestyle choices help manage risk?
How the study was conducted
Published in July 2026 in the American Society for Nutrition’s Current Developments in Nutrition journal, the results from a group of 47 participants suggest there’s hope that some modifications could matter. StudyFinds provides an overview of the methodology: Overweight and obese women ages 50 to 79 underwent guidance to reduce their calorie intake by 500 calories daily.
Twenty-six participants were asked to consume all their food within a window of less than nine hours per day, with most eating between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The rest ate within a window of 12 hours per day.
The main takeaways
At a six-month check-in, participants across the board had lost an average of 15 pounds. However, there was a distinction between the two groups—as study principal investigator Sue Shapses, PhD, RD, DFASN, commented, “Reductions in the eating window predicted greater improvements” in cognition.
Specifically, the time-restricted fasting set performed better on tests measuring memory, learning, spatial planning, and problem-solving.
Beyond further testing with a larger sample size, Dr. Shapses says she and her team plan to work to better understand why such a shift occurred, looking at possible factors as sleep and circadian rhythm, inflammation, and nutrient absorption.
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The post Eating at This Hour May Preserve Healthy Cognitive Function, Finds New Study appeared first on The Healthy.